Alien: Romulus Review (Spoilers)

Alien Romulus, during the first half of its runtime, starts off as a decent enough sci-fi horror flick with great production values surrounding its setting and cinematography, effective use of sound design, a decent enough (albeit barebones) storyline to follow along, and a cast of characters that are thankfully not entirely frustrating to watch. However, once the star creature of the franchise begins to gradually enter into the picture, this is where the sequel truly feels as if I was witnessing a proper sequel to the original movie finally being born after decades of waiting. Through a particularly disgusting and painful birthing segment where the Xenomorph makes its grand debut, the horror and tension component of Romulus begins to ramp up to the level that I was hoping we'd get coming into this. 

From the dangerous angle of synthetic assistant having ulterior motives being on display, to the terrifying baffling nature of the alien creatures' design as it turns the ship into its hunting grounds, director Fede Álvarez proves himself here as a worthy filmmaker that can cinematically honor the Alien IP's roots. Álvarez gifts us with a few standout scenes including one of the franchise's best chest burster scenes, a Xenomorph birthing sequence that more than delivers in its spine tingling imagery, and a creative utilization of acid blood that felt like an excellent video game level brough tot life. Romulus then surprisingly takes another turn after mostly proving itself with its use of the Xenomorph (more on that "mostly" comment later) by throwing in an unexpectedly crazy twist. Introducing a new human-alien hybrid creature to the franchise, Álvarez takes things to a new disturbing level by doubling down on the H.R. Giger visual nightmare influences for the final act.


Though perhaps not as nightmare fuel as I believe it could’ve been (but still effectively unnerving), Romulus’s creature twist certainly allows the sequel to stand out from the rest as its own beast while also paying respect to the classic creature feature formula of the original. That being said, there are a few nitpicks here and there such as the pacing sometimes feeling rushed in parts that would’ve greatly benefited by slowing things down and building on the suspense of a situation. Also, the Xenomorph, although does have a few scenes to properly shine as a horrifying force of nature, started to lose some of its edge once our heroes were given powerful weapons to efficiently defend themselves. This is why I believe the final act twist is crucial in elevating the stakes once again pinning our characters in a dread inducing scenario.

There are also two creatively questionable at best callbacks to the original two movies including a guest appearance that felt unnecessary and not entirely well executed in addition to a cheesy insertion of an iconic line. At the end of the day, with solid cinematic direction overall, a story that hits all the necessary notes with a twist or two to keep things interesting, and just a few minor to moderate issues, Alien: Romulus ends up being an enjoyable enough sequel worth checking out. I'd even go as far as to say that both hardcore fans and casual moviegoers alike can enjoy this at full price at the theaters. It may not be the modern classic new entry to the series to finally fully lives up to the original two movies, but it’s definitely the best one that we’ve had since.

Rating: 8/10