Alien Romulus movie review: Rekindling the Alien nightmare

Alien Romulus movie review

Film: Alien: Romulus
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, Rosie Ede, Soma Simon
Director: Fede Álvarez
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 119 min

Those who have experienced the Ridley Scott directed original that came out around 1979-80 may find this sequel a little tame. This may not be the ominous, dank, and dark spaceflight monster movie we were looking for but the writers and director do a good job of referencing James Cameron's space station sequel that launched the hunt.

There's nothing new here other than a group of youngsters resurrecting the follies of their elders. The 45 year old franchise's latest entry set between the first 2 Alien films, has a group of youngsters finding a derelict but functioning spaceship to escape from dying a miners death like their parents before them, in the ringed planet they call home. Along the way the scripting by Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, based on characters created by Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, introduces bits and pieces from Alien, Aliens, Resurrection, and Prometheus/Covenant.

Ringleader Tyler (Archie Renaux), his cousin, Bjorn (Spike Fearn), Rain (Cailee Spaeny), who cares for her late father's dilapidated android, Andy (David Jonsson), and a couple of others are part of the impromptu gang. We don't get to know much about them other than that they are struggling to cope with the tough conditions on their planet.

While scavenging the deep ends of what looks like the wreckage of the old derelict space station, the group of migrating young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe - yeah the very ones that Sigourney Weaver & allied company thought they had vanquished in several reboots, sequels and prequels that came before this. Despite the broad sketches, the film manages to give us a brief about the shared history that binds the group together. Harsh inhospitable conditions, hailstorms, rising temperatures, the emergence of new diseases every cycle and Weyland/Yukani Corp's ruthless exploitative ways have orphaned them all.

Director and co-writer Fede Alvarez obviously did not want to tweak the winning template much so he has re-engineered the set-up to include the group of fresh faced callow youngsters implausibly hurling into orbit to inevitably encounter the face-sucking toothy penis-headed monsters that still appear to exist on the recreated set of the 1986 "Aliens". The familiar linkages and references in terms of voices and resurrected characters are there to ground this effort.

Alvarez who rebooted "Evil Dead," and fashioned thrillers like "Don't Breathe" and the "Girl in the Spider's Web" remake manages to eke out some suspense out of re-imagined pursuits and defensive fights with the killer creatures. The recycling of old material including that of long-gone science officer Rook (the late Ian Holm) spurs on some nostalgia for those life-threatening moments that were experienced eons ago.

Alien: Romulus has some strong sequences generated from old-school practical effects and modern horror elements. The visuals are dark with flashlights as the main light source - very effective in enhancing the threat perception in confined dingy spaces. The gooey repulsiveness of a typical ‘Alien' experience is also quite emphatic here. Editor Jake Roberts manages to amplify tension and cinematographer Galo Olivares pins nostalgic value to the imagery. The gloomy atmosphere enhances the action set-pieces. While you may not get completely immersed in this struggle to find an escape route out of nowhere, there is enough worth here in terms of suspense, familiarity and empathetic resonance with Rain and Andy to keep you interested.