Well, folks, the wait is finally over. After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, I finally got to check out Fede Alavrez’s Alien: Romulus
When Fede Alvarez was first announced as the person to bring the Alien franchise to new terrifying heights, I admit I couldn’t have thought of a better person for the job. Why? because it is evident that Alvarez was a film fan before a filmmaker.
His attention to detail with his remake of Evil Dead was astonishing. He removed the comedy, added pure terror and gave us gorehounds the remake we all deserved. This is the same approach with Alien, only just not quite as violent, gruesome or daring as Evil Dead 2013.
The plot for Alien: Romulus is straightforward enough; a group are in search of a new planet to live on due to a crumbling, toxic earth. As well as the poisonous air you breathe, the government are working people to the death. And, when you die of the horrible toxins, you are replaced instantly by Weyland Yutani Corp. In the future, you’re still just a number.
Things start to look hopeful when they realise an abandoned space station is within reach. This station also holds the equipment (cyro-pods) to put them to sleep for 9 years until they reach their new home planet.
Of course, this is where the nightmare begins. I don’t want to be getting into any details here but when things get going, it is an Alien fans’ dream come true. Anyone who watches this and thinks Romulus is not a good entry into the franchise, I am afraid you need to put down that crack pipe.
I left the theatre overall impressed with the carnage we got. I couldn’t care about 80% of the characters. In fact, I enjoyed watching them get the Xenomorph treatment. However, the care, love, respect and amazing detail that goes into Romulus make you forget about any annoyingly-written character.
Romulus returns to the roots of pure claustrophobic space terror that made the originals so damn good. The sound design was ear-piercingly impeccable, the music took us back to ’79 and was written with a love for the franchise.
Fede Alvarez’s, Romulus is something that should be seen on the biggest screen possible with the best sound system possible. I was lucky enough to be in there with an audience that was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
Whoever is in charge of releasing trailers for these films should go see a doctor and get a pill to calm themselves down. There was no need for the amount of trailers we got. And, yup, of course, although I tried my hardest not to, being the Alien crackhead that I am, I watched every single one of them. Sadly, when I got introduced to the characters, I knew their fate even before they did.
Everything looked and felt so familiar but Fede Alvarez did add something very original which worked well: the use of gravity and Alien acidic blood – that’s all I’m saying.
I will go again to the cinema and try and pick up the easter eggs I missed. Yes, I noticed quite a bit but if I’m right about Alvarez then there’s plenty more to be seen.
It was like Alvarez went to Alien College, and carefully studied the entire Alien Franchise, including the Dark Horse Comic graphic novels. Alien: Romulus was his final exam piece and passed with a doctorate.
As for the 15c rating, I do admit, that this has been on my mind a lot since I realised the BBFC rating. I would’ve put money that Alvarez was going for a hardcore 18s (Hard R Rating). When I learnt of the 15c, my stomach sank a little. I mean, of course, I understand this – rate it 15s, you get the teenagers too but as a true fan of horror and the unsettling, I found this worrying.
You will be happy to know that it is quite icky and gruesome. It is every bit as gross as any other instalment but I can’t help but wonder what sort of Alien movie we would’ve got if Alvarez had his way and didn’t have a studio to answer to.
7/10
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