‘Alien: Romulus’ Review – An Immersive, Visceral Salute to the Franchise’s Greatest Hits

Much like Fede Alvarez‘s feature debut, 2013’s Evil Dead, Alien: Romulus explores a sibling relationship at the center of the carnage. Of course, it’s also baked into the title, a reference to the myth of twin brothers Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome who were abandoned as babies and fated for fratricidal tragedy. That myth informs the setting and the plot of Romulus, a carefully constructed entry set between Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron‘s Aliens, seamlessly blending the horror and action tones with impressive ease.

Alvarez isn’t content to stop there, though, threading a careful needle through dense franchise lore. It yields an awe-inducing entry when it comes to its impeccable sense of style and form, but one that colors too neatly inside the franchise lines.

Harkening back to the blue collar origins of Alien, Romulus introduces its ill-fated cast on the Weyland-Yutani mining planet of Jackson’s Star. It’s a dour place where the sun never shines, and illness runs rampant. Working the mines is a life sentence, made even shorter by the perilous nature of the work. After losing her parents to the mines, Rain (Cailee Spaeny) works tirelessly to earn enough to finally leave the place behind for a good while looking after her synthetic adoptive brother Andy (David Jonsson). Just as her latest attempt to leave gets thwarted, Rain receives an offer of escape that she can’t refuse from her ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux). Along with Tyler’s sister Kay (Isabella Merced), Tyler’s cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu), the group of six sneaks off to pilfer cryo-pods from a decommissioned Weyland-Yutani ship, only to discover unimaginable horror instead.

Fede Alvarez, who co-wrote the script with longtime collaborator Rodo Sayagues, doesn’t immediately jump into the chaos, instead taking time to establish the harsh conditions of living under Weyland-Yutani’s oppressive thumb and the central dynamic between Rain and Andy. Rain serves as the moral compass of the group, earmarking her early as the heroine, with Cailee Spaeny bringing the appropriate balance of vulnerability, empathy, and savviness to earn easy rooting interest. But it’s David Jonsson’s Andy who winds up stealing the film as the sweet, innocent synthetic whose sole directive is to protect Rain’s happiness and well-being. Once he boards the abandoned ship, his arc quickly becomes the most complex and fascinating of the film. As with Evil Dead, the rest of the group never gets fleshed out beyond their archetypical roles; they’re designed as fodder for Alvarez to dispatch in the most gruesome ways possible. 

That’s a feature, not a glitch, in Alvarez’s capable hands. The filmmaker’s steadfast commitment to handling as much practically as possible means a breathtaking level of scale and no shortage of impressive set pieces to terrorize the young cast. The sheer scope of the practical sets look and feel like Aliens brought into the now, with each new section of the ship distinct from the last. Each new room unlocks a different variety of terror, too, with the group dodging everything from hordes of Facehuggers, Xenomorph attacks, and a particularly inspired use of zero gravity. The latter further speaks to Alvarez’s keen ability to add a tactile quality to the cinematics; the swooping camerawork ensures you feel the weightlessness. Even the effective sound design, right down to the dripping of water, lends to the film’s immersive quality.

It also calls back to the film that started it all. Romulus is, if nothing else, an endless salute to the films that came before it, for better and worse. Alvarez and Sayagues faithfully adhere to the lore, tipping their hat to the greatest hits. While that leads to several unexpected surprises, it can also induce groans- like contrived retreads of iconic lines of dialogue that temporarily take you out of effective action sequences. The third act brings the requisite level of gruesome reveals without forging any new ground, making it clear that this entry isn’t just a bridge between the first two entries; it bridges Ridley Scott’s ideas to the present to establish a blueprint going forward.

But Romulus doesn’t ever dig deeper than the surface with any of it. Alavarez plays up the birth imagery, acknowledging the original film’s psychoanalytical reads, without any subtext or intent; it’s simply there as a part of the salute to the greatest hits. It sums up the entire experience. Alien: Romulus doesn’t forge any new ground or shake up the franchise, but it’s so expertly crafted, nail-bitingly intense, and visceral that it’s an easy recommendation all the same. It’s difficult not to be impressed by the stunning practical effects on display, with Weta Workshop, Legacy Effects, and Studio Gillis all contributing a showstopping array of creature work and grisly demises.

The biggest horror event of the year has arrived, and while it doesn’t shake up the lore or deviate from the path, it’s such a thrilling ride you’ll be hard-pressed to care. Alvarez puts the horror first here, with exquisite craftmanship that immerses you in the insanity. 

Alien: Romulus releases in theaters on August 16, 2024.

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