Alien: Romulus

A return to horror for the franchise! Where the recent movies got bizarre and hard to watch due to quality dips, this movie returns to the classic slow build-up of Alien while pulling action elements from Aliens. Overall, this film does an excellent job blending both, while forming its own identity. However, questionable actor choices and a middle act that could use work definitely keep me from a 9/10 rating. But, this movie is beyond a doubt a terrifying return to form. Let's get into it!

PLOT: A great start and end, but slow middle.

This movie starts off with likeable and endearing leads, slowly building your connection to the characters they'll eventually kill. This movie, unlike worse films, knows how to make you like every single character it wants you to like, to the point where I was bummed when any single character was killed off. On top of that, the last 30 minutes had me gripping my seat as I was entranced by a tightly-scripted yet terrifying homage to Alien films of the past. What I don't love, however, is the slower middle act. Most of it is fine, but when we start focusing on the primary Alien, the film does lose its ground for a bit. However, the minute they get the guns, the movie picks back up for the ending, which is by far my favorite part of the movie. It's insane how well this movie manages to make Aliens scary again.

CHARACTERS: Gutwrenching.

You know most of these guys are not gonna survive. However, it's still painful when most of them die. Rosa Salazar is by far the standout of this movie. Doing an excellent job portraying a compassionate mother figure but also a terrified bystander while never once feeling like a damsel, I enjoyed her role in the film the most. Rain and Andy are 100% believable as faux siblings that begin questioning one another before affirming their relationship, delivering most of the best performances here. The other characters are all great as well, with a believable hatred of androids from Bjorn that would come across as spiteful in any other movie coming off as genuine here. That being said, it's a small cast, so not much to say other than just magnificent.

SHOTS: Claustrophobic.

With tight shots that convey the feeling of fear constantly compressing our characters closely, you really feel every single emotion they feel as the movie plays out. It's also very visually-stunning, with shots done as practical as possible when they can while never once taking you out of the scene. Many of them are also callbacks to previous films, which itself is a nice throwback. Not much else other than to say it's good.

SOUND: Pretty dang suspenseful.

Sound in a good horror keeps you engaged and this movie nails it. Additionally, it's a rare win from composer Benjamin Wallfisch, whose music I've lampooned in the past, especially for his work on It. He can be over-the-top and way too whimsical for most movies, but here he balances out and keeps the constant tense tone going. Additionally, the sound design is terrific, with every sound of ooze and metal just constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat. The kills play into this, with graphic noises always keeping you from feeling comfortable. It's good stuff.

WRITING: Great, but man those callbacks...

While I like callbacks, these ones are kinda rough. There's a specific Aliens line that's overused to death and is used here. While I don't mind it too much, it can be quite overused and I feel it needs to be left alone for a while. That being said, many of the characters are written realistically frustrating, as sometimes it does feel like they're making decisions that are reaistic but just painfully so. It's hard to sympathize with stupid characters, but the choices here are human above all else, which makes it a lot easier to relate.

LITTLE THINGS: The subtle lore continuity plus the Offspring... (SPOILERS)

The more subtle lore continuity bits really do make this movie feel at home in the Alien universe. You recognize the Nostromo, of course, but you can also see Ellen's ship floating off at the same point, plus plenty of references to the company that started it all. But, the most fun thing about this movie is the last 30 minutes with the arrival of the Offspring, a terrifying Alien/Human hybrid. While this has looked silly or comical previously, this movie makes it unsettling and by far the most terrifying part of the film. I won't explain why or how it shows up, but be prepared for an unsettling chill down your spine when you first see it.

VERDICT: A film worth watching.

Overall this film is a worthwhile addition to Alien for the first time since Aliens. Give it a watch and go in with the mindset of watching a horror movie, not some deep over-bearing film about our creators. This is the first time since the 80's that Alien was scary and I hope it's certainly not the last.

SCORE: 8/10, out here they can hear you scream.