Alien: Romulus (Review)
A new crew encounters the Facehuggers and the infamous Xenomorph
When you learn that the Alien franchise is releasing a new film, it is only natural for you to hold certain expectations. You want to feel trapped like the crew as they find their vessel or an abandoned ship swamped with Facehuggers and Xenomorphs. You want to feel horror and shock as these creatures come into close contact with the characters, and you want to feel a slight sense of relief when all of this is over.
Thankfully, Alien: Romulus ticks these boxes. It is not a film that is bad but it’s not a film that is great either. The film’s story is set between Alien and Aliens, where a young team of space colonisers visit a derelict ship floating above their planet. This ship turns out to be home to the legendary Xenomorph which managed to survive its presumed demise in the original film.
Rain, played by Cailee Spaeny and Andy, played by David Jonsson serves as the film’s central characters, it’s their bond that gives the film a positive emotional core that is surrounded by a lot of darkness and evil. The rest of the cast including Aileen Wu, Archie Renaux, David Jonsson, and Spike Fearn, help pepper the film with different characters that help create tension as things start to fall apart and an anticipation that not all of them will make it.
A few moments may catch you off guard, which is great for a film trying to honour the horror elements that made the earlier films so memorable. Then, there are some moments that you might not be so sold on, such as the CGI used for one of the characters from Alien and Rain’s encounter with a new lifeform that appears in the film’s final act.
Will you notice homages to the film’s previous films? Of course, you will. However, you won’t find yourself bored by this film. It lasts over two hours and you may be surprised how quickly that time passes.
Overall, this is a worthy addition to the Alien franchise which has faced criticism in the past for trying to explore the Alien universe through myth-making or trying to make an Alien film that can capture a new generation’s attention.
Just be glad you probably won’t encounter a Xenomorph in real life, just in your local cinema.
Liam Donohoe