Pulse-Pounding ‘Alien: Romulus’ Drips Terror While Homaging an Entire Franchise

Alci Rengifo

This summer of nostalgia continues with “Alien: Romulus,” another sort of sequel that simultaneously functions as a reboot and tribute to a classic franchise. That franchise is, of course, the one begun by Ridley Scott with 1979’s “Alien.” Several movies and decades later, director Fede Alvarez tries to pack enough winks, homages, references and story threads to the past six movies (if you exclude the derided “Alien vs. Predator” sub-franchise) and comes out with an exhaustive, undeniably entertaining action extravaganza. Inevitably, some of the original magic of the originals gets lost in the rush. Taken on its own, it is well-crafted popcorn suspense, told with atmosphere and nerve-splitting pacing.

Alvarez pulls off that common trick of finding space in-between the previous movies. The story is set between “Alien” and its equally classic sequel, James Cameron’s “Aliens.” Rain (Cailee Spaeny) lives on a planet where there’s no sunshine, working for the brutal mines run by the series’ infamous the Company. Her constant companion is Andy (David Jonsson), a synthetic programmed to watch over her. When Rain discovers the Company is going to make her work even more years than she originally thought, she sees a possible way out through fellow downtrodden friends. Tyler (Archie Renaux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Navarro (Aileen Wu), are planning to board a mysterious vessel hovering above the planet, take its cryo pods and fly to another corner of space in blissful hibernation. Once they board the ship, named Romulus, well, longtime “Alien” fans can guess the rest…

When Cameron’s “Aliens” premiered in 1986, Roger Ebert walked out of the theater wrung out and described the experience as, “it’s like being on some kind of hair-raising carnival ride that never stops.” At the time it was quite a departure from Scott’s original, which is a brilliant, eerie slow burner dependent on shadows and the sensation of the famous xenomorph alien prowling in corners. It also established Sigourney Weaver as the template for strong female action leads. “Alien: Romulus” drinks a Red Bull and smashes together Scott’s atmosphere with Cameron’s technical craft. Scott’s previous, very good entries, “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” were deemed too philosophical and wordy by some crowds. Alvarez tosses out philosophy for breakneck suspense, while still managing some grotesque allegories. 

In a way, Alvarez is also following his own formula. His best known films, “Don’t Breathe” and a reboot of “Evil Dead,” are basically horror thrillers about entrapment. “Romulus” stays within the ship of the title, turning it into a vast maze of threats. Our heroes find abandoned labs with flickering light, obviously having contained some sort of oozing lifeforms. The stunning production design nods at “Alien,” with computer screens that look unevolved since the ‘80s. Flooded pathways become pools for the parasitic facehuggers to swim through. There’s real grandeur in the cosmic imagery as well. Cinematographer Galo Olivares gives everything a baroque look, allowing disgusting horrors to slowly emerge from darkness. Composer Benjamin Wallfisch doesn’t go for the typical synth sounds now common in sci-fi films, preferring a big orchestral score reminiscent of Jerry Goldsmith’s original work in the series.

The cast is a strong selection, though more teenage-looking than their predecessors. “Romulus” sometimes looks like the bloodiest young adult thriller of all time. The best are Cailee Spaeny of “Priscilla” and “Civil War” as a more vulnerable, anxiety-prone take on the “Alien” hero, and David Jonsson as the synthetic Andy. Everyone knows you can’t trust a synthetic in these movies but Andy is written with layered conflict. Once on the Romulus, his directives suddenly change after a reboot and his once friendly visage takes on a more direct, almost ominous tone. That damn Company always wants some sample or specimen from the xenomorphs or facehuggers. Another synthetic from the past makes an appearance, Rook, from “Alien.” It would be fun to say he’s once again played by Ian Holm, but a more accurate description would be a terribly digitally deaged version of Holm’s torso. It’s the one special effect in the movie that just doesn’t convince.

It’s an easy feature to look over since “Romulus” becomes all about running for your life. After a slow burner first act, the movie does become a hair-raising carnival ride. The queue tends to be a xenomorph bursting out of someone’s chest and so it is here. Alvarez takes the subtle scares of the franchise and ratchets them up. Facehuggers now swarm and take over hallways. How they implant the alien larvae into a victim is now clarified with a much grosser extension of its design. Xenomorphs drop from ceilings, crawl over railings and impale from a distance, all the while dripping acid blood if shot. Alvarez finds space to still nod with a few shots at David Fincher’s “Alien 3,” still much discussed for its divisive script but generally acknowledged impressive visuals. No inch of this ship provides a relief. It’s astounding no one passes out. When a character reveals something physical about themselves, it’s more of an alarm that something truly awful is going to happen to them by the end of the movie. 

What creature feature fans will truly appreciate is the way Alvarez cheerfully pushes to an extreme this franchise’s prime selling point. The great human phobia “Alien” movies always utilize is a natural fear of something invading our bodies. Here, Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayague seem to be following the lead of “The First Omen” and also use the plot as a visual allegory on the terrors of motherhood. Nothing reaches the level of intensity from the infamous self-surgery scene in “Prometheus,” but Alvarez still stages a few squirming moments like a xenomorph emerging from some vaginal pod, and a birth scene in the third act that goes somewhere wildly unexpected. It’s very effective because the film also retains an organic quality. CGI is obviously used in many of the action sequences, yet for most of its running time, what we see onscreen looks real and plausible.

It goes without saying that “Romulus” ends with enough room for a sequel. Out of all the franchises that keep being endlessly revived, the “Alien” movies, from the best to the weakest, retain a primal understanding of fear. When they get wonderfully intellectual, as with Michael Fassbender’s fascistic synthetic in “Alien: Covenant,” the richer layers are still a bonus next to the raw terror of the ultimate parasite destroying you. Alvarez is clearly more interested in the scares and adrenaline, which he and crew do quite well. By the time the blaring alarm of a ship sounds over the final shot, a lot of the audience may very well be tired out. But that’s what summertime is for at the movies. “Alien: Romulus” is pure popcorn entertainment and a roller coaster, but pulled off with the kind of craft that doesn’t make it insulting. Now we wait for the next one, because you know the alien spawn never dies.

“Alien: Romulus” releases Aug. 16 in theaters nationwide.