Set in the time period between Alien and Aliens, the story of Romulus is a back to basics haunted house but in space tale about a group of young miners attempting to escape corporate servitude by breaking into a derelict space station and liberating enough fuel to keep them in stasis while they reach another developed planet. Turns out the station is more decimated then decommissioned and they soon find themselves on the bottom of the local food chain.
The break in may be a group effort but it's clear from the off that the main focus of the story is Cailee Spaeny's Rain and her "brother" Andy, a salvaged synthetic human played by David Jonsson. Spaeny is an excellent lead, likeable and believable as a modern Ripley who grows in stature to deal with her increasingly grim situation. Jonsson might be even better, following up last years Rye Lane with another star making turn as he plays two different versions of Andy across the runtime. You are pretty much on board with the whole team from the get go (except the one obligatory douchebag) as their circumstances are so dire it feels like this is there only realistic shot at having a life.
Romulus is a slow burn, taking plenty of time to get to the alien action. Building tension is admirable but without the mystery that carried the early parts of the original the set up feels a little laboured. That said, when things kick off, they kick off. Alvarez uses all the skills he learned making The Evil Dead and Don't Breathe to set up insanely tense moments and there are some gnarly kills. For the most part there is a real focus on practical effects and this may be the best a Xenomorph has ever looked. The design really invokes the sexual violation iconography of the original, if something isn't trying to get inside people it's opening up a like a mutant vagina. The impregnation theme culminates in a final showdown that is simultaneously terrifying and goofy and is likely to prove divisive amongst series fans.
The film works best when it is being a stripped down genre movie so the constant desire to scream "this is an Alien film" is actually it's biggest flaw. Call backs to the Nostromo and Colonial Marine pulse rifles are all well and good but when the plot starts to be influenced by the prequels it's a little less welcome. There is also an attempt to drop a classic line that will make most people cringe in their seat.
Where Ridley Scott's last two efforts in this universe were packed with ambition but muddled in execution, Romulus is all execution and very little ambition. It's essentially a remix of what's gone before coated in slick new paint and delivered by someone who knows their way around a horror film. That's good enough for an entertaining two hours.
7 decisions that are best for the company out of 10.
Note: Ian Holm plays a fairly major part in this movie. How can he do that if he died four years ago? By using AI to recreate his face and voice a la Peter Cushing in Rogue One a few years ago. I personally detest this and was tempted to score the film a 1 out of 10 as a result. In the end, it seems his family are happy about it and I'm not sure how egregious everyone else finds it so I decided not to factor it into the review.
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