Criticism of Alien: Romulusthe film directed by Fede Álvarez and starring Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson and Archie Renaux. Released on August 15, 2024.
It’s time to meet again with the xenomorfos in Alien: Romulusa film chronologically set between Alien, the eighth passenger y Aliens, the return which seeks to pay tribute to the first installment of the quintessential space horror saga, not without including winks and references to the other installments.
It is structured as a survival horror in which there are strong links with the video game. Alien: IsolationIn fact, literally, there are moments in which our protagonist seems to be “passing through a screen” to go from one scene to another… and solving the problem with the clues that the narration has been giving us from the beginning.
She, by the way, is the young one Cailee Spaenywho we have not stopped finding in interesting projects since his debut in the feature film Pacific Rim: Uprising. Just to name a few examples: Bad times at the Royale, The vice of power, Devs, Mare of Easttown, Priscilla or the recent and brutal Civil Warin which he had a greater role that he knew how to take advantage of to stand out.
The actress is composing a very varied filmography, and adds with Alien: Romulus another notable role, which It mirrors that of Sigourney Weaver’s Lieutenant Ripley but without trying to emulate her excessively or pretending to be configured as a false replacement..
Fede Álvarez moves in a very complex three-ring circus. On the one hand, he configures his film as a horror amusement park: it is an atmospheric and tangible witch train in which practical effects and animatronics take control for most of the timeto the glory of the film, which benefits from all the verisimilitude and bad vibes they bring.
On the other hand, he does not lose sight of the “messes” that Ridley Scott had gotten himself into in the prequels, Prometheus y CovenantThere are no direct allusions to those, but there are some plot threads that are picked up to try to give them some coherence and “fit” them without pressure into the temporal impasse in which the film is set.
But, most importantly, is that collects legacies from here and there without losing its seal of personal authorship. As it could not be otherwise, the director responsible for you don’t breathe He plays with sound again, not only to emphasize its absence in space, but to compose some of the key sequences of the film in which silence (and its breaking) marks the rhythm of events.
The starting point is the exploitation to which young people are subjected in space colonies under the yoke of the corporation. Weyland-YutaniNew epidemics appear every cycle, decimating the survivors, and our protagonist, Rain, can only dream of traveling to a terraformed place located nine years away.
More disillusioned than ever at being deprived of the chance to pursue a better life, Rain and her synthetic protector Andy join Tyler, Kyle, Björn and Navarro in an attempt to reach the hypersleep pods on the stranded Romulus station in space.
However, they lack the fuel necessary to reach their destination, which will lead them inside the ship, where an unpleasant surprise awaits them: they will have to face the xenomorphs.
Needless to say, the ship itself is another character in Alien: Romulusas important or more important than some of the members of the group. And so is their appearance: we return to the dirty, gloomy and damp aesthetic with half-lit corridors, red emergency lights and nooks full of cables that remind us of the morphology of the aliens themselves, where they can camouflage themselves.
The configuration of the space is one of the strong points of a film that keeps your attention from beginning to end and in which there is also room for a few rather risky final surprises.
The montage is another of the strengths of Alien: Romuluswhich gives no respite and rushes the action sequences so that everything fits together perfectly, well accompanied by a soundtrack that seeks to raise our heart rate with its choirs and familiar notes composed by Benjamin Wallfisch, an expert in evoking previous works as he demonstrated in Blade Runner 2049 o Twisters.
The larger-scale sequences, on the other hand, are a bit confusing. Every time we leave the ship to see an exterior shot, we end up wondering where the protagonists are exactly and where they should go. It’s a lesser evil, along with the recovery of a character who perhaps appears too much and whose presence would have been better restricted to add impact.
In any case, the almost two hours of footage fly by and offer a spectacle worthy of being seen on the biggest screen possible and with a sound that makes the most of the experience. Alien: Romulus lends itself to a viewing of collective revelrycelebrating its wildest gore touches.
It leaves the door open for a possible sequel, with no post-credits sequence or excessive nonsense: the budget has been entirely allocated to the film itself and has been used wonderfully.
Meet How we work in HobbyConsolas.
EVALUATION:
Fede Álvarez successfully draws inspiration from the first installment of the saga and from Alien Isolation, creating a highly entertaining rollercoaster ride with constant allusions to the previous films but without giving up his authorial stamp, paying special attention to the sound. He often makes us feel like we’re inside a survival horror video game.
THE BEST:
The real settings and the practical effects. Although some references last longer than they should, it is appreciated to recognise the universe and the seal of Álvarez.
WORST:
There is a final twist that can potentially “take” viewers out of the film, although the final third is spectacular.