In 1979, Ridley Scott‘s Alien traumatized unsuspecting audiences with its lack of adherence to traditional sci-fi norms and indulgence in abject body horror. Forty-five years later, the film is recognized as one of the best horror films ever made. In 1986, James Cameron delivered Aliens, an undisputed masterpiece that is recognized as one of the best sequels ever made. Since then, the Alien franchise continued on through multiple mediums while never quite reaching the heights of its building blocks. Like the Xenomorphs that inhabit its fictional universe, the franchise has sought out perfection through adaptation and evolution though it seems that too often, the creators behind each project seemingly selected the wrong traits to help their creations maintain the necessary fitness to survive in a changing world. Even Scott’s return to the franchise in 2012’s Prometheus and 2017’s Alien: Covenant, while being major improvements over the two poorly received sequels to Aliens, failed to provoke the same sense of awe as the franchise’s first two installments. It seemed, unfortunately, as though it might be time for the franchise to be jettisoned into the vacuum of space where, as the saying goes, no one can hear you scream. And then…Disney stepped in.
In 2019, as part of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney acquired the rights to the intellectual property of the Alien franchise. Despite some bogus online dramatics raising concern that Disney would somehow ruin the legacy of the franchise or crown Ellen Ripley and the Xenomorph Queen as Disney Princesses, the company chose to take its time developing the next installment, even as Scott hoped to push out a sequel to Alien: Covenant and complete his prequel trilogy. After a five-year gestational period, Alien: Romulus has emerged as the result of Disney’s careful curation of the property and it comes complete with the necessary components to put the Alien franchise back on its rightful throne.
Disney turned to horror director Fede Álvarez to not only bring Alien back to the big screen after a seven-year hiatus but also to reinvigorate the franchise for a new generation of moviegoers who may well not be familiar with previous installments. Scott’s work on Prometheus and Alien: Covenant may not have landed well because, in some sense, it was work the director was doing for himself to flesh out a mythology he had been building in his mind for over thirty years. While a third film in that prequel series may yet come to fruition, it also seems a little self-indulgent (and when you’re Ridley Scott that’s actually just fine) and/or made for longtime, hardcore fans of Alien; however, Disney probably saw the writing on the wall that a Covenant sequel was unlikely to attract new viewers or do big bucks at the box office and wisely set a new course for the property.
Alien: Romulus remarkably stands on its own legs as one of the best horror films in recent years while also serving as a gateway to the Alien franchise of newcomers and an installment worthy of admiration by longtime fans. There’s a reverence to the works of Scott, Cameron and others who have shepherded the franchise over the last forty-five years without feeling entirely derivative. AI: check. Jump scares: check. Body horror: check. But even while checking all the right boxes and channeling the past greatness of the franchise, Alien: Romulus goes further and does more by not being weighed down by connectivity and mythology. So while Álvarez clearly made choices to include echoes of the property’s predecessors, including lore from the video games and graphic novels, he also bravely laid out his own path by subverting an expectation here and there. The cumulative effect of those choices is a film that will shock you–even if it doesn’t surprise you–and could be rightfully said to challenge Alien and Aliens as a top-tier entry in the franchise.
While Ridley Scott certainly cannot be labeled as a “sci-fi director”, he did indeed set out to make a sci-fi film in Alien and in the making of that film, he measured out the right amount of horror to make a classic. Though he loves the Alien franchise as a fan, Álvarez clearly did not ask Scott if he could borrow his cookbook before directing Alien: Romulus. Álvarez is a horror director making a sci-fi film and masterfully uses every tool in his toolbox to create tension, trauma and horror. Alien: Romulus is viscerally grating and stunning. It is barbaric and sanguinary while also tapping into deeply rooted emotions by pushing the audience to the edge of what is comfortable and acceptable and then savagely crossing the line. Simply put: you are highly unlikely to walk out of the theater feeling really great about the human condition.
In addition to creating an incredible horror flick, Álvarez also deserves credit for making the much-talked-about decision to explore familiar territory with a young cast. One of the new turns Alien: Romulus takes is centering the story around a group of close friends who are among the many, many colonists the previous installments always talked about but never showed. The straightforward first act feels far less contrived than the openers of both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant while also feeling totally relatable: young folks being overworked and underpaid by a big company decide to head for greener pastures. And thus Cailee Spaeny‘s Rain, Isabel Merced‘s Kay and David Jonsson‘s wonderfully wonky synthetic, Andy, embark on a journey that none of them could have predicted. While you think you’ve seen this journey before–and again, in parts, there’s an intent by Álvarez to rhyme with what the audience expects and knows–Álvarez‘s horror chops make a familiar journey almost untenably uncomfortable. If there’s a better use of sound to create tension and distress, I’ve never seen it.
Akin to what Disney accomplished by redirecting the course of the dying Predator franchise with 2022’s Prey, Alien: Romulus gives new life to the Alien franchise. While it might not be quite the perfect organism, Alien: Romulus shows that the House of Mouse isn’t afraid to embrace the darkness of their 21st Century properties and provides a wonderful example of how the influence of iconic visionaries like Scott can inspire greatness in others. Fans becoming directors of their beloved franchises has proven dangerous in the past but Álvarez avoided those pitfalls here and created something that even the creator himself must have loved.
4 out of 4 stars and the best movie I’ve seen in 2024.
Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16th.
