[Nerdspresso] Alien: Romulus Honors Earlier Films with Fast, Creepy Thrills

Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of the best movies ever made. A visually stunning, paranoid, and intense sci-fi thriller was groundbreaking and terrifying in 1979…but I didn’t see it until about 10 years later. I was a little kid in 1979 and there was no way my parents were taking me to a graphic R-rated horror movie, even one with aliens and a cat named Jones. 

The TV commercial alone gave me the willies. Find it on YouTube and you tell me if it wouldn’t make you jump behind the sofa. The voiceover alone is super creepy with Mr. Ominous Voiceover Guy proclaiming “In space, no one can hear you scream.” Little Kid Me was not brave enough to watch that kind of movie. Back then, I liked my sci-fi a little more family friendly. 

By high school, I had grown bolder and watched some classic scary movies. Usually on HBO from the safety of my living room where I could cover my eyes during the horrible bits without anyone judging me. I must confess for a movie nerd, I was a bit of a wimp. By the summer of my junior year in high school, I had seen Aliens in the theater, but that movie always felt more like an action movie. Plus, my girlfriend took me and well…she protected me.

It was kinda weird that I saw the sequel before I saw the original. I still enjoyed this James Cameron movie. I mean, Ripley’s saga is not a complex narrative. And I must admit, Aliens got me curious about the first flick, but it was still a few more years before I summoned up the courage to experience the tale of the Nostromo and their unexpected stowaway. And I have Southpoint Access News founder and publisher Wes Platt to thank for it!

I was a sophomore taking a creative writing class and a film criticism class during the same semester. Wes was in both of these classes with me and in him I had found a kindred spirit. Nerd knows nerd. But Wes was more plugged in than me. He’d read all the Tolkien books in high school. He was doing a comic strip for the school paper about the adventures of a swashbuckling talking raccoon. Wes could quote the Monty Python movies from memory! I thought he was the coolest (still do)!

One day after class, we were talking about movies and I let slip that I’d never seen Alien. Wes would not let that affront to nerddom go unaddressed. We went straight to the video store to rent Alien and then swung by his house to watch it. I must admit that it was friggin’ mind blowing. My sci-fi consumption up until that time had been mostly Star Wars and Star Trek. While entertaining, it was a pretty sanitized intergalactic vision. Alien showed me a grimy, working-class world of space truckers. These folks weren’t fighting intergalactic civil war. They weren’t exploring the final frontier with a utopian vision. They were just trying to score a paycheck. 

And they ended up stumbling across the biggest, scariest, toothiest creature in the galaxy. They (and the audience) were unprepared for the impending carnage. Alien is a slasher movie in space with the creature just a stand-in for Michael Myers, but it’s iconic for so many reasons besides its genre busting. 

The story is tight and intense. The cast is brilliant and compelling. The music is haunting. The sets and effects are next level. Alien is a near-perfect movie and I still thank Wes to this day for introducing me to it. So if you ever doubt the intentions of Mr. Southpoint Access News, please don’t. This guy is the real deal. He just wants to share cool stuff with you. 

The success of this film begat Aliens, which ranks as one of the best sequels of all time. It pushed the premise of the original to the next level. Sequels are made to be enjoyed, but they often don’t age well. So many sequels are often just dressed-up retreads of the previous flick. Aliens is an exception. It took the monster from the first flick and amplified the threat by unleashing a whole legion of them on a troop of space marines. It is non-stop action but also further develops the Ripley character, giving her a full redemption arc. Aliens is an awesome sequel AND an awesome movie on its own.

A few years later, we got another sequel with Alien 3 (it was okay). Then Alien: Resurrection came along in 1997 (also okay), which was followed by a couple of Aliens vs. Predator movies. They were entertaining guilty pleasures, but I wouldn’t call them true sequels. They were fun diversions at best. Original director Ridley Scott re-entered the fray in 2012 with a prequel, Prometheus, to explain the origins of the xenomorphs. I didn’t realize that was a question anyone was asking, but okay. He followed that one with Alien: Covenant. Both of these prequels are polished but unpleasant. Like a long appointment with a fancy dentist. 

