Image Credits: “Alien: Romulus” (2024) Movie Poster via IMDb
I can’t remember the last time I felt genuinely excited to see a movie on the big screen. My movie theater experiences have all followed the same sequence of events: I’m excited for the movie, I enter the theater with high expectations and finally I suffer through 90 minutes of boredom interspersed with my own frustrated sighs at Studio Trite decisions. But in an industry where art intersects with business, this is a common experience.
A movie experience like this can also be a warning of the dangers of overhyping a film. To a skeptical movie-goer, the grandiose marketing for “Alien: Romulus,” the ninth installment in the “Alien” franchise, should ideally be cause for suspicion. The film’s trailers and teasers do everything right. They showcase its key cinematic strengths — stunning visuals, convincing special effects and burning suspense — while being careful not to reveal too much. Even the director of the original 1979 horror classic, Ridley Scott, has given “Romulus” his seal of approval. All of this could reasonably be seen as a too-good-to-be-true prelude to a movie which could easily disappoint audiences and fans.
This is exactly what I had to tell myself when my friends and I approached the viewing room for our 10:15 p.m. show on opening night. As we watched crowds of people exiting, they displayed a range of expressions on their faces: some seemed unamused, while others only thinly concealed a look of shock. Simply from reading the faces of movie-goers, it was evident that everyone had strong opinions of “Romulus,” whether good or bad. As for the three of us, I’m happy to say that we exited the theater pleasantly surprised and genuinely exhilarated — and admittedly shocked by the third act.
I’ve been a fan of the “Alien” movies since I was 11 — probably a terrible age for someone to be introduced to a monster as morbid as the “Xenomorph.” I remember watching infamous scenes like the “chestburster” scene in the original “Alien” and being equal parts traumatized and morbidly curious. I remember being terrified of the Xenomorph most out of all the movie monsters I had seen. Its appearance is undeniably chilling: both bug-like and demonic, disgusting and beautiful in equal measure.
I fell in love with nearly every other aspect of the film as well as its 1986 sequel “Aliens.” The set design of the ships and natural environments were both futuristic and dirty, the characters were authentic and logical and the tension was executed flawlessly. Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley became one of my favorite movie performances. As I grew older, I also began to recognize that “Alien” — far from just being a slasher movie in space — explored a lot of deeper themes: the fear of sexual violence, capitalist exploitation and the origins of intelligent life. The “Alien” franchise has always had great depth and sensational horror, making it widely appealing as well as impactful.
Sequels in the “Alien” franchise have long struggled to live up to the excellence of the first two films, vacillating between mediocre and completely unsalvageable. To be fair, it’s a high bar. The franchise has been a testing ground for the creative visions of many talented directors, from Ridley Scott to David Fincher. But while some sequels attempted to expand the mythology of the films, like 2012’s “Prometheus,” others have felt like cash-grabs and popcorn flicks — the “Alien vs. Predator” movies, for example.
In directing “Alien: Romulus,” director Fede Álvarez fulfilled most of my high expectations and created a film which lands near the top of my personal ranking. Watching this movie, not once was I bored. Álvarez takes audiences on a journey of emotion that carries such momentum and unrelenting energy. The things that “Romulus” does well are done so well that it becomes possible to forgive its shortcomings.
One of the key selling points of the film is its use of practical effects over CGI. In previous “Alien” sequels, bad special effects have done nothing but take viewers like me out of the experience. Nothing can ruin a horror movie more than looking at a monster and easily identifying it as an actor in a suit or a poorly-rendered computer effect. In “Romulus,” however, every creature on screen looks fantastic. “Facehuggers” were operated via remote control, Xenomorphs were created using real animatronics and every creature is covered in disgusting fluids. To achieve these impressive effects, Álvarez brought back the special effects team from James Cameron’s “Aliens,” which notably used complex animatronics and puppetry to bring creatures like the Xenomorph Queen to life. No doubt, convincing special effects pay dividends to creating effective horror, both in getting reactions out of the audience and in instilling real fear in the actors on screen.
The cast of “Alien: Romulus” do a great job despite some of their characters lacking proper depth. Some deaths in the film simply fail to carry any emotional weight, yet this is made up for with convincing practical effects and good performances. The film does well in developing two characters in particular: Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson respectively. The two characters’ dynamic is very interesting, with Andy — a synthetic human — acting as a brotherly figure who was programmed by Rain’s father to protect her. Other characters can often feel like alien fodder, however, with no proper development or personality.
Another weak area for “Romulus” is its plot, which mirrors the story of the original film very closely: low-level workers discover a derelict spacecraft, stumble upon a dangerous alien species and subsequently fight for survival while being picked off one-by-one. Many fans have felt frustrated by what has been seen as a lack of originality in the film’s writing and concepts, with some comparing it to “The Force Awakens” and how that movie served only to reintroduce the “Star Wars” franchise to younger audiences instead of offering new ideas. And to be sure, “Romulus’” constant callbacks to previous films don’t do much to help it beat allegations of unoriginality. Yet, I think this criticism misses the mark. If you go to this film expecting new ideas, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you approach this movie for great action sequences and pure entertainment, it won’t disappoint you.
Ironically, the most divisive part of this movie is the only part which introduces new ideas: the third act. The third act of “Alien: Romulus” explores cosmic horror in a way no other film in the franchise has so far. And while I won’t spoil it, it could easily be seen by some viewers as both repulsive and ridiculous, and by others as perfect horror. As with all films, it depends on who you ask.
Overall, I found “Alien: Romulus” to be a very enjoyable experience. For me, it is undoubtedly one of the strongest installments in the franchise since the 1980s.
Josh Czaja is a second-year Political Science major. JC1029473@wcupa.edu