Alien: Romulus (Christian Movie Review)
With stunning visuals, a solid cast, and some effectively manufactured terror, Romulus is arguably the best Alien film since 1986, even if it’s hindered by some of the flaws that derailed previous sequels.
About the Film
Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) is a horror masterpiece, expertly weaving together a claustrophobic atmosphere, unrelenting tension, a terrifying monster, and an iconic hero. Unfortunately, apart from Aliens (James Cameron’s action-oriented 1986 sequel), subsequent films have not come close to achieving the same quality. With Alien: Romulus, the 9th film in the series, director Fede Álvarez attempts to reinvigorate the franchise by returning to the basics. With stunning visuals, a solid cast, and some effectively manufactured terror, Romulus is arguably the best Alien film since 1986, even if it’s hindered by some of the flaws that derailed previous sequels.
Alien: Romulus is set in the timeframe between Alien and Aliens and follows a group of young adults who are attempting to scavenge equipment from an abandoned space station to escape their enthrallment to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Unfortunately for them, the abandoned station turns out to be less abandoned than they hoped. If you’ve seen any prior Alien movies, you know the drill.
In many ways, Romulus plays out like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, retelling—almost beat by beat—the narrative of the original film, but with a new coat of paint. Alien: Romulus is essentially Alien: Greatest Hits. In an almost meta way, the movie begins with a spacecraft literally gathering pieces from the wreckage of the Nostromo (the ship Ripley exploded in the original film). From there, the filmmakers continue to collect visuals and plot points from across the series’ long history. Audiences looking for something fresh won’t find much, but it has been decades since these familiar elements were utilized so effectively.
What makes 1979’s Alien such a masterclass in filmmaking is how Ridley Scott managed to instill a sense of omnipresent dread, even though the Xenomorph alien is only shown on screen for four minutes. He understood that the fear of the unknown lurking in the darkness is more terrifying than anything he could put on screen. Romulus captures some of that breathless tension, but only in spurts. The action sequences when the aliens are present are exciting, but the movie takes its foot off the gas whenever they are off screen. The film plays on viewers’ fear of visible scares but doesn’t always activate the imagination.
The problem with relying more on “seen” rather than “unseen” scares is that the more the Xenomorph aliens appear on screen, the less effective they become. In fact, the film essentially discards the iconic creature entirely in the final act (more on that below). Even so, when the moments of tension do occur, they are thrilling and well-crafted, such as in an excellent scene during which the characters must silently traverse a room filled with “facehuggers,” or another in which they float through a corridor in zero-gravity as acid alien blood swirls around them. It’s also worth noting that the commitment to practical effects is a welcome development that makes the danger feel more tactile and immediate.
Of course, for the thrills and scares to work, audiences must care about the humans in peril. Actress Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War) demonstrates again why she is one of Hollywood’s rising stars. She lacks the raw toughness of Sigourney Weaver, but her earnestness and relatability make her a worthy successor. David Jonsson is also excellent as an android named Andy, showcasing great range as updates in his programming drastically change his personality, essentially requiring Jonsson to play multiple characters. Despite being a robot, his character adds some much-needed humanity to the story.
The Alien franchise has often demonstrated a willingness to swing for the fences with big ideas and controversial storytelling decisions. True to form, Romulus’ third-act twist will be divisive. Without divulging spoilers, it is akin to the moment in Jurassic Park III when the T-Rex is killed in order to introduce an artificially created dinosaur hybrid as the new threat. Personally, the ending didn’t work for me. The day the classic Xenomorph alien is no longer threatening enough for the film’s climax may be the day to retire the iconic creature.
The Xenomorph may no longer be the threatening presence it once was, but this film proves that the series is not dead yet. While it may fall short of the heights reached by Ridely Scott’s original movie, Alien: Romulus is an undeniably good Alien film, sometimes even a great one. Despite its derivative storytelling approach and shaky third act, it’s the best the series has looked in decades.
For Consideration
Language: Heavy and frequent profanity throughout, including 30+ F-words, as well as other profane or crude words (s—,” “b—h”, “b—ard,” “d—k”). God and “Jesus Christ” are both used at least once as well.
Violence: Aliens kill humans in a variety of ways. An alien bursts out of a character’s chest in a splatter of blood. A man dies as acid drips onto him, and another has his face punctured by the alien’s retractable jaws (there is blood, but no closeup shot of the mangled face). In the film’s most disturbing moment (spoiler ahead), a woman violently gives birth to an alien egg. Also, due to the sexual visual motifs (see below), some of the violence, particularly toward the female characters, can be interpreted as having an element of sexual assault.
Sexuality: There are several sexually charged visuals regarding the creature design (which is famously inspired by artist H. R. Giger). For example, the alien’s head is clearly shaped as a phallic object, and an alien cocoon seems intentionally designed to resemble a female reproductive organ.
Engage The Film
Corporate Greed and Evil Human Nature
An underlying theme in most Alien movies is the dehumanization that results from corporate greed. In Romulus, that tension is embodied most clearly by the android Andy, as he is pulled between the opposing prime objectives to do “what is best for Rain” (Cailee Spaeny’s character) and “what is best for the company.”
The commentary against “big corporations” is clear, but the film also hints at some deeper themes. The aliens themselves have always been somewhat symbolic (representing different things for different filmmakers). There has also always been significance to the fact that the alien creatures are birthed out of human hosts. Given what transpires in the film, that disturbing connection to birth and motherhood is even more apparent.
At one point, a representative of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation refers to the androids as the “backbone of our colonization” (a statement endowed with added significance because it is directed toward the only black actor in the cast). At the same time, it is revealed that if they successfully escape, the protagonists plan to abandon Andy, because their destination does not allow non-humans. In both cases, the android is being used and discarded. The same selfishness and evil that drives the corporation rests in all human hearts (Romans 3:23). In this sense, the film’s climax (while shaky from a narrative perspective) works as a metaphor that encapsulates the theme that the true threat to humanity is not scary aliens in the void of space but us when we allow ourselves to be fueled by selfish greed and a vain desire to “play God” (Genesis 3:5)
