Director: Fede Álvarez
Release Date: August 16, 2024
MPAA Rating: R
My Rating: B+
Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus reintroduces the terrifying Xenomorphs to a new generation, delivering a claustrophobic horror experience that echoes the haunting atmosphere of Ridley Scott’s original classic while pushing the franchise into darker territory. This movie has taken viewers by surprise as they entered the theater with low expectations and came out the theaters trembling. With call backs to the previous movies combined with scary scenes, people have given this movie great reviews. The cinematography and visuals in the movie have helped the movie gain $41.5 million on its opening weekend.
“I thought it was really good, and I liked the call backs to the earlier movies, and I like how they expanded their scope on what they could achieve with an alien movie,” sophomore Andres Calvo said.
The film’s plot centers around three pairs of siblings, Rain, Andy, Tyler and Kay, along with two others, as they try to survive the horrors within the station. Their mission involves retrieving valuable cryo fuel, but they soon discover that the station is infested with Xenomorphs. As the group navigates the station, they encounter deadly challenges, including Facehuggers and the blood thirsty Xenomorphs, leading to several harrowing escape attempts.
Rain, the film’s protagonist, is a determined and resourceful orphaned miner. She is joined by Andy, an android reprogrammed to be her surrogate brother, her ex-boyfriend Tyler, Tyler’s pregnant sister Kay and two others. The group must deal with not only the Xenomorphs but also a corrupt corporation wanting to use the Xenomorph’s biological material, known as Plagiarus Praepotens, to “perfect” humans.
“One of the most suspensful scenes in the movie was when the team first arrived to the station. The facehuggers were swimming in the water around some of the characters and I didn’t know when they were going to get attacked,” sophomore Christopher Clausing said.
The film starts with Rain, Andy and their friends arriving at Romulus, the abandoned station, to find cryo fuel, an important resource for their colony. As they arrive to the station, they quickly realize that they are not alone, but stranded with a horde of Xenomorphs. The first act introduces the central conflict of trying to survive against a nearly unstoppable alien.
The second act of the movie continues with a series of horrifying encounters with both Xenomorphs and Facehuggers. The team decides to split up to cover more ground, but that turns out to be a dangerous mistake. While Andy and Rain try to find an escape off the station, Tyler and Kay struggle to survive. Tensions rise as the team is slowly getting picked off by these aliens. The team’s situation worsens as they discover that using their weapons could cause the station’s hull to breach due to the Xenomorphs’ acidic blood, leading to explosive decompression. This causes them to find more creative ways to defend themselves. Meanwhile, Kay gets injured and soon after, gets cocooned by the Xenomorphs, leaving her critically injured.
The final 15 minutes of the movie is considered some of the most intense scenes in the Alien franchise history, as Rain and Andy rescue Kay from the cocoon, making them the final three survivors. The remainder of the team is on their way to escape and a severely injured Kay decides to inject herself with Plagiarus Praepotens in an attempt to survive. However, the injection mutates Kay as she proceeds to give birth to a human-Xenomorph hybrid, shown in very graphic fashion. The Offspring kills Kay and injures Andy forcing Rain to fight this hybrid alone. Rain quickly decides to disable the station’s gravity, allowing her to kill the Offspring without damaging the station’s hull.
“I thought that the Offspring added to the movies horror, as it was something that we hadn’t seen before, however there were points in the movie where it was more disgusting than scary,” sophomore Nathaniel Woods said.
The film ends with Rain putting Andy into a stasis chamber. She records a final log about their hopes of reaching Yvaga, a new colony, then enters the stasis chamber herself, leaving the audience on the edge of their seat and awaiting for the next movie that can complete the plot.
Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus is a great remake of the Alien franchise, blending the claustrophobic element from Scott’s original movies with a fresh, darker perspective. The film’s intense sequences have been loved by audiences, gaining positive reviews and a strong box office performance. With a strong narrative that balances suspense and horror, Alien: Romulus honors it roots. The chilling encounters, combined with spectacular cinematography, ensures this movie as one of the best movies in the Alien saga.
“I think that if they plan the remakes well and consider the community and the original story line and respect it, I think a remake can be good. That’s why this movie is well made,” sophomore Diego Llobell said.
