The Alien franchise has been a massive namesake in the horror industry, but initially like every other horror franchise that goes on for too long they usually get very dull. However, I got to say one thing and that is that the Xenomorphs are back.
A little bit of context, as I’ve said before the franchise ran itself into the dirt, but in the past twelve years it slowly has crawled its way back. Especially the movie we’ll be reviewing today: Alien: Romulus.
Romulus is a sequel/prequel, a culmination of the previous two movies before it Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). Although in the timeline of the Alien universe it takes place between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) which can be confusing.
Romulus is to me what I think the perfect example of “new but old,” so while the movie may be a new film released this year it is also a tribute to the older films before it. I do feel as if to enjoy this movie you have to have an idea on what the Alien franchise is about.
The idea/origin of the xenomorph, one of the aliens, didn’t just come from the movies but instead a Swiss artist known as H.F Giger. Giger made a sketch that would lead to the Xenomorph big screen appearance. Giger is also known for making other science fiction creations; he even has a whole museum about his work.
One thing about the Alien movies I love is the unique feeling of fear in these films to where you know you’re alone but something is watching you and your mind is feeding you this bliss to make you think you’re safe.
Another thing I think it is good at is breaking expectations. For example in Aliens you think “Oh hey these big strong Marines are going to destroy these aliens!” However, at the end of the film only one of the twenty Marines survives. Pretty much the Alien movies are not your average horror movie which can kind of be said for Romulus.
While I said Romulus is an example of new and old, the issue is the new and how cliche it can get. It’s not like new is bad, it just doesn’t try very much, but as I’ve said there are some great new things in this film, especially the final action scene.
Another thing I really came to love about this movie is the world building and while it’s only in the first twenty minutes of the movie it’s still very effective, especially for a long time fan of the series.
Last thing to talk about is how well the movie did, surprisingly with only a $80 million dollar budget the movie made $41.5 million dollars on its opening weekend. Being the biggest horror movie of 2024 it approximately grossed $347 million dollars world wide (IMDB), and could you believe it was only going to be a Hulu release?
So in conclusion Alien: Romulus is a real love letter to classic fans and also a new start for fans trying to get into Alien themselves. Final words for me is, watch this movie even if you’re not a fan of Alien you should still give this film a chance for how great it is.
