“Alien: Romulus” (2024) is the interquel (these terms are eyeroll worthy, but it works so just go with it) that falls between the timeline of “Alien” (1979) and “Aliens” (1986). A group of young space colonists stuck on the Jackson Star Mining Colony decide to take their mining ship, the Carbelan IV, to salvage some cryopods from a rapidly deteriorating space station, Romulus. Uruguayan director and cowriter Fede Alvarez is the Mike Flanagan of this iconic sci-fi franchise by making the equivalent of a “Doctor Sleep” (2019) bridge between “Prometheus” (2012), “Alien: Covenant” (2017) and the first four “Alien” franchise films. Calling this installment a standalone movie would be generous because without a working knowledge of the aforementioned films, moviegoers may get in the weeds during the denouement. Sorry, fans-no “Predator” references here.
After “Priscilla” (2023), “Civil War” (2024) and this latest installment in the “Alien” franchise, Cailee Spaeny is on a roll without getting typecast. This time, she plays a young orphan woman who is protective of her big brother, Andy (David Jonsson), who is not as capable of taking care of himself in the rough streets of the colony. Alvarez seems to not only be using the visual language of “Alien,” but Ridley Scott’s other classic, “Blade Runner” (1982), to depict a tenebrous, disease-ridden mining planet with no sun visible from the surface and a high death rate. Eager to escape, despite their best judgment, they join forces with Rain’s love interest, Tyler (Archie Renaux), the hunk of the group. Navarro (Aileen Wu) is the pilot, and Wu has a dangerous charismatic vibe like Angelina Jolie. Bjorn (Spike Fearn) bullies Andy. Tyler’s sister, Kay (Isabela Merced), is hiding the smallest and newest member of the crew. At the beginning of “Alien: Romulus,” because each character has different accents, it takes a while to get your ear tuned to what they are saying. It is not the sound quality. There are some creative cameos, and one of them rises to supporting character status. While Alvarez primarily used practical effects, the use of special effects made the uncanny valley effect enhance the story.
Without spoiling too much, imagine if “Don’t Breathe” (2016) was set in space. There are more young, dumb people including a sister trying to save herself yet still compelled to save her sibling. Instead of a blind man trying to impregnate you, it is face huggers and the usual suspects if you have watched the franchise. It is essentially a heist movie gone wrong. Half the fun of “Alien: Romulus” is that it is easy to root against most of these characters for their complete stupidity and youthful hubris, especially since they are just as likely to die of natural causes as xenomorphs. Alvarez and his cowriter Rodo Sayagues set up worst-case scenarios then deliver on showing what would happen if they delivered on the threat. Chekhov would love these two. Alvarez leans into the body horror of it: rape, pregnancy, vagina dentata.
If “Alien: Romulus” has a drawback, it could have been meaner to its characters. One of our new characters is actually synthetic. Everyone on screen knows it, but not the moviegoers; however, the unfolding disaster on Romulus sparks a change in it. It is a delicious development that will make the actor playing the synthetic seem as indomitable an actor as Ian Holm, Lance Henriksen and Michael Fassbender. Those are some big shoes to fill, and they fit quite nicely on this player. It was the first time that I was kind of rooting for the artificial person because it had more sense than any other character. Also while more human, it felt as if Alvarez also borrowed some moves from James Cameron’s “Terminator” franchise in the way that it moved. The physicality of this character is so effective, especially considering no special effects are used, it is all the actor. Like the replicants in “Blade Runner,” Alvarez seemed to create a synthetic society. Unlike the replicants, these artificial people have a sense of history and hierarchy that the human beings are ignorant of. Alvarez also injects a societal subtext of prejudice that works on multiple layers, especially considering what makes this character feel safe or dangerous, which speaks to our own biases. Ultimately Alvarez pulls punches and does not decide to explore the furthest corners of this story’s implications because the protagonist is Rain, and if this character was allowed to run wild, it would result in upstaging. It also is a missed opportunity because in terms of predictability, there have not been surprises regarding which character would survive after Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley survived the first film. It is usually the sensible brunette whereas this android would have flipped the script.
Romulus’ interior is like another character. 2024 has been big on spider movies with the mid Australian film “Sting” (2024) and the standout French film “Infested” (2024). “Alien: Romulus” is closer to the latter. The infestation feeling never quits from teams of face huggers chasing the scavengers to xenomorphs’ nests lining the halls. Alvarez hired the special effects crew from “Aliens” (1986) to work on his film, but also expect for a lot of the technology, especially Mother, from “Alien” to play a pivotal role throughout the film. It is amazing how Alvarez manages to have his film meet the slick standards of contemporary times while still feeling authentically vintage.
This film reveals more about how the aliens operate for those into the trivia of the franchise. There are some new additions to the mythology, which is breadcrumbed throughout the narrative before the whole loaf comes out of the oven during the denouement so pay attention to the dialogue. Let’s just say I had flashbacks to “Ghost Story” (1981).
Detractors will say there is nothing truly new here, but if you are tired of going back to the well, you would have quit this franchise a long time ago. For the die-hard fans who cannot get enough, “Alien: Romulus” sticks the landing by not forgetting its working-class beating heart and a ruthless corporation that does not value life. It does feel as if the characters have known each other for a long time and had to take care of each other, largely free of adult supervision as their parents succumbed to the life of the mines. Just being denied the ability to see the sun and essentially living in a company town with a never-ending debt to repay, it is essentially a story of the enslaved trying to even the odds, and their act of rebellion ultimately still serves the company bottom line, which defies self-preservation and logic.
Alvarez managed to do what Ridley Scott has not since “Alien” while simultaneously alluding to one of Cameron’s greatest hits. He managed to remain faithful to the source material, embrace the new mythology without losing sight of the original Dan O’Bannon story then confidently fitting his film into the overarching franchise. Though he does not shamelessly tease a sequel and offers an ending, it feels as if “Alien: Romulus” is not the last film, and I’m here for it. I got startled at a few jump scares, laughed quite a bit and got invested in instead of disgusted with the story—a tall order for a fan who thought “Prometheus” was barely related to the original.
