Good or bad taste is difficult to define, but it is easy to state and Alien: RomulusFrom Uruguayan director Fede Álvarez (who famously delivered a fantastic film) evil Dead (filmed over a decade ago) offers a strange mix of both. It’s clear that Álvarez wanted to return to the analog, tactile sci-fi vibes of the original. Foreign movies with plenty of satisfying bendable buttons and low-quality computer screens that will please old-school fans. And a great young cast Civil warCailee Spaeny and 'Our End' Isabela Merced, Romulus feels like it's courting both the original and the original Foreign lovers and a younger, fresher group of potential fans. And it's fast, too—the two-hour running time flies by with no filler, and a perfectly paced crescendo culminates in a third act that will keep your heart pounding for nearly the entire time.
But there is one huge weak point Romulus's body is its reliance on winks, nods, and nostalgia, including one tasteless cameo that makes me shudder every time the character appears on screen. Although any ordinary Foreign fans will enjoy the movie and will miss many easter eggs, there are some gross references that made me roll my eyes in my head. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
Alien: Romulus It looks very good
Álvarez reportedly said This is what the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con crowd sees Romulus did not require prior knowledge of others Foreign movies and “member fruits cannot be a full meal” (a reference) South Park a joke about nostalgia), but I'm not so sure that's true. From that moment on Romulus The opening scene of the film contains many references; the wreckage of the Nostromo ship from the first film floats through space in the name of the Engineer.
But then Álvarez quickly (and wisely) turns his attention to: Alien: Romulus'A cast of young adults living and working on a dreary, depressed mining colony called Jackson's Star. It always rains and everyone is always sick. Rain Carradine (Spaeny) and her “brother” Andy (David Jonsson), a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic reprogrammed by Rain's late father to protect him at all costs, live as indentured servants. Rain is forced to work in the hopes of earning enough hours to leave Jackson's Star and go to a less miserable terraformed planet, Yvaga II.
After Weyland-Yutani operative Rain's request to go off-planet is denied, he jumps at the chance to change his fate: a group of drifting teenagers (and their friends) discover a “Weyu” ship drifting in the planet's atmosphere and want to fly out and steal its cryptopods so they can travel to Yvaga themselves. What's the problem? They need Andy, who can access all of the ship's systems, even though his strange gait and stuttering indicate that he's not in perfect working condition.
Andy and Rain's relationship, RomulusAndy's big, sad eyes, played so perfectly by Spaeny and Jonsson, break my heart from the moment he appears on screen. Andy's penchant for puns, which he struggles to pronounce due to his stutter, instantly draws you in, and his good-natured annoyance with Rain's bad jokes further underscores their beautiful relationship. Romulus tries to fill in the rest of the character patterns as before Foreign a gruff, tough English guy, his serious, earnest partner, a kind-hearted heartthrob, and a sweet (and newly pregnant) best friend, all played well by young actors, even if their characters aren't fully fleshed out. What about Rain and Andy? I'd die for them.
Visually, Romulus It's as close to perfection as sci-fi horror movies can get. When the shuttle carrying the teens to the abandoned Weyu ship (actually a decommissioned outpost, and filled, as you might expect, with face-hugging creatures) rises into the planet's upper atmosphere, the visual effects are dazzling: rain pelts the hull, lightning flashes around it, and strange veins of red-orange light streak through the clouds. When she breaks through the cloud cover, Rain sees the planet's sun for the first time, and I feel a similar sense of awe.
Romulus truly beautiful, from the cinematography to the set design to the look of the iconic xenomorphs. Álvarez plays impressively and effectively with color, light and texture (wispy gray smoke, white-hot steam, tar-black blood), and the seamless blend of practical and digital effects creates the iconic Foreign impressive, modern-tech iconography. And then there's the digitally recreated elephant in the room.
Romulus and references
As I mentioned, there are too much Easter eggs Alien: RomulusThe decommissioned outpost (split into two large sections called Remus and Romulus) is powered by a computer called MU/TH/UR 9000, a newer version of the computer that powered the Nostromo in 1979. ForeignWhen one of the mixed crew members bullies and humiliates Andy, Andy stutters out a quote. AliensSaying that Bishop preferred the term “artificial human” as he told Ripley at the time. The police station's door mechanisms are the same as those in the 2014 survival horror game Alien: IsolationHell, even the original xenomorph that Ripley blasts out of the Nostromo airlock is disturbing Romulus—his body was hung from the ceiling of the abandoned ship, his acidic blood burning down several floors and wreaking havoc.
But the most egregious Easter egg is a rotten one: a digitally recreated Ian Holm, who in the original film played a secret synthetic who was placed on the Nostromo by Weyland-Yutani to aid the company's attempts to secure humanity's fate in the stars. Holm, who passed away in 2020, looks evil and creepy almost every time he appears on screen, and the damaged robot (as Rook Romulus) is just a body constantly leaking synthetic white diagnostic fluid, and it makes matters worse. His appearance is so weird and unnecessary (and so prevalent because Rook has so much screen time) that it ruins much of what makes him Romulus fun.
I've been watching the rest since Rook was introduced Romulus my eyes narrow suspiciously, expecting another Easter egg to break the fourth wall and hit me in the nose with a “see what I did?” Thankfully, the incredible acting from the cast and the film's perfectly paced action effectively distract me from my fear of yet another reference lurking in a dark hallway. There are a few truly disgusting scenes—acid burning fingers, a facehugger that artificially pumps someone's lungs while they're attached, the distorted crackling of ribs and spines, and iconic chest bursting scene—this will please body horror fans. And all of this action is propelled forward by Spaeny and Jonsson, the latter of whom makes such an impressive 180-degree turn with his character that it leaves me speechless. Romulus It also adds a bit more lore to the series, specifically around a certain stage in the xenomorph's evolution, which gives Álvarez the excuse to put a giant, wet, squiggly vagina in the movie just like it does in the movie. HR Giger aimed.
But just as I forget about Holm’s body lurking in a dim corner, mesmerized by a zero-G action sequence involving floating, spiraling acid blood that Rain and Andy must avoid while suspended in midair, I realize that Álvarez has timed the police station’s countdown timer almost perfectly to the film’s duration until it collides with the planet’s icy ring. Romulus goes back to references. Proto pulse rifles AliensRook repeats a quote from Holm ForeignSpaeny in cryo-underwear holding a gun like Ripley, Andy stammering “Stay away from him, bitch”, a human/xeno hybrid that makes your skin crawl, face to face moment like in meme.
Fortunately, Romulus It ends strong, it's emotionally powerful, it has a final scene with a jump scare that almost made me pee myself. I just wish it had the confidence to stand on its own a little more, instead of serving up nods and recycled lines on a silver platter with a wry smile. Still, whether you're a fan of the series or not, I think Alien: Romulus worth watching—perhaps some fans will enjoy the references, and those who know nothing about Ridley Scott's legendary sci-fi universe can happily remain ignorant and simply enjoy some well-paced, well-shot, well-acted entertainment. It's a win-win situation.
.