Christian Peterson
Columnist
Introduction:
“Alien: Romulus” was released to American audiences on Friday, Aug. 16, and is the seventh movie in the Alien franchise. The film takes place between “Alien” (1979) and “Aliens” (1986), the classic films that spawned the decades-long franchise. It follows a group of young space colonists, consisting of Rain (Cailee Spaeny), Andy (David Johnson), Tyler (Archie Renaux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Navarro (Aileen Wu). The group, which lives in a mining colony and has never seen sunlight, takes a trip to an abandoned space station in hopes of finding a way to a better life. Instead, they meet the scariest creature the universe has ever seen. What follows is a gut-wrenching, jump-filled and gasp-enducing horror film that is a solid addition to a popular franchise. Be aware, there are SPOILERS in the following review.
The good:
The “Alien” franchise has held a firm grasp on audiences, and for good reason. Despite it technically being a body horror franchise, it's probably the most paletable of the genre. Cool monsters, crazy situations and the unnerving setting of space all blend together to make the movies the fearfest that they are. Specifically, with “Romulus,” there are some great aspects that push the movie from mediocre into the good category.
First, I loved the obvious care that Fede Alverez, the director, has for this franchise. In watching the movie and reading the behind the scenes trivia, it only helps to make it clear that Alverez has loved this franchise for a while. He has many different horror movies under his belt, so it's clear he loves the genre, itself. His experience with other horror films helps to create a unique twist in many ways in the “Alien” movies, especially taking advantage of the setting of zero gravity. I point to two particular scenes, one involving an elevator shaft and gravity switching on and off, and another involving zero gravity and circulating acidic blood. I also have to point it out because I noticed it many times while watching the movie, but I forgot just how much both the selective silence of deep space and creepy undescribable random sounds add to the ambience of the film.
The unexpected hero of this horror film isn't the xenomorph as many expect from the franchise. Instead, it's actually the parasitic creature known as the face-hugger. In past films, this small creature, while creepy, was never given the kind of attention it received in “Romulus.” Combining the fear of the unknown, the fear of spiders, and the fear of aliens into one thing did add a special degree of terror to these creatures that, clearly, for too long, have been pushed to the back of “Alien” lore.
I also want to give a shout out to one particular actor, Jonsson, who played Andy, a synthetic. He did an excellent job switching between the different personalities and directives his character could have and showed an incredible amount of range in one movie, continuing the trend of the “Alien” franchise finding excellent actors to play their most controversial characters, the synthetics.
The final point I must give credit for is the set design for this movie. One could argue that the set design for an “Alien” movie is very simple. There are six films predating this one who all have contributed, but there is serious skill in maintaining the look that “Alien” is known for while updating it. I cannot give enough credit for how this movie handles the setting, sound design and soundtrack to create a splendid feeling of unease throughout the entire film.
The bad:
There are a few different things that were not great about this movie, as well as a few things that really upset me, but we will get to those momentarily. This is a complaint that I rarely have with the “Alien” movies, but I just wish there were more aliens in it. It's why “Aliens” is my favorite movie in the franchise, because it was inundated with the xenomorph. While the face-huggers are a great addition in this movie, I wish we had even more hold-your-breath moments with the xenomorphs. I also felt that, outside of the two main leads, I was not given enough time to really care about the other characters or their deaths.
The ugly:
I always use the ugly section for parental warnings, and to point out things that are generally ugly. However, there are certain movies where the “ugly” may actually be a contribution to the film and this movie is one of those. First, of course, is a language warning. There are a plethora of F-bombs and assorted curse words. The movie is a hard R rated film, and it earns that well. There is blood, and some disgusting deaths including, of course, a chest-burster and burning to death by acid. There is also a particular death which leads to a much larger point of the story. A particular character is pregnant and eventually gives birth to a very disturbing and disgusting human-xenomorph hybrid. The creature, while a wonderfully terrifying addition to the movie, is exactly that - terrifying and disturbing. It would scare any small child and most adults, and everyone should be warned of it. Finally, I must add the terrible CGI used on one character. Ian Holm, who played the original synthetic in the franchise, returns posthumously. However, there is nothing that ruins a movie for me like the de-aging process that Hollywood applies to old actors when they want them to play a character again. They do this for his character, Rook, and it absolutely pulls you out of the film completely. It ruins the vibe, it ruins any scene he is in, and I cannot explain just how much I hate when filmmakers do this, as it is never good and always crosses into the uncanny valley.
Conclusion:
In reviewing this film, it's a solid addition to the franchise. It hits most of the right notes and still creates the creepy vibe from the original movies while adding some well needed and interesting situations we have never seen in these films. It offers a unique take on the face-hugger that truly takes that particular aspect of the franchise to a new level. Despite some poor character building, a terrible decision on CGI and not enough xenomorphs, the movie accomplishes its goal, creates a creepy environment and generally offers the scare and fun that this franchise has always promised. I give it a seven out of 10 gator tails.