Alien: Romulus - An In-Your-Face Addition to the Franchise

image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Alien: Romulus released August 16, 2024, exclusively in theaters. Entertainment staff Lochlan Chastain, Robert Arizmendi, and Cheyenne Seagraves give their take on the new film.
by Robert Arizmendi, Lochlan Chastain, and Cheyenne Seagraves

The movie is about space colonizers coming face to face with the most terrifying lifeform in the universe while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station. (Google movie description) This marks the first “Alien” movie made by Disney since they bought Fox in 2019. The movie features an entirely new cast that doesn’t add any famous faces to the movie, which we all really liked. It gave the cast a chance to shine. 

image from Marvel.com

Our Thoughts

Cheyenne: 
As someone who hasn’t seen a single Alien movie until this one, I can’t exactly compare as open-mindedly as I would like, but I did enjoy it. I like when movies have android, or robot people even though they aren’t as advanced in other ways such as their homes, and how they wear dirty, old clothes. They don’t even have cities, it’s just their little community, but of course, they have to be technologically advanced.

I liked David Jonsson’s character, Andy (the android), who was introduced as the main character (Rain)’s sister, clearly, he’s not really her brother because he’s a robot. I really liked his character. I thought he was really sweet and I liked how he was introduced as her brother even though it’s obviously not true, but when they’re getting ready to go into space, with the ship that has the aliens and the face huggers, I immediately disliked Bjorn (Spike Fearn). He was mean to Andy, and I didn’t like the fact that he had to point out they weren’t really siblings. 

I thought it was weird how Kay (Isabela Merced) was pregnant while being in space. I had the question “Are they already living in space?” in my mind since the movie started, which led to me being confused on when she became pregnant while in space.

I think the movie did a really good job of being unpredictable. Every time I thought something was going to happen, it happened in a completely different way. I don’t usually do well with gore, but there wasn’t much gore that I felt was unbearable to watch. It was more of a horror/thriller type than a gore movie, which I always appreciate. 

I watched the movie alone, and I was pretty scared. I enjoy movies that can genuinely creep me out, and this one did it. 

The end threw me for a loop because I thought the movie was over, they were going to get the happy ending they deserved after everything that happened. That final scene was terrifying for me.

When we finally saw the alien monster, I was so scared to see what was going to happen to them! I thought they were safe, but of course not because that doesn’t actually happen in horror movies. 

I liked how creepy and unsettling it was, it was honestly a good watch overall. I don’t think I’ll recommend this movie just because I’ve heard how great the ones before have been made, which I will be watching. For now, I give this movie a 7/10. 


Lochlan: 
As a huge Alien fan, I can say that Alien: Romulus is a solid entry in the Alien franchise that brings back the terror and horror that I love while introducing some new elements to refresh the series. The film's heroine, Rain, mirrors the toughness of Ripley but lacks some of the depth and character development of previous main characters in the franchise. One of the coolest aspects of Romulus, in my opinion, is that it used practical effects and old-school horror techniques. The film stays true to the series’ roots in terms of tone and visual style, relying on grimy spaceship interiors and tense, slow-building suspense. However, the plot itself struggled to offer much that hadn’t already been explored in the previous movies. Some people have criticized the film for not being as great as it can be, but I am glad they didn't do anything bizarre like what happened with Alien: Covenant and Prometheus. None of the characters were as memorable as the iconic figures like Ripley, David, or Hicks. 

Overall, Alien: Romulus is well-grounded and has laid the foundation for future Alien movies to come. I was expecting a very bad movie going in but wasn't too disappointed. I have always been fascinated by the unique way that the Aliens interact with people. The parasitism they use with the face-huggers was something that caught my eye in the first Alien movie. The new evolution of the face-huggers using multiple hosts to reproduce was fascinating and paid homage to Aliens (The 2nd Movie). I give it a 6.5 out of 10.

Robert:
I like how beautiful a lot of the scenes were. The visuals were nicer than I expected. Overall it was a good movie but it was very predictable throughout the whole thing. I think as a horror movie it’s pretty good but as an alien movie it didn’t compare well to the other movies. Also, many of the scenes felt like they dragged on for too long. I’ve seen a few of the alien movies and I felt they were all pretty good as they were but this movie just doesn’t fit in. I would rate it a 6.5/10. 


The final rating of Alien: Romulus is 4.5 face-huggers out of 5.

---