As much as I like Michael Fassbender, I’m glad he was nowhere near this “Alien” entry after the last two.
Set between 1979’s “Alien” and 1986’s “Aliens,” “Romulus begins on a space colony called Jackson’s Star where the protagonist Rain (Cailee Spaeny) resides with her surrogate android brother Andy (David Jonsson). Life for the two is difficult, as they do grueling work on a harsh mining colony to pay a debt.
They get a chance to leave, though, when they join with a group of friends on a sort of escape mission that involves getting some equipment from a defunct space station. It’s necessary to go there as it will allow them to make a long space voyage, but unfortunately, a certain life-form is waiting for them.
After a pair of outings where it felt like the series went off track in execution and world building, “Romulus” is a very enjoyable return to basics. It’s a movie with a crew that encounters facehuggers and later xenomorphs all on a rickety space ship, and it delivers exactly what a viewer is looking for.
It’s creepy, the xenomorph is properly horrifying and intimidating, and the situation just gets worse with few places of refuge. Fede Alvarez has done good with horror and suspense in the past. He helmed both 2013’s “Evil Dead” and 2016’s “Don’t Breathe.” He is effective with his filmmaking here as well, with plenty of set-pieces that put people on the edge of their seat.
The film also features a group of characters that a person can get behind. They’re impoverished people who are simply trying to make a better life for themselves, and unfortunately run into scary killing machines. The protagonist, Rain, is especially likable as a resilient hero with a good head on her shoulders.
The filmmakers deserve credit for the way they build up the terror over the course of the film, too. It starts with the release of the facehuggers which are quick and creepy as they scurry about. Then, the film steps up a level with a xenomorph getting on the loose, building suspense. Finally, it gets to the point that there’s a full infestation, where nowhere feels safe.
Unfortunately, the film has some things in its third act that detract from the overall picture. First, there’s a well-known line from the series said by one of the characters, and it doesn’t feel in line with their personality and comes across as being only added as a reference.
The other is a situation introduced that won’t be spoiled here, but it overall just feels unnecessary. There’s a sense that it was just added to make a connection to the last two movies in the franchise. That’s really all it’s there for, and had it been cut, the movie would have been better off.
With that said, the film as a whole benefits from a really good visual aesthetic. There’s good attention to detail in creating a roughneck mining world and old ships in disrepair that add to the grungy uncomfortableness and lack of feeling safe with the surroundings.
“Romulus” is an enjoyable, creepy and thrilling feature that is a welcome throwback to “Alien” films of the past. While some of the creative decisions later in the film take away from the movie just a bit, it’s still quite good thanks to its atmosphere, solid build-up and likable characters. 3.75 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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