Alien: Romulus plays it safe, and that’s just fine

The long and storied history of the Alien franchise has seen its share of iconic filmmakers (Ridley Scottx3, James Cameron, David Fincher).

With Fede Alvarez (2013’s Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) sitting in the director’s chair, the filmmaker uses his background in horror to deliver the scariest version since the 1979 original.

There is nothing in Alien: Romulus that feels even remotely original - everything has been seen and done before in the franchise’s 45 years.

But this collection of greatest scares still screams after all these years.

Cailee Spaeny (Civil War, Priscilla) takes over as the Final Girl, and David Jonsson (Industry, Rye Lane) as chief android highlight the cast, while the rest are expendable youths that fail to make any impact whatsoever.

Jonsson, in particular, is flashing a lot of stunted emotion for a robotic being. It’s a memorable role in a film full of throwaway acting.

Like Noomi Rapace and Katherine Waterston before her, Spaeny doesn’t have the acting muscle to match Sigourney Weaver’s grit, but she does an adequate job of carrying the load.

Alvarez elects to go for a classical approach to his monsters, and in 2024, I’m all for that craftsmanship in filmmaking.

Fans of the franchise will find lots to love here if they’ve spent the past half-century hunting Xenomorphs.

7.5 out of 10