A terrifying return to form for the franchise.
The Alien franchise is one of those franchises that has a rocky history. The first two films, Alien and Aliens are bonafide science-fiction classics that still hold up today.
Almost everything entry after those two failed to leave a good lasting impression on audiences, to say the least. Not even joining forces with Predator (twice) could bring goodwill to the franchise again. Following Ridley Scott’s weak attempt to bring the franchise back with 2017’s Covenant, a fresh perspective could help. Now we have Romulus, which takes place between Alien and Aliens, to try and bring interest back to the franchise. At the helm of this spaceship of a film is Fede Alvarez of Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe. Will he bring the franchise to newer and fresher heights?
The year is 2142 and a group of space colonists are on a distant planet 65 light years away from Earth, desperate to get a transfer far away. When their transfers fall through, the colonists, along with an android named Andy (ha-ha), hijack a ship. Landing upon an abandoned space station, they go deep inside to search for cryogenic components. Unfortunately, they come across something even more risky and dangerous. It is something that lurks in the shadows, has acid for blood, and is looking to use it to harvest their eggs. Aliens! Facing potential death, the colonists must strategize a way to make it out of the station alive.
Alvarez is an expert when it comes to the gore and scares in his films, even when his films are mediocre. He also seems to understand that those elements, along with suspense and claustrophobia are what audiences love about Alien. For the most part, he does a great job of delivering on those elements in Romulus. Some scenes in this film are truly terrifying and evoke frights that come close to those of the first two films. Part of that is due to Alvarez holding off on showing the aliens too soon. The buildup of the aliens is what adds to the horror, and the less seen, the scarier. The first scene, just a simple quiet shot of the space station, is a great way to set the stage. It is chilling, ominous, and promises a horrifying sequence of events.
When that does come along, it is scary, bloody, and all around, a fun small-scale thrill ride that stays true to the spirit of the franchise. Part of that is due to the visuals, particularly the stupendously gory make-up. These range from the flap of skin on Andy containing his disc drive to the skin dissolved from acid. This is clearly where much of the budget, as well as the heart, went into the making of this film.
Also worthy of praise is the cinematography, which, while dark, does provide the right number of shadows needed for reveal. Alvarez and cinematographer Galo Olivares used clever strategies with the lighting to make some impactful visuals that stand out amongst many modern-day sci-fi films. Even the visual effects look tangible enough to make one wonder whether it is a green screen or a set. On a big screen, this film is a visual treat.
Another trait of Alvarez’s storytelling, unfortunately, is that his characters gradually become more unlikable as they speak. This is not the fault of the actors, as many of them, particularly Isabella Merced, are doing their best. The fault mainly lies in the writing and characterization, as only about half of them have well-realized backstories. Some relationships do not pay off in a satisfying way and just lead to more horror scenes involving the aliens. While some of these scares are great, there are a few that feel forced. It is in those moments where the weaker elements truly show their teeth, and we will get to that moment in a bit.
While the film manages to maintain its own identity for a while, it starts to falter when references start showing up. In fairness, aside from the style of setting, the references. One of the most famous lines of the franchise is quoted verbatim, and it was not a wise choice. It does not even come close to recreating the organic nature of the original and doesn’t even have its original quotes to balance things out. All it does is commit the same crime as Aliens vs. Predator Requiem did with “Get to the Choppa.” There are good ways to pay tribute to your predecessors without being too distracting. This film was doing just that before the “memberberries” kicked in!
Anyone who sees this film will immediately make comparisons to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It makes sense since they both are interquels that contain grand visuals and a sub-par story. There is one other reason why, and it unfortunately involves resurrecting a real-life deceased actor. Fans of the first film will almost immediately know the deceased actor in question, and their inclusion provides mixed results. On one hand, the character’s inclusion is logical, it continues to show the imperfections that come with animating real people. All one must do is look at the person’s teeth when the mouth is moving, and the digital imperfections will be impossible not to see. No other characters have digitally blurry mouths, not even the alien, so there is certainly more work to be done in that department.
In addition, as subpar as some of these lines of dialogue are, they are barely audible. Throughout the film, the music, sound effects, and background noise strangely overtakes the dialogue. It sounds truly muddled in Dolby Digital, where the bass is substantially turned up. So, anyone who does decide to go out and see this film is better off with a standard sound system. They say that in space, no one can hear you scream. Well, in this theater, I can’t exactly hear much of anything.
At the end of the day, does Alien Romulus bring the franchise to new heights? Well, when it is building up the suspense and delivering on gore, it is. When it is making callbacks to the previous films and entering the uncanny valley, no. It has a fantastic atmosphere, make-up, and choreography. It is also clear that tons of heart is put into the visual execution. If it had just given the characters more depth and the sound less, this probably would have been extra special. As it is, though, it is a worthy entry into the franchise, and certainly the best one since Aliens.
Fair warning, watch out for any face huggers in your dark theater!