2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the revered Alien franchise. Ever since the first Alien movie directed by Ridley Scott premiered in 1979, science fiction horror has never been the same. That being said, the franchise arguably peaked early with its first two movies, and every subsequent movie has failed to reach the same heights (yes, not even Ridley Scott’s Prometheus in 2012 and the disappointing Alien Covenant in 2017). Thankfully, Fede Alvarez has brought life into the franchise once again.

Dead Space

Fede Alvarez is a veteran of horror movies (2013’s Evil Dead and 2016’s Don’t Breathe) and he’s brought that expertise and applied it to Alien Romulus, making it a thrilling and suspenseful experience. Alien Romulus feels like the closest and most authentic movie to the original Alien when it comes to atmosphere and tone. It feels like 80% of the movie owes itself to Ridley Scott’s Alien and perhaps 20% (or less) is Aliens. This is a return to form for the franchise, with an emphasis on horror and suspense once again, which is something that the other recent movies in the franchise have mostly lacked. That being said, this movie also features quite a bit of action, though most of that is relegated to the climactic third act, thereby paying homage to James Cameron’s Aliens.

Longtime fans of the franchise can also look forward to more expansion of the lore and world-building. While most of the movie is set on a space station and a space ship à la classic Alien, this movie also marks the first time that we see a fully lived-in and thriving human colony in this universe. It’s impressive and evokes the same feeling that Star Wars fans probably felt when they saw Coruscant for the first time in Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace. Alien Romulus is also less standalone than it actually is. Though Alien Romulus can technically still be enjoyed as a standalone movie, the plot and story are certainly connected to other movies in the franchise. Fans will appreciate the many easter eggs and references scattered throughout the movie, Fede Alvarez definitely made this movie as a love letter to celebrate more than four decades of the franchise. That’s not all, as it even feels like he took inspiration from more than the movies, I swear that there are elements in Alien Romulus that feel inspired by Creative Assembly’s Alien Isolation game and even games that aren’t part of the franchise, such as Dead Space (I won’t spoil how but gamers will likely understand what I’m talking about after they watch Alien Romulus).

One of the best aspects of the original Alien and Aliens was their interesting cast of characters. Alien Romulus emulates that with a smaller but more intimate cast of characters. The standout characters are Cailee Spaeny as protagonist Rain Carradine (she’s essentially this movie’s equivalent of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley) and David Jonsson as Andy. I can’t say much about the latter character in order to avoid spoilers, but his performance is perhaps even more of a highlight than Cailee Spaeny’s. However, it’s also really the relationship dynamic between their characters that carries the emotional core of the movie, adding something akin to but also different to Ripley and Newt in Aliens. The rest of the supporting cast is also great, but you probably won’t remember much of them, besides Isabela Merced as Kay.

In addition to the strong performances and great horror atmosphere, another praiseworthy element of Alien Romulus is its use of practical effects. Sure, the movie is still a big-budget affair that resorts to CGI when it has to but the gruesome and visceral practical effects elevate the level of horror even more. Despite the gore, Alien Romulus has somehow managed to pass through the local Malaysian censorship without almost any major cuts. There is also so much attention to detail in Alien Romulus.

The reason why Alien Romulus feels so much more like an Alien movie than the modern ones like Prometheus and Alien Covenant is that Fede Alvarez has put in the effort to make sure it genuinely fits with those movies. For instance, I noticed how the computers and technology in Alien Romulus have the same aesthetics and design (from the software UI to the hardware) as the ones in Alien and Aliens. This is so awesome because all the other follow-ups post-Aliens have neglected to have the same level of attention to detail.

Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine in 20th Century Studios’ ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

A True Successor To Alien

Seven years ago, I was so disappointed by 2017’s Alien Covenant to the point that I found it hard to have faith in the franchise when not even Ridley Scott could make it good again. Now, I’m happy to say that Fede Alvarez has managed to do exactly that by delivering the best movie in the franchise since Alien and Aliens. Alien Romulus is a movie that deserves to be on the same mantle as those two movies, which none of the other previous movies post-Aliens can boast of.

FINAL SCORE: 90/100

We attended a press screening of Alien Romulus courtesy of The Walt Disney Company and 20th Century Studios Malaysia. Alien Romulus premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 15 August 2024.