‘Alien: Romulus’ Review: Back To The Franchise’s Fittingly Bloody Roots

Enough can’t be said about the state of studio horror as it currently stands. Even within the hallowed halls of franchises once respected (see any given ongoing Blumhouse or Blumhouse-adjacent property) many such movies feel more like trips to the bank than to the theater; though on your end, the check bounces, and you’re left with wasted gas and a guilty conscience. Why’d you get your hopes up?

Because sometimes something like Alien: Romulus comes along and makes all the disappointment worth enduring. Of course, the Alien franchise itself, despite the pedigree, has seen a solid share of vitriol and internal conflict. Fans still can’t make up their minds about Prometheus and Covenant, and don’t even get them started on Resurrection. 

Romulus goes back to the roots of the franchise, for the greater good. As generally interesting as it is to imagine Ridley Scott excavating the series’ originally intended philosophy and jagged nihilistic idealisms, the execution is much less so. It’s easy to forget the sheer fear-factor that drove the first Alien so far. Thankfully, Fede Álvarez didn’t forget a thing, and you can feel that in every waking, twitching, seething moment of Romulus.

Not to say that the film is style over substance, if such a term has any meaning at all, but Romulus is a cosmetic masterpiece. Álvarez roots the film in a familiar universe yet wastes no time growing organically in a new direction; he takes visual nods from Alien and Aliens, but there’s something a little less opaque about his approach. The evil in this one is pure as the driven snow, and unmistakably so. There are few questions about any potential gray area, and when the few proposed do come up, you’re given no alternative aside from the brute reality of their existence. You don’t answer them, but accept them.

All of this is derived from the usual Alien formula: basically, a band of odds and ends find themselves trapped on a ship with a power known to many, though most of them dead. The Ripley-like lead among them is Rain, led by Cailee Spaeny. After hopes of leaving her controlling job in a run-down colony are deflated, she agrees to a plan devised by her closest group of friends to escape to a freer space; ultimately, that very plan lands them on the aforementioned ship… shenanigans ensue, you get it.

This is an excellent horror revival that does everything both a film in the genre and the ‘Alien’ franchise should.

Spaeny is strong, particularly in the last act, but the standout is David Jonsson, by a galactic mile. He plays the android Andy, Rain’s companion set by her father to ensure her wellbeing. He’s easily the most compelling non-human the franchise has ever seen, and Jonsson brings him to life with a gentle, cold humanity that molds the character’s concept into something more. It’s not always that someone so clearly carries a film, especially one so full of talent as Romulus is, but Jonsson does just that. He’s magnificent.

But no matter how good the rest of it is, if the alien(s) aren’t done justice, why does anything else matter? It’s in the name, after all. Yet this should’ve been the least of any of our worries. With his background in grotesque studio horror (see Evil Dead 2013 for loads of filthy evidence) Álvarez carries the Alien insignia with ease. A xenomorph in Romulus appears as a spiteful cosmic entity encapsulated in oily black camouflage; alarming crimson lights reveal the truth of the matter at your last waking moment, almost every single time. It’s that pure as the driven snow essence of fear that he manages to capture effortlessly through visual energy narrative momentum.

If anything, Romulus gets a little too caught up in being an Alien film, leaning on crooked references and forced inclusions to remind you of the obvious fact. That’s easily the biggest problem on board here, and that, when taken with a twist towards the finale, has thrown some watchers off of the whole thing. In a way, this is understandable; that switch-up in the final act isn’t for the faint of heart.

If you can stomach it, open up to the unbelievability of it all and really sink your teeth into the brash insanity of Álvarez’s ten-minute encore here. It’s the sort of swing that most will remember Romulus by, and like any good curveball, not just anyone is going to hit it.

But if you do, Romulus may just take that extra step into the upper echelon of this franchise for you, and really, it should. This is an excellent horror revival that does everything both a film in the genre and the Alien franchise should: it’s scary, gross, and unrelentingly mean. Alien: Romulus is one of the year’s best thus far, and should satisfy any open-minded fan and moviegoer alike. Buy the big-headed, obscenely overpriced popcorn bucket and try not to spill it all when you leave the stratosphere after a scare. Don’t miss this one at the movies.

Alien: Romulus is now playing in cinemas worldwide.

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