Title – Alien: Romulus (2024)

Director – Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe) 

Cast – Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced

Plot – A ragtag collection of lowly mine workers in deep space come across a decommissioned space station that could provide their means to a better life or the means to an early demise. 

“If you don’t stay quiet, we all die”

Review by Eddie on 16/08/2024

After years of disappointment for Alien fans that began all the way back in 1992 with Alien 3 and included recent duds Prometheus and Covenant, you’d be right to be cautious about looking forward to the latest addition in the long-standing horror/sci-fi series, Alien: Romulus.  

While in many regards and aspects sticking close to the Alien formula that Ridley Scott created with his genre defining 1979 original, director Fede Alvarez’s old school approach to his source material and ability to craft interesting human/non-human characters makes this new entry into the Alien series one of the surprise success stories of 2024. 

Honing his craft with the unexpectedly good Evil Dead remake and finding commercial success with Don’t Breathe, Alvarez appeared on paper to be a solid choice of director to try and give the Alien cinematic universe a well-needed boost and by milking every cent of his films reported $80 million dollar budget, Alvarez has created a living, breathing and atmospheric offering that provides a wonderfully cinematic experience that is deserving of the big screen treatment. 

Giving his film a chance to solidly establish itself in the first act, with a very Blade Runner feeling jumping off point on a remote mining colony and then some nice character beats where we are introduced to Cailee Spaeny’s (continuing on her fine breakout 2024) Rain and her artificial offsider Andy, played by Rye Lane breakout star David Jonsson, Romulus doesn’t rush proceedings as we take in all the elaborate sets and world building that is enhanced by Benjamin Wallfisch’s noteworthy score, Galo Olivares camera work and Naaman Marshall’s production design. 

The film’s relatively quiet start is reminiscent of its 1979 forefather as is the films intense and full force nature that comes into play when Rain, Andy and their compatriots discover that their quest to utilise a seemingly abandoned old space station may not in fact be the simple and bloodless affair they initially hoped for. 

The ride Romulus’s characters and audiences go on throughout its eventful two hour runtime is one that’s best left discovered by those watching without delving into in depth, as unfortunately some critics have already done in the hours after the films official release and while there’s going to be some fairly divisive opinions around some inclusion of past lore and happenings and a wild final act that really goes for broke, there’s no denying that this is an Alien experience that covers all bases you would expect to be visited from this name brand property. 

A refreshingly gritty genre mash-up that prioritises the practical over the convenient and an experience enhanced by two noteworthy central turns and a director whose love for the name is clear to see, Romulus may not be a new classic but its a classy and wildly fun thrill ride that showcases there’s life still left in the face-hugging world of zenomorphs and chest bursting. 

Final Say – 

A hugely enjoyable and well-made new Alien event that may be familiar but at the same time fresh and exciting, Alien: Romulus is a fine new entry into the brand that can sit up there just below Alien and Aliens. 

4 pairs of Reeboks out of 5