“Alien: Romulus” was co-written & directed by Fede Alvarez and is the 9th film in the “Alien” franchise, which include the 2 spinoff films, “Alien Vs. Predator” and its sequel. The film is set between the original 1979 film & its 1986 sequel. The film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn & Aileen Wu. The original concept of this film was set to be directed by franchise head, Ridley Scott, but after Fox was purchased by Disney in 2019, Disney had decided to go in a different directed with the franchise. This film is more a spinoff rather than a direct sequel to Scott’s previous 2 films. Fede Alvarez was brought into direct & pitched the idea of a “Sci-Fi Horror” film that takes place within the “Alien” franchise.
In 2142, a space mission is sent out to investigate the wreckage of the spaceship, the USCSS Nostromo, (the voyager of the original film) however, the mission is ruled a failure after the rescue is never heard from again. Months later, a young group of miners plan to leave the planet and start a new life on another. Before they can head out, they plan refuge an abandoned ship along the way. The ship is divided into 2 separate spacecrafts, one for living quarters & the other for science experiments. The group consists of Rain (Spaeny) and her android, Andy (Jonsson), team lead, Tyler (Renaux), who is also Rain’s ex-boyfriend, Kay (Merced) Tyler’s younger sister, Bjorn (Fearn) Tyler & Kay’s cousin & their pilot, Navarro (Wu) Bjorn’s adopted sister. As the crew enter the lab part of the ship, they accidently deactivate the ship’s-controlled temperature which then causes the cryotubes containing these spider-like creatures to thaw. The crew is then attacked by the “face huggers” and must evacuate the ship. Navarro is attacked, impregnated & then killed by the creature. The crew realize that this ship was the rescue ship sent after the Nostromo. Rain & Andy also discover that something nefarious was going on aboard the ship. Now, the crew must figure out how to escape the ship while being stalked by the creature known as the Xenomorph, the perfect organism.
I’ve always been a big fan of the “Alien” franchise. All the films, with the exception of 1997’s “Alien: Resurrection”, have been great. I’ve enjoyed Fede Alvarez films as well, 2013’s “Evil Dead” remake & 2016’s “Don’t Breathe”. Seeing the franchise return to its horror roots & having Alvarez direct had my interest peaked. This was a wonderful film from beginning to end. It had a lot of callbacks to the other films in the franchise & as well as other horror films. Everything about this film was top notch from the writing, directing, acting, tone & setting. My only complaint with this film is a few minor CGI moments in the movie that occur towards the end. Other than that, this one of best movies of the year so far. It has all the makings of a standard haunted house film mixed in with a creature feature & in a science fiction setting. It has these 3 different elements woven together and blend perfectly & I haven’t seen a movie do that since the original “Scream”. It has all makings of a great sci-fi horror movie, much like 1979 original film.
Overall, this was a fantastic film from beginning to end & both in front of the camera as well as behind it. The film premiered in Los Angles on August 12, 2024, before hitting theaters nationwide on August 16th. The film was also presented at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in the U.K on August 15th. Fede Alvarez has expressed interest in a sequel, but no official word has been made from Alvarez or 20th Century Studios.