This review was originally posted on FearHQ.com - but this version will contain major spoilers!
We haven't seen the dreaded creatures known as the Xenomorph(s) since Ridley Scott's highly divisive Alien: Covenant in 2017, but the acid-blooded beasties make their long-awaited return to the big screen in Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus this Friday.
Though some dedicated fans of the long-running franchise believe "there are no bad Alien movies," it's hard to argue with the perception that none of them have come close to Scott's original masterpiece or James Cameron's more action-heavy sequel. A tall task, no doubt, but Alvarez does succeed in recapturing the claustrophobic chills and visceral terror of those first two films - even if he overindulges in nostalgia while he's at it.
Set at some point in the 57-year gap between the events of Alien and Aliens, Romulus focuses on a young orphaned space colonizer named Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) and her android brother Andy (David Jonsson) eking out a gruelling existence on mining planet Jackson's Star. Along with Rain's ex (Archie Renaux), his sister (Isabela Merced), asshole cousin (Spike Fearn) and another pal (Aileen Wu), they decide to scavenge a derelict space station in the hope of using its cryotubes to travel to a more hospitable and prosperous planet.
We know it's only a matter of time before carnage erupts, but Alvarez does a great job of building tension, introducing some intriguing dynamics and conflicts between the characters while we await the inevitable bloodbath.
The Evil Dead and Don't Breathe filmmaker is clearly a huge fan, but the script soon begins to feel weighed-down with its reverence to previous entries in the franchise. A few nods and references are fine, but when characters are quoting even the most trivial lines from the other films in every given situation ("busy little creatures, eh?") it becomes more of a distraction than anything, and by the time someone says Ripley's most famous line from Aliens (you know the one), you may find yourself wondering why an otherwise dark and deadly serious movie is so dead set on self-sabotage with such corniness.
Studio-mandated callbacks are becoming more frequent, and the biggest example of nostalgia-bait is sure to emerge as the most controversial aspect of the film. When the crew encounter the station's android, it turns out to be the same model as Ash (this one is named Rook) from the first Alien, and CGI is used (badly) to digitally recreate the late Ian Holm's face.
The final act, which actually borrows from one of the less popular Alien movies, will likely come in for almost as much backlash. When a pregnant crew member, Kay, injects herself with Rook's experimental serum in an attempt to keep herself and her baby alive, she ends up giving birth to a Xeno/human hybrid (yes, they really go there again).
To be fair, this creature does look a lot better than the albino monstrosity from Resurrection, and its introduction is followed by some of the movie's queasiest moments. But it's a decision that will not sit well with everyone, and one could argue that the film would have been better off concluding at a more natural end point, leaving Kay's fate open for a potential sequel.
And yet, Romulus does rise above these issues by delivering where it counts with several inventive set pieces and intense, at times genuinely frighting moments. The level of threat and stakes are largely due to the relationship between Rain and Andy, which gives the story a strong emotional core these movies have been lacking ever since Ripley took her fiery swan dive at the end of Alien 3.
If the supporting characters aren't quite as memorable, it's no fault of the cast, and we are allowed to get to know them well enough to care when they're being torn to pieces... just about!
If you happen to be of the opinion that the Alien movies have become a bit too tame over the years, you'll be very pleased to hear that Romulus does not hold back when it comes to brutal violence and gore, and Alvarez delights in finding creatively nasty ways to dispatch our young protagonists.
As for the Xenos themselves, from facehugger to chestburster to adult (the entire life cycle is greatly condensed here), the titular aliens haven't looked this great in a long time, with impeccable creature-design achieved with a combination of practical FX and CGI.
Not a perfect organism, but despite an overreliance on retreading over old ground, Alien: Romulus does mark a thrilling return to form, and is surely destined to be ranked as the third-best Alien movie.
"The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train), and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.