ALIEN: ROMULUS [Film Review]
ALIEN: ROMULUS
Released: August 15, 2024
Director: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu.
In space, no one can hear you scream...
They probs can't smell if you've shit yourself either, which is a good thing if you're venturing to the cinemas to check out Alien: Romulus; the 7th instalment in the franchise, which finds original visionary, Ridley Scott, taking a backseat as a producer with Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe, Evil Dead) taking the helm as director for a much-needed horror makeover following some less than simulating flops *cough Alien: Covenant and Prometheus cough*.
This latest entry serves as a standalone story nestled between the original 1979 classic Alien and 1986 sequel Aliens; finding a new cast of victims swashbuckling space pals taking on a much more primal version of the infamous Face-Hugger and the long-headed, drooly Xenomorphs - both of which have terrified generations of movie-goers for 45 years.
I'll be keeping the spoilers at bay in this review, but, it's an Alien film, so you already know what you're gonna get...
This time around we meet Rain (Cailee Spaeny), an orphan who has worked her butt off in the space mines on a sunless planet long enough to be eligible to leave, but is denied, and must return to work immediately for another few years; running the risk of dying like her parents, who also worked in the mines before her. Joined, at the hip, by her dad-joke enthusiast "brother" Andy (David Jonsson), the pair find refuge in fellow space pals Tyler (Archie Renaux), his younger sister Kay (Isabela Merced), and wanker cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn) who somehow pulled the peculiar spaceship driving Navarro (Aileen Wu), as his girlfriend.
When word breaks of a derelict space station orbiting close by their planet's ring (ha!), the team hatch a plan to break in using Andy's artificial person skills, in the hopes of finding leftover cryo-pods which will come in real handy with their other plan to fly across the galaxy to a far away paradise where the sun actually rises.
Idiots.
When a sinister discovery during the salvaging mission arises... it's a race against time, technology, a hoard of Xenomorphs/Face-Huggers - and other ungodly threats - to save themselves from an unrelenting evil which translates satisfyingly into an uncomfortable (yet welcomed) edge-of-your-seat thrill ride.
No shit, from the first sign of trouble, all the way until the film's disturbing, and action-packed finale, there's not a single moment of yielding where you - and the characters - can catch a break.
[gallery type="rectangular" columns="2" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ALN-36774_R-e1723640717160.jpg|(L-R): Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine and David Jonsson as Andy in 20th Century Studios' ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo by Murray Close. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/romulus_dtrl6_4k_r709f_stills_240716.090346.jpg|Xenomorph in 20th Century Studios' ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved."]
For the gamers among us, this cinematic experience takes inspiration from the entire Alien franchise, including the 2014 survival horror entry Alien: Isolation - which director Fede Alvarez admits to playing prior to the release of his acclaimed thriller, Don't Breath. During a recent interview with Inside Total Film and GamesRadar+, Fede stated;
"I would love to do Alien and scare the audience again with that creature and those environments. I was playing, and realising how terrifying Alien could be if you take it back to that tone.”
With that strategy in mind, Fede has not only executed the film's scares with precision, but created an atmosphere so immersive, it feels like you're with our protagonist every step of the way. There are spellbinding moments of cinematographic excellence depicting a vast outer space - amplified with no sound - yet these cutaways further add to the chaos and overall sense of dread that Alien: Romulus serves its viewers on a bloodied plate.
As an avid horror nut, I'm still traumatised by Alvarez's 2013 Evil Dead reboot, and not since the 2018 Ari Aster creep show, Hereditary, have I genuinely felt uncomfortable with what was happening on-screen. However, Alien: Romulus has upped the ante with one of the most mouth-agape-inducing final acts in the entire franchise. Seriously, it's nightmare fuel.
While there are some cringe, CGI character-driven scenes that bring production value down during key plot points (make sure to watch the original for a quick refresher), the storyline is great and wastes no time getting stuck into things. Cailee Spaeny portrays an exceptional Ellen Ripley incarnate, and her scenes with David Jonsson are flooding with chemistry - akin to that of Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender in Prometheus.
Finally, more character development would have brought the best out of the other actors, but it's the new-age Xenomorphs, Face Huggers and Chest Bursters that deserve most of the accolades; for returning to their roots and turning the creep factor up to 11.
Haven't jumped in a while? You will with this.
Rating: 4/5
Review by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown @brownypaul
Alien: Romulus is exclusively in Australian cinemas now.
Get your tickets here