Now this saga has a new installment with the recently released Alien: Romulus. If you’ve watched all these flicks, you know that there is a loose connection that ties all of them together. It mostly has to do with the titular alien. Each movie functions like a new chapter but also does a decent job of standing on its own. If you haven’t seen any of these movies. all you need to know is there’s an alien and he’s very bitey. While this new movie doesn’t really break new ground, Alien: Romulus honors the original while giving us the best film since the first two flicks. 

As far as the timeline goes, Alien: Romulus resides about 20 years after the events of Alien and about 30 years before Aliens. This setting gives the movie an open path, free of any obstacles from the previous flicks. This movie introduces Rain (Cailee Spaeny from Civil War), an orphaned young woman slaving away on a mining colony with her “brother,” an artificial person named Andy that her late dad reprogrammed. He is played by David Jonsson (from HBO’s Industry ). Rain is eager to transfer to a farming planet and leave her dismal surroundings, but the “company” has her locked into a long-term contract. 

The first Alien movie was the antithesis of sci-fi flicks showcasing spotless futures full of gleaming spaceships and shiny heroes. The Nostromo from Alien was the ugly stepbrother of Star Trek’s Enterprise. It was dark and grungy, a working-class vision of the future. Alien: Romulus faithfully recreates this vibe, setting this story in a rundown industrial futurescape. You understand why Rain is eager to escape to the agricultural oasis with picturesque sunsets since she lives on a planet draped in perpetual darkness. 

Rain connects with her friends, all second-generation miners who have seen their parents slave their lives away for nothing. Tyler (Archie Renaux from Netflix’s Shadow and Bone), the leader of their gang, has discovered a chance at a new life for all of them. A derelict space station has drifted into their sector. Before it collides with a nearby asteroid belt, Tyler suggests they jet up there and salvage its tech. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, these young scavengers head to the stars to rendezvous with fate and this mysterious space station.

Once on the space station, our ragtag band sets out on their salvage mission. While searching for the craft, they stumble upon debris and dead bodies. Something has massacred the crew and disappeared. Having seen the previous Alien movies, we know what’s in store for our heroes. What happens next is perilous for these characters but a thrill ride for audiences. This new movie is a return to form for this franchise. It’s a course correction after two ambitious but obtuse prequels. This flick feels like a straight continuation of the first two movies and contains several satisfying homages to the entire franchise. There are a few bits of gratuitous fan service, but overall Aliens: Romulus succeeds on its own terms. 

Co-writer and Director Fede Alvarez also made Don’t Breathe, a horror movie about young people trapped in a big dark house with a menacing force. He has proven that he has the chops to helm an Alien movie. His choice to use a young cast injects some fresh energy here, but also reminds me of horror movies from the late nineties. Remember when Scream hit big with its lineup of nubile talent? Studios then cashed in with a plethora of horror flicks starring every fresh-faced thespian in Hollywood. 

There was I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, and Halloween H20, all trotting out up-and-comers like so much chum to bait bloodthirsty audiences. Seeing all these newbies made me a little cautious. I was concerned that we were going to get some slick reboot that only bore a sight resemblance to this legendary franchise. The filmmaker would capitalize on the appeal of the IP combined with the cast’s sex appeal and call it a day. This flimsy attempt would surely dissipate as soon as the closing credits faded. 

Thankfully, Alien Romulus doesn’t devolve into teenybopper mayhem. While the cast is quite younger than those in previous entries, they make this concept work. Spaeny acquaints herself well to the genre as does Jonsson. The bond between their characters is really the beating heart of this movie. The cast, including Renaux and Isabella Merced (from Madame Web, but let’s not hold that against her too much), leverage their youth to convey the dire consequences at hand. The stakes are high and these kids are definitely in over their heads. The performances are decent for the most part and the weak links here don’t last long. 

Alvarez has delivered a nailbiter that takes this series back to its roots. These movies have always been most effective as pulse-pounding cat-and-mouse games between a ferocious predator and their human prey. While Alien: Romulus adheres to a tried and true formula, it doesn’t feel like a retread. Alvarez is definitely a fan and he shares his love of the franchise with every frame of this movie. His film offers striking visuals, intense action, and an intrepid cast. 

In space, no one can hear you scream “When’s the sequel coming out?”

Southpoint Access is an ultra-local news service provided free of charge. We rely on subscribers and advertisers to support our ongoing work. Become a local hero today!