This time, it’s fun but lacking in tension.
Dir: Fede Alvarez
Tackling a sequel to one of the best loved horror films Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) is no mean feat. Fans like me have dutifully endured the bizarre Alien Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997) and watched Scott’s own more recent efforts through our fingers. When Fede Alvarez’s Romulus (2024) was announced, I was braced for further disappointment.
Encouragingly, the story begins in the space so beautifully drawn in Scott’s original. The unmistakable sounds of the computer system waking up raised the hairs on my neck as the camera peers down dimly lit, empty corridors. This ship is also on a retrieval mission and collects a lump of what looks like rock from the space debris of the ill-fated Nostromo, returning it to eager but obviously doomed scientists.
We find our heroine Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her ‘brother’, Andy the android (David Jonsson) on a sunless planet in an overcrowded mining colony. She and its inhabitants are enslaved by Weyland-Yutani Corp in seemingly unbreakable contracts, working in their mines. We learn Andy was salvaged by Rain’s father to be her companion and protector, but it is clear from his stammer and seizures that his days are numbered.
This existence seems so hopeless, it is no wonder Rain leaps at the opportunity to escape with her tech savvy friends. The gang appear to all have been orphaned by awful working conditions on the planet and believe the key to their freedom lies in an abandoned space station passing above them. To complete the break-in, they need Andy to interface with the security system so convince Rain to join them.
If Alien was a supernatural horror and Aliens a war film, then Alvarez has given us the first slasher in the franchise. The (presumably) teenagers trespass a haunted house looking for treasure but finding certain death. Once all hell does indeed break loose, I felt Romulus started to lose its way. Whilst Alvarez aligns his film closely with the aesthetic of its forebears, the quick escalation of the violence undermined the initial tension. When the gang are first beset by face-huggers, despite successfully detaching one from its victim, the unlucky individual swiftly produces a xenomorph then exits stage left without any hint of a last supper.
Apart from the devoted and broken Andy, I found the characters unsympathetic for the most part or not around long enough to form a bond. Aileen Wu’s pilot Navarro is charming but ultimately isn’t given much to do. Kay (Isabela Merced) is the damsel in constant distress, and it is clear early on that Bjorn (Spike Fern) is the unlikable wild card. As with most Friday the 13th installments, a disposable cast is there for our titillation.
Spaeny does a decent job as the reluctant leader, casting off all the soft edges of her last big role in Priscilla. She shares the action with Andy as they navigate through the pitfalls of narrow corridors full of blood thirsty parasites. One is programmed to be fearless whilst the other cannot afford the luxury — I was rooting for them to the end.
The kids are forced to traverse the hazard filled station, which is hurtling towards an asteroid belt, to retrieve their transport home. Andy devises a way they can pass through a room full of face-huggers undetected only for Tyler (Archie Renaux) to infuriatingly ruin this by taking a phone call from his hysterical sister Kay. It is a wonder Andy didn’t calculate sooner what a liability most of Rain’s friends were and jettison them all into space.
Homage lurches into parody at times when famous lines from Scott and Cameron’s early masterpieces are shoe-horned in. I did cringe when previously mild-mannered Andy half-heartedly stammers “Get away from her, you bitch.” after blowing an alien’s head off at close range. This was not only out of character but quite frankly naff.
Early on, doubts are heavily cast against Andy’s loyalties when android Rook, played unsettlingly (for all the reasons) by a CGI Ian Holm (RIP), briefs him on the mission in private. Macho Tyler teaches Rain how to operate a pulse rifle, with which he is inexplicably familiar. This over-egged the pudding for me and just reminded me of how great the other films were.
I’d love to know whether producer Scott insisted on the final monster, xenomorph/human hybrid in a desperate attempt to legitimise the mad landscape of Prometheus (2012). I suppose we should all just be grateful that Michael Fassbender’s David wasn’t included in the deal.
Perhaps my affection for both Alien and Aliens leaves me unable to give an objective opinion on Romulus. Whilst it won’t trouble the former films for the top spot in this franchise, it is an enjoyable two hours with a satisfying mix of action and nostalgia. I shall put my trepidation back in hypersleep until the release of Noah Hawley’s contribution — fingers crossed there will be no flutes in sight!
