Alien: Romulus is the newest installment to the 45 year-old franchise. The Alien franchise is considered one of the best franchises by both horror and sci-fi fans respectively; however the franchise has been struggling ever since the 90s with various sequels, prequels, and crossovers failing to meet expectations.
Alien: Romulus brings a fresh new direction from acclaimed horror director Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) who sets a new direction for the franchise. The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Civil War, Pricilla) in the leading role of Rain.
The movie is set 20 years after the events of Alien (1979) and before Aliens (1986). The film follows a group of young adults who travel to an abandoned research station in the hopes of finding the supplies they need to leave behind their lives of indentured servitude.
On first glance, the film’s story seems familiar to fans of the franchise, appearing to be a compilation of the greatest hits. I had the same perception leading into it, but was shocked at the steps it took to differentiate itself, and the outcome was outstanding. The film shows awareness of the problems that have been persistent throughout previous films and is able to amend those mistakes.
For example one of the biggest criticisms of the 1979 film is that it takes an hour until the first “chest burster” is onscreen. Alien: Romulus addresses the problem with a clear direction to the action. The film’s characters also aren’t clueless (unlike many horror movie tropes) but rather are put in one of the worst possible situations and have to make the best of what they’re given. The story features plenty of surprises that’ll keep viewers both horrified and on the edge of their seats throughout.
If you’re wondering if you need to do ‘homework’ before watching Alien: Romulus don’t worry, unlike other franchises Alien: Romulus doesn’t require any previous knowledge to enjoy the movie. With so many “requels” nowadays that only further confuse audiences, Alien: Romulus is clear to both long-time and brand new fans. The film is able to expertly continue open plot threads from previous films to satisfy franchise fans but is able to introduce them in a way that won’t confuse new viewers.
Behind the scenes the film has an amazing production with a majority of it being shot with practical puppets, miniatures, and animatronics to replicate the visual style of the originals. Alongside Spaeny, the film’s cast features unique characters with David Johnson (Industry) and Isabela Merced (The Last of Us, Superman) being the big standouts alongside Spaeny.
Like Alien’s sister franchise Predator, Alien: Romulus was originally meant to go straight streaming on Hulu, alongside 2022’s Prey, until it got an increased budget of 80 million and a theatrical release on August 16th.
Even by modern franchise standards 80 million is not a lot when many other films spend 200-300 million; this only makes the movie even more impressive as it’s not often that movies that are as reliant on effects as Alien look miles better than yearly big budget superhero movies. Alien: Romulus has more than made up for its budget making over 330 million in the box office. The door is wide open for future projects from the Alien series with Romulus’ well deserved success.
The film is a triumph for the franchise, rivaling the original duology and showing there are plenty of stories left to tell from Alien. Fortunately, it won’t be long before the next project arrives as FX is set to premiere Alien: Earth next year. If there’s one movie to end this season with a bang it is Alien: Romulus.
