ALIEN ROMULUS Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Fede Alvarez
Stars: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Aileen Wu, Isabele Merced, Spike Fearn, Ian Holm.
Alien Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise that began way back in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s superb fusion of sci-fi and horror. It is a legacy sequel that pays lip service to the original films.
The film is set in the year 2142 and opens on the remote mining planet of LV-426, a grey and dirty dystopian world with its filthy atmosphere, pollution, little light and a grim environment. The company that runs the mines controls all aspects of life on the planet, and life is hard. A group of young adults, however, dream of fleeing this benighted world and heading to another planet which could provide them with a better future. The planet, however, will take nine years to reach and it seems like an impossible journey without certain specialised equipment that would allow them to survive.
Tyler (Archie Renaux, from Morbius, etc) learns that a derelict space station that has come near LV-426’s orbit contains the necessary cryostasis sleep chambers that they will need to complete the journey. He enlists the help of Navarro (Aileen Wu, in her film debut), a pilot, to fly the craft. He also brings along his pregnant sister Kay (Isabele Merced, from Madame Web, etc), his cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn, from the Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black, etc). But, realising that he needs the help of a “synthetic human” in order to access the station he approaches Andy (David Jonsson, from tv series Industry in his first major film role). Andy has been assigned to Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny, recently seen in Civil War and the biopic Priscilla, etc), an orphan and mine worker. But when they reach the derelict and abandoned Renaissance spaceship they discover something nasty and more terrifying also lives aboard the ship. Thus begins a battle for survival.
This new film in the series falls somewhere between the original film and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel in the timeline, and it plays out more like a horror film and the narrative is filled with many of the tropes of the genre. Not surprising, given director Fede Alvarez’s background in claustrophobic horror films like Don’t Breathe. Alvarez, who co-wrote the script with frequent collaborator Rudo Sayagues, brings a similar claustrophobic feel to this film, aided by the superb but gloomy production design. Alvarez has deliberately used many of the special effects technicians who worked on Aliens to ensure that the physical sets and environment and creature effects resemble the earlier films. The gloomy and darkly lit interiors are shot by cinematographer Galo Olivares (Roma, etc) who uses shadows to effectively create a menacing mood. Benjamin Wallfisch’s dramatic, haunting and doom laden score enhances the unsettling mood. But the soundscape at times proves a little overwhelming and some of the dialogue is lost in the mix and in some scenes is almost inaudible.
Alien Romulus pays homage to the films in the series and there are lots of little nods to them through the industrial like production design from Naaman Marshall (Mortal Kombat, etc) which replicates much of the interiors designs from those films and its aesthetic. Alvarez also reworks many of the beats from those other films as the human characters race through the spaceship trying to outrun the ferocious and predatory alien creatures. He includes an iconic line from Aliens, and replicates the chest bursting scene from the original with a visceral intensity.
Interestingly, he and his production team have used CGI, digital technology to bring back the late Ian Holm to play a synthetic android science officer named Rook, whose loyalties were divided between his human colleagues and loyalty to the company and its mission. Holm’s likeness is created through advanced animatronics.
The alien creatures here though are much more terrifying than in the original film and we see lots more of them. Alien Romulus is not for the squeamish. There are lots of fast-moving crablike creatures that scurry through the bowels of the ship and attack the humans. Some moments are truly scary with many jump scares.
Spaeny makes for a spunky, resilient and resourceful heroine here, a pint-sized equivalent of Sigourney Weaver’s heroic Ripley from the earlier films, and she throws herself into the physicality of the role. Jonsson is strong as the protective Andy, and his bond with Rain gives the material its emotional heft. A digitally enhanced Holm brings a hint of menace to his performance. But the audience doesn’t really empathise with the bulk of the characters here, many of whom are one-dimensional and thinly drawn, and played by a largely unknown cast.
With its striking visuals and intense narrative, Alien Romulus reignites the series. This is an exciting and gripping addition to the lore of the Alien franchise, and it is one of the better films in the series.
★★★☆
