The 2024 science fiction film Alien Romulus feels a bit like “A Girl and Her Droid.” Not a double act exactly, but the new Ripley’s “brother” Eddie looks after Rain, it is his directive. However, this tightly bonded duo come unstuck when things get tough.
Based on the original characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, with a screenplay from Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues Alien Romulus, for all the slow buildup, cracks on. Sort of like Zack Snyder’s remake of the Romero classic Dawn of the Dead, Alien Romulus moves along at almost breakneck speed.
From the incubation period to the external threat of the colony’s belt, things move like they have been injected with steroids.
This makes for a very entertaining film.
The story
Rain and her android; Andy are set to leave the mining/terraforming colony they have been inhabiting to pay off her debt. The corporation, however, decides to add time to her debt repayment. She and her droid then get a call from friends. They tell her there is another way to leave the colony.
They have found an outpost with cryopods and they need these to escape the colony. The disparate group head to the vessel.
The Cast
Cailee Spaeny is Rain.
David Jonsson is Eddie.
Archie Renaux is Tyler.
Isabela Merced is Kay.
Spike Fearn is Bjorn.
Aileen Wu is Navarro.
The AI version of Ian Holm is Science Officer Rook.
Xenomorphs are scary
The monsters in Alien Romulus are downright scary. They have always been terrifying, from the very first film in the franchise. Alien, where the real Ian Holm plays Ash, the non people friendly Science Officer android, was and still is, truly frightening.
Aliens amped things up brilliantly where the threat of multiple xenomorphs racing to incubate the humans attempting the rescue of a terraforming colony. “Game over man, game over,” shouts Bill Paxton‘s space marine. Any one of the three survivors could have shouted the same, when the little creatures scuttle with scary speed to incubate them.
Things that work
David Jonsson should get an Oscar nod for his work here. My first introduction to Jonsson was in the superior redux of the Agatha Christie murder mystery Murder is Easy. His performance alone is worth the price of admission.
Spaeny as Rain, aka the new Ripley, is another one who should get an award nod here. She really knocks this one out of the park.
The walkway scene in Alien Romulus, toward the end of the film, is a nod and wink to Aliens. They amp things up and add a splendid twist to the whole thing. It works brilliantly.
But homage moments aside, the entire film is an exercise in how to engage the audience. Tension, suspense, a sense of foreboding that overrides everything and a tight screenplay marks this one as a superior sci fi/horror treat.
The taut direction and meticulous camera work also helps to make this one thrum like a tight guitar string.
*Ultimate payoff moment: Eddie, “Get away from her. Bitch.”*
Things that do not work
First and foremost? The inclusion of the AI Ian Holm. It jars. Just as the CG faceswap of Peter Cushing in Star Wars: The New Hope did. I am sure that as our capabilities increase, the recreated computer versions of late actors will improve. Losing that undeniably shaky and somewhat vacant versions of the real thing.
It may help.
The score, also jars. Especially when they discover the xenomorphs. It is all haunted house chorus. The “oooooh” vocals feel out of place and took me right out of the moment. These type of sounds belong to a ghost type film, not a space thriller/horror.
Behind the Camera
Fede Alvarez, who also co-wrote the screenplay, has a good grasp on what makes the franchise work. He has a meticulous eye for detail that impresses. Director of photography Galo Olivares, along with editor Jake Roberts make each frame snap. Naaman Marshall with his production design and the rest of the art team make this a visual treat.
The stunt choreography is top notch and the VFX works brilliantly.
In essence, the visuals alone enough to make this one work.
The Verdict
Alien Romulus earns a 4.5 stars. It loses .5 of a star just for that Ian Holm CG creation. That really bothered me and threw me right out of the moment. It is streaming on Hulu right now. Go and check it out.
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