Alien: Romulus (2024) – Review

Quick Thoughts – Grade – B – With a back to basics approach and an appreciation of the entire Alien franchise, director Fede Álvarez has created a fun Alien film that fits nicely in the franchise. 

Set 20 years after the events of Alien (somewhere around 2142), director Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) was driven by the idea of “ would it be like for teenagers to grow up in a colony and what would happen to them when they reached their early 20s.” This idea grew into the plot for Alien: Romulus, and the end product is a film that delivers plenty of fan service but also branches out and isn’t afraid to build to a gnarly ending that I’m certain will be divisive (which is cool with me. Alien Resurrection, Prometheus and Covenant weren’t afraid to be divisive either). Also, it’s worth noting that the reason Álvarez chose younger characters to be the focal point of the film is because “As a rule of thumb, in horror, the younger the people the tougher it is to watch them die.”

The film opens up with a twentysomething named Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) learning that the amount of work days needed to leave the soul-draining Weyland-Yutani mining planet she lives on have doubled, which means she’ll have to put in at least six more years of work before she can head to a less terrible world. It’s a death sentence for her and her android “brother” Andy (David Jonsson), as mining accidents, poison air and zero hours of sunlight have created an atmosphere of desperation and hopelessness. It’s a strong opening and it makes her decision to travel with her friends to a derelict ship seem like a good idea as there is no hope to be found for them on their death planet. 

Rain and Andy team up with fellow twentysomethings Tyler (Archie Renaux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu),  who have devised a plan that involves stealing the sleep pods from the derelict Weyland-Yutani ship named Corbelan IV that is orbiting their planet, and using the pods to keep them alive during a nine-year journey to a hospitable colony. It’s a plausible plan to get off of a terrible planet. 

Since it’s an Alien film directed by Fede Álvarez, who delights in putting his characters (and actors) through worlds of pain, the movie quickly becomes a horror film as Tyler and Bjorn unwittingly unleash some facehuggers that cause chaos and death. From there, it becomes a survival horror experience as Rain, Tyler, Andy, and Kay have to make it to the other side of the gigantic ship to survive. Along the way, they battle xenomorphs, uncover mysteries and have pissed off chestbursters explode from their chests. 

The best part of  Alien: Romulus is the relationship between Rain and Andy. Andy is an old school android that predates Ash from Alien and isn’t nearly as evolved as David from Prometheus. He’s a loyal companion who’s directive is to look after Rain and do what’s best for her. While on the ship, Andy’s programming is updated and he becomes more analytical and clinical. The update switches his directive as the new Weyland-Yutani code forces him to save a mysterious item that is located on the complete opposite side of the massive Corbelan IV. I won’t say anything else, just know that Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson have wonderful chemistry. 

I do wish that Ridley Scott would’ve been able to finish what he started with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. However, knowing that he likes Alien: Romulus gives me some peace. There’s a lot to like about Romulus, and I think it’s a welcome entry to a franchise that has been consistently entertaining since 1979.