Alien: Romulus, By Oliver Copeland
Returning to the film series’ roots, Alien: Romulus (now in theaters) fosters a sense of familiarity among followers of the franchise, while simultaneously adding to its lore. Straying
away from the likes of Alien: Covenant or Prometheus, Fede Alveraz returns to Ridley Scott’s original premise of “Aliens killing people on a spaceship” and adds a couple fun, unique twists.
The film follows Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson) as their group of friends attempts to escape from an oppressive mining planet by stealing parts of an abandoned
spaceship to help fuel their journey (Spoiler alert: there’s an alien aboard the spaceship). The film’s simpler premise than some of its counterparts undoubtedly dampens the fear
factor, as there’s only so much that can happen on a spaceship over the span of a 9 movie franchise. However, Alvarez creates some incredibly intense scenes, such as the zero gravity
scene and a bat-crazy ending, which keeps the audience engaged. The attempt of an homage to its predecessors at times feels like a regurgitation of Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece, but
the film is synchronously a new and fun addition to the Alien universe. Sadly, I found the majority of the characters to be incredibly underdeveloped, and not
fully fleshed out. While it’s hard to be on par with Sigourney Weaver’s unforgettable performance as Ellen Ripley in the original film, Cailee Spaeny’s performance as Rain was
simply forgettable. David Jonsson’s performance, on the other hand, was outstanding. His complete 180 from a sweet, lovable android to a cold, company-loving machine was phenomenal,
and his back-and-forth interactions with his crew-mates were memorable and genuinely made me sympathize with his character.
As scary as the Xenomorph is, its use throughout the 9 movies and 38 video games makes it a bit played out. That’s what makes the third act of this film so gripping. The addition of
an entirely new monster was absolutely terrifying, and its creature design was something that will not soon forget. While some of the middle and earlier parts of the film are lackluster and
simply not very scary, the ending sequence is really what makes this film so unique and such a great addition to the series. The monsters’ practical effects of the creatures mangled humanoid
features in comparison to the Xenomorphs’ design as the “ideal organism” is grotesque and really pushes the idea that the creature simply should not exist, which I believe is the reason I
found it to be so terrifying. Alien: Romulus, at times, is an amalgamation of its prior films, stealing tropes and reusing scares, but its couple of unique scenes and even more unique ending make it a fun and
unsettling watch for anyone who’s a fan of horror. While it’s nothing special, and will remain in Alien’s shadow much like the other films, the film is definitely a formidable addition to the Alien
franchise.
Oliver Copeland is a high school student from Los Angeles with a passion for all things horror. Taking special interest in films revolving around psychological fear, and with a passion for film and writing, he creates many short films of his own.
