One of the most terrifying creatures in cinematic history is back, and people are rejoicing. Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus has finally been screened for film journalists, and initial reactions to the R-rated epic have been praising its terrifying scares, special effects, and stellar cast. Most film critics agree that Alvarez has delivered one of the best installments in the 45-year-old series that began with Ridley Scott’s Alien in 1979.
“[Alien: Romulus]is a crazy rollercoaster ride that takes bits from the previous six Alien films and tells a focused, mostly standalone story full of epic, gory horror,” Gizmodo’s German Lussier wrote on X/Twitter. “The story gets more interesting as it goes on, and ends with an incredible third-act twist.”
“This is definitely one of the better films in the series, and Fede Alvarez does not disappoint,” Variety’s Jazz Tangkai wrote about X. “The sound design and world-building are superb. The live-action effects are superb, and this film gave me nightmares.”
Film critic Courtney Howard called Alien: Romulus “horrifying, gripping, and wonderfully bleak.”
“Innovative, smart and tasteful, playing the greatest hits with ease,” Howard wrote to X. “Cailee Spaeny and David Johnson are amazing. Amazing!”
Tessa Smith, owner of Mama’s Geeky, said: “Alien: Romulus pays perfect homage to the original by using live-action effects wherever possible, which it does extremely well and the use of CGI really highlights. It starts off slow, but once it gets going it’s heart-pounding until the very end!”
Produced by Scott, “Alien: Romulus” is a standalone sequel set between “Alien” (1979) and James Cameron’s “Aliens” (1986). The film revolves around a group of young space settlers, led by Rain (Cailee Spaeny), who accept a mission to scour an abandoned space station for a ticket to escape their impoverished planet. Unbeknownst to them, the station is home to a creature of the same name. The cast also includes David Johnson, Archie Renaud, Isabella Merced, Spike Fern and Eileen Wu.
Many viewers praised Johnson and Spaeny’s performances in the latest “Alien” film, highlighting the sci-fi horror movie’s third act in their reactions.
Movieweb editor Richard Fink called the third act “breathtakingly terrifying”, while Nikko Caruso of Chicago Indie Critics called it “genuinely brilliant”. However, some felt that Alien: Romulus began to lose steam towards the end, with Film Inquiry critic Mark McPherson noting that “by the third act, the thematic elements become lost in the shuffle”.
“There’s a lot to love: great horror elements, vivid visuals, and incredible creature design! David Johnson is a scene-stealer,” wrote film critic Leo Rydell, “but this film doesn’t bring together the best elements of the series, it just stands on its own, and the characters are forgettable.”
Scott stepped down as director for the seventh film after helming the prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. He worked closely with Alvarez on the Alien: Romulus storyline and has continually praised the Don’t Breathe filmmaker for breathing new life into the Alien franchise.
“The danger with every franchise is that it always dies unless someone suddenly decides to pick up the mat and run down the field with the ball,” Scott recently told the Los Angeles Times. “Fede is a wave of energy, so I had to step back and let him do it…Fede had a solid blueprint in his head, and the script was pretty clear. It was also long, but scripts are always long. So we kind of got into that a little bit.”
“Hopefully Federer has something else up his sleeve because I think this one will be a big hit,” Scott added about the film. “He’s got talent.”
Alien: Romulus hits theaters nationwide on April 16. Check out our first impressions below.
