‘Alien: Romulus’ review: There’s no end to the Xenomorph

Address: Fede Alvarez

Interpreters: Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson

Year: 2024

Premiere: August 15, 2024

★★★

‘Alien: Romulus‘ It’s not a full-blown ‘reboot’ of the series’ founding film, ‘The Eighth Passenger Alien.’because it uses a major character from that character as a frame that places us chronologically at an indeterminate moment between Ridley Scott’s film and James Cameron’s ‘Aliens: Returns’ – beyond the reappearance of the xenomorphs, of course. But for practical purposes, it’s a remaking the first film for current times: A group of people threatened by an unchanging realm and deadly creature, but now much younger than the Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt of the past.

The action begins in a conflicted mining colony and a young collector, Rain (Cailee SpaenyPriscilla Presley in Sophia Coppola’s film) takes on the ways of the determined Ripley. Uruguayan director Fede Alvarez It makes the abandoned station a much darker setting than the Nostromo ship in ‘Alien,’ and in this case the robot, a black-skinned, flawed synthetic, adds a lot to the plot.

As producers, Ridley Scott and Walter Hill maintain the original spirit of the xenomorph saga, but it is Álvarez who makes smart decisions, such as using a ‘vintage’ aesthetic (computers, screens) in keeping with his film’s relationship with Scott’s cinema, made in 1979. He specializes in reviving horror franchises – he directed the remake of ‘Infernal Possession’ and is responsible for the script of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ -, Álvarez has no problem repeating iconic shots from the Alien saga while inventing very original situations, such as the acid fluid in the anti-gravity field..