de facto film reviews 3 stars

Ridley Scott’s original 1979 masterpiece Alien not only birthed a larger subgenre of horror, but has since launched a major Hollywood franchise. Blessing cinema with an all-time great leading heroine in Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, and introducing the world to possibly the most iconic alien design ever put to celluloid; the Xenomorph. In 2012, Scott returned to the franchise to explore more philosophical ideas sandwiched in between thrilling, nihilistic sci-fi adventures. After those films, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, were met with divisive reactions and underwhelming box office returns, we now have a new take on the franchise, which succeeds at vividly bringing the world of Alien back to life.

Courtesy 20th Century Studios

Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, we follow Rain (Cailee Spaeny) who lives on Jackson Star, an impoverished mining colony that hasn’t seen sunlight in ages, slaving away for the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Living with her with her “brother” Andy (David Jonsson), a gentle, soft-spoken derelict synthetic android whose sole purpose is to protect her, Rain discovers her work contract has just been unceremoniously extended another decade. Seeking to find a better life on the distant farming planet of Yvaga, she’s offered a chance to leave Jackson Star by her friend Tyler (Archie Renaux), his sister Kay (Isabella Merced), the hard-nosed Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and pilot Navarro (Aileen Wu). Their plan is to fly up to a seemingly abandoned Weyland-Yutani ship and scrap it for parts, namely the cryosleep pods as Yvaga’s destination is nine years away. Once the group of friends arrive on the ship, they discover the aftermath of a massacre, not dissimilar to the events of the first film, finding the ship filled with facehuggers and the iconic Xenomorph.

Director Fede Alvarez, who successfully breathed new life into the Evil Dead franchise with his distinctly horrific remake and created a terrifying thrill ride in Don’t Breathe, is a great fit for the franchise. Whereas Ridley Scott’s 2017 Alien: Covenant had the unfortunate task of minding the gap between serving as a Prometheus sequel and a straight-up Alien film, Romulus takes a more straightforward approach, working as a contained Alien film that calls back to the originals. Taking the haunted house structure and visual style of Scott’s original 1979 film with flashes of James Cameron’s action-oriented Aliens, Alvarez carves out his own distinct approach to filmmaking. Alvarez blends his skilled usage of tension with grindhouse sensibilities to craft many stellar, imaginative set pieces.

Similar to his Don’t Breathe, there is a tense sequence of characters forced to stay silent in order to move past a room full of facehuggers. The real kick though, to mask their body temperatures, the room’s heat is cranked up and any flourish of sweat or goosebumps will set the creatures off. It’s a simple, but mightily effective scene. Alvarez uses zero gravity to the maximal effect, including a show-stopping sequence involving characters having to float around a room full of acidic Xenomorph blood.

The filmmaker relishes in pressure-cooker tension, which sometimes reaches near-unbearable heights. His use of silence is masterful, allowing the detailed sound design to speak for itself without continuously drowning it out with a wailing score. Alvarez, who has a sincere sicko edge, leans fully into exploitation territory in the final act. This is also where the film has its lion’s share of original ideas. A refreshing change of pace, Alvarez goes full-on loopy in the final 20-or-so minutes consisting of sick body horror, nasty violence and disturbing moral implications. Before the wild final reel, Alvarez seems to frustratingly hold back on the gore in an attempt to ape Scott’s less-is-more approach to the violence in his initial film. While that film was consistent with its approach to viscera, here it comes across as uneven, especially given the bouts of gore he throws at the screen in a specific moment.

Courtesy 20th Century Studios

Enough cannot be said about the deliberate creative decision to harken back to the style of the first film, utilizing as many in-camera effects as possible. Rarely has a modern studio horror film looked this tactile and hand-crafted. The industrial production design feels ripped straight out of the 1979 original. Alvarez’s grungy aesthetics further add to the eerie atmosphere of the film, with richly textured cinematography by photographer Galo Olivares (Gretel & Hansel). Some of the film’s most beautiful shots are employed at the most horrific moments. The tangibility in the practical effects works wonders to create an immediacy to the on-screen terror. When a chestburster finally emerging from a chest cavity, you can feel the sternum cracking and the small beast emerge from the broken bones. The heavy amounts of slimy fluids dripping from the Xenomorph’s mouth is sticky and flicks onto characters faces.

The digital work is seamlessly merged with the puppeteering and sets, creating a limitless cinematic canvass. HR Giger’s design of the Xenomorph is arguably the greatest creature design in all of cinema, which Alvarez photographs with equal terror and grace. Capturing the majesty of the design with the horror of its animalistic instincts, Álvarez we understand why this creature is so damn scary. Most importantly, he knows exactly how to make it scary. Simply put, the creature hasn’t looked this good in decades. In gathering many of the original fx companies that have worked on these films decades ago, the puppeteering work is a sight to behold. From the rigid-moving facehuggers and towering Xenomorph; it’s inspired work.

Romulus’ fresh-faced cast is also well-assembled. Cailee Spaeny, so terrific in last year’s Priscilla, conveys an effortless gravitas that makes her Ripley stand-in feel like a solid addition. It’s Jonsson’s Andy who steals the show, however. It’s a rather remarkable performance having to play two differing personas of Andy. The sweet, gentle synthetic we initially meet is altered into a cold, calculated android when he’s given a hard drive upgrade with updated instructions.

The film’s most egregious setbacks stem from whenever it tries to be a legacy sequel to the original. Attempts at fan service reek of the worst elements from recent Star Wars prequels, Rogue One and Solo. This does involve reviving a character from the original, played by a now-deceased actor. Given the character and the setting, it wild be easily acceptable to use an animatronic or look-alike actor. Instead, we are burdened with seeing a fake-looking digital artifice, which never feels believable. It detracts from an otherwise tangible-looking and feeling film. Some easter eggs are clever and feel inspired, such as original sound cues and the opening credits which use the original Alien text font. However, we’ll still get a groan-inducing delivery of an iconic line for no reason other than to score brownie points with fanboys.

Courtesy 20th Century Studios

Apart from the climax, we’re largely hitting the same beats from the original two films. Ultimately, it works to a degree, but there is a whiff of playing the hits here. Still, Alien: Romulus is a spooky and eventually downright nasty treat. Its palpable sense of terror comes from Álvarez’s remarkable direction, the iconic creatures, usage of practical sets and effects work. It lacks the ambition of the more notable installments, but this a thrilling journey, nevertheless.

Alien: Romulus is now playing in theaters.