Director Fede Álvarez delivers a suspenseful, visually striking continuation of the ‘Alien’ saga.
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
If you can remember the first time you saw Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979), and if you were lucky enough to come to it fresh, the horrors of this science-fiction/horror hybrid were entirely new and unique. Only perhaps “Forbidden Planet” (1956) came close to creating a monster as mysterious and frightening as the one Swiss surrealist and “biomechanical” visionary H.R. Giger designed for “Alien.” Giger’s “xenomorph,” which was played in the original film by a very thin and tall Nigerian actor named Bolaji Badejo in a costume, was something we had never seen before. With its black, vinyl-like exterior, phallic-shaped head, double set of spring-loaded, slime-coated fangs, skeletal torso, and whipping, wasp-stinger-like tail, it was a creature from the deepest depths of our unconscious. It was the (Disney-animated) “Monster from the Id” of “Forbidden Planet” in a new, more explicitly sexual, BDSM form. It was the demonic Winged Victory of Samothrace of our nightmares. Now that we have seen it so many times, it has lost some power to shock. But as Fede Álvarez, the director and co-writer of “Alien: Romulus,” proves in the latest entry in the “Alien” series, the xenomorph still terrifies us.
Written by Álvarez, of the “Don’t Breathe” films, and his writing partner Rodo Sayagues, this new “Alien” is a throwback to the original. The film’s characters are indentured workers for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation on a buzzing space colony named Jackson’s Star. In an attempt to escape lifelong servitude, they hijack a spacecraft reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon of “Star Wars.” In space, they dock with a larger vessel, the Romulus, on which they discover a horde of “facehuggers,” the second life stage of the xenomorph. While marvelously staged and acted, these scenes are standard horror-action film and videogame fare with nick-of-time escapes and heavy hatches sliding shut. The shooting is saved for the third act. Our main characters are Rain (Cailee Spaeny, “Priscilla”), who is the stand-in for Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, Rain’s “brother” Andy (British actor David Jonsson, very good), who is, in fact, a damaged “synthetic;” Rain’s tall ex-boyfriend Tyler (Brit Archie Renaux), secretly pregnant Kay (Dora herself Isabella Merced), loose cannon Bjorn (Englishman Spike Fearn) and pilot Navarro (newcomer Aileen Wu). The plot involves the characters’ attempt to get to a place called Yvaga across the vastness of space inside “cryo-sleep” devices. It’s a simple setup for the xenomorph vs. human action. Many will detect hints of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The tech is all retro 1980s-style. Andy has parts in his head that resemble a tiny CD player. He gets an upgraded disc on Romulus and becomes the team’s humanoid C-3PO. Another nice surprise is in store for fans of the original cast. Inevitably, Spaeny’s Rain will get into situations recalling the original film and Weaver’s Ripley. The problem is that Ripley is a warrior woman of Amazonian proportions and fierce ingenuity and courage, while Spaeny, with her soft, not very distinctive voice and child-sized stature, is a much less imposing presence. She’s this film’s Ewok, scrappy and toy-like. I suppose the corporate bosses think this makes Spaeny a more ”every woman” type than the aristocratic and statuesque Weaver. Moreover, I thought Rain’s name was “Rae” for a while (Actors, please enunciate.).
But “Alien: Romulus,” which was produced by Scott, also boasts images and scenes that are genuinely nightmarish. Fans of James Cameron’s “Aliens” (1986), the second best “Alien” film in the franchise, will find much to enjoy in this latest “Alien.” Shot in Hungary and featuring eye-popping, off-world sets, “Alien: Romulus” looks spectacular. Álvarez uses practical effects, not VFX, as much as possible. Tipping his cap to Jerry Goldsmith (“Alien”) and James Horner (“Aliens”)—and the original spooky title sequence of “Alien”—composer Benjamin Wallfisch (“Blade Runner 2049”) delivers an eerie score steeped in cosmic mystery and menace. All in all, “Alien: Romulus” delivers.
‘Alien: Romulus’
Rating: R for bloody violent content and language.
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Archie Renaux, Isabella Merced, David Jonsson.
Director: Fede Álvarez,
Writers: Álvarez, Rodo Sayagues.
Running time: 119 minutes
Where to Watch: AMC Boston Common, AMC Causeway, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, and suburban theaters.
Grade: B+
Boston Movie News 