Review by Rob Hinkal
Filled to the brim with heart-pounding, chest-bursting action, Alien: Romulus is a worthwhile addition to the Alien Franchise even if it does, at times, feel as though it can’t quite find a strong justification for its existence.
Taking place between Ridley Scott’s original space horror classic, Alien, and James Cameron’s full on action follow-up, Aliens, Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, The Evil Dead) has stepped behind the camera to deliver a new tale of those pesky Xenomorphs and the humans unlucky enough to be their roommates for a few hours. Stylistically, this movie kicks major alien ass. It looks incredible with fantastic set design and special effects. It feels like an actual film as opposed to an attempted cash grab banking on the name of a classic sci-fi franchise.
Alvarez is no stranger to the horror/suspense genre. Anyone who has seen Don’t Breathe surely remembers that heart warming turkey baster scene! He brings his A-game to this one and successfully creates some of the most exciting and thrilling sequences we have seen in a film this year. This feels, as I have heard others describe it, like a haunted house movie. Except, the haunted house is an abandoned space station, and the monster was designed by H.R. Giger while the artist was clearly in heat. It doesn’t quite deliver the thought provocation that Ridley Scott may have given audiences with his more mysterious take on the aliens in his film, but what it may lack in psychological depth, it makes up for with guts, gore, fantastic action, and a particularly remarkable performance from David Jonsson.
There are some parts of the film that I wasn’t crazy about. A resurrection of a deceased character just felt off, and the plot can feel as though it is running somewhat thin, but I can’t lie. I had a fantastic time with Alien: Romulus. The cast and crew swung for the fences, and it feels like they hit a home-run with how much damn fun this movie turned out to be.
EightBallMag 