Alien: Romulus - Bryan Kluger's Theatrical Review

Ridley Scott created an iconic universe introducing the world to the universe of Alien. James Cameron took the ball and ran away with it for his follow-up Aliens. It's said that Scott had a much deeper palette of a story to tell back in 1979, however, due to budget restraints, still managed to make one of the scariest movies ever to date. Cameron piggybacked off that story and brought action and terror to the spotlight. Alien 3 and its sequel Alien: Resurrection had their great moments, but somehow lost sight of the thread. Before the MCU had the multi-verse, Alien vs Predator and its sequel started that game which is so relevant today. Scott eventually returned to his masterpiece with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant - two early prequels that allowed him to discuss the creation of humans and aliens from a poignant and bloody background. 

Fede Álvarez and his writing partner Rodo Sayagues team up once again to bring another crew, ship, and story to this beloved franchise. And after Evil Dead (2013) and Don't Breathe, this duo knows horror inside and out. Against all odds, Fede and Rodo elevate the terror and gore in Alien: Romulus while introducing a much younger rag-tag crew. Taking place in between the first two Alien films, a teenage girl named Rain (Cailee Spaeny) has her android named Andy (David Jonsson) as her guardian after both her parents die from working on a mining planet of Weyland - Yutani. Fede delivers more lore on the greedy and sinister corporation by enslaving these kids to work for them until they die with almost no hope of traveling to another planet for greener pastures. They're young adults with no real science or engineering background lost in the Weyland system with no parents who want a better life. So without any knowledge other than flying a spaceship really, these kids get more than they bargained for. There are some nitpicks for how these characters play out, but they work for the mostpart. 

A tiny moment in the movie that audiences will be completely divided on is a throwback piece of dialogue that enters the chat. Nostalgia goes a long way in movies and can be done well if they are done subtly, whoever, in this particular moment, it's heavy-handed and so on-the-nose that it comes across as too big a wink and will make people cringe and groan. Luckily, this is the only singular moment of this type of energy in the movie. The practical gore and creatures deliver the most blood and viscera of any alien feature yet. Fede has a sharp eye for shooting terror with his director of photography Galo Olivares possibly making this one of the best-looking Alien films yet. The use of red lighting and inky black walls truly make this film scarier which puts the audience in the center of the carnage.

Some surprises pop up throughout the movie in a brilliant way. Álvarez is in charge of this film and he succeeds when he is given the tools to make something so scary and violent, that leaves the audience covering their eyes in horror and shouting with pure terrorized glee. Fede executes tremendous horror with a bang in all the right moments, leaving this Alien: Romulus one of the best in the franchise. This is the meaner, gorier, and more beautiful Alien movie. And if anyone has the opportunity to see this in IMAX or large screen format, do so because the visuals and sound make that much more of an impact, especially with the contrast of the silence in space that mixes with the high velocity of sound during the more terrifying moments. Highly Recommended!