“Alien: Romulus” wants to be the start of a new era for the franchise. It wants to bring back the dread and the mystery that made the original films so terrifying. Instead, it settles for a competent but unremarkable entry that mostly recycles ideas fans have seen before. The film is a mixed bag, and its strengths are real, but they are matched by weaknesses that keep it from reaching the heights of the classic entries.
Trailer, via 20th Century Studios.
The Setup
“Alien: Romulus” picks up after the events of the previous film in the series. The story follows a group of survivors who find themselves on a remote planet, pursued by an alien creature that seems to have adapted to its new environment. The premise is simple, and it is the kind of setup that worked for the original “Alien.” But the film spends too much time establishing its world and its characters before the alien shows up, and that slow burn loses some of the tension that made the earlier films work.
The pacing is the biggest problem. The film takes its time getting to the action, and the early scenes feel like filler. By the time the creature finally appears, the audience has already lost some of the investment in the characters. That is a hard loss to recover from, especially in a horror film where the threat needs to feel immediate.
The Creature
The alien itself is the film’s strongest asset. It is a grotesque, terrifying creation that looks genuinely dangerous on screen. The design team has done a commendable job, and the creature’s movements are fluid and unsettling. When it is on screen, the film is at its best. The problem is that the creature is not on screen enough. The film spends far too much time with dialogue-heavy scenes that do little to advance the plot or build the suspense.
The creature’s presence is also undercut by the film’s reliance on practical effects. While the creature itself looks great, the environments around it often look dated. The planet is supposed to be a hostile, alien world, but it feels more like a set than a place. This disconnect pulls the audience out of the moment, and it is a shame because the creature deserves better.
The Cast
The cast is competent, but none of them stand out as memorable. The lead actors do their best with the material they are given, but the script does not give them much to work with. The relationships between the characters feel thin, and the dialogue is often clunky. There are a few moments of decent tension between the characters, but they are scattered and brief.
The film also leans heavily on exposition, which slows down the action even further. Characters spend long stretches explaining things that the audience already knows, or things that are obvious from context. This is a common flaw in horror sequels, but it is particularly noticeable here because the film is trying to set up a larger mythology. The result is a film that feels bloated in places where it should feel lean and tense.
The Direction
The direction is solid, but it lacks the confidence of the original films. The camera work is competent, and there are a few well-composed shots, but the overall visual style is forgettable. The film tries to capture the claustrophobic dread of the original “Alien,” but it fails to deliver the same sense of isolation. The corridors of the ship in the original were oppressive because they felt like a trap. Here, the corridors feel like a set.
There is also a problem with scale. The film is clearly meant to be on a grander scale than the original, but the budget limitations show through. The planet is supposed to be vast and empty, but it feels small and cramped. The film struggles to make its world feel truly alien, and that is a failure that undermines the entire premise.
The Soundtrack
The score is functional but unremarkable. It tries to build tension, but it often feels like background noise rather than a driving force. The sound design is better, and the creature’s vocalizations are unsettling. The film also uses silence effectively in some scenes, which is a rare positive. When the film commits to being quiet, it can be genuinely scary. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between.
The film’s sound design is also let down by its reliance on digital effects. The creature’s movements are sometimes rendered with CGI that looks cheap and fake. This is a particular problem in the film’s action sequences, where the creature’s attacks should be the highlight. Instead, they feel cartoonish and lose impact.
A Running Order
| Scene | Content |
|---|---|
| 0:00–0:20 | Opening credits and setup |
| 0:20–0:40 | Character introductions and backstory |
| 0:40–1:00 | First alien sighting |
| 1:00–1:20 | Action sequence |
| 1:20–1:40 | Mid-film character drama |
| 1:40–2:00 | Climax and conclusion |
The film’s structure is predictable, and it plays out like a standard horror template. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it means the film offers little surprise for anyone who has seen the genre before. The ending ties into the larger mythology of the franchise, but it feels rushed and unsatisfying. It sets up a future installment without giving the current film a proper resolution.
“Alien: Romulus” is not a bad film, but it is not a good one either. It is a competent, serviceable entry in a long-running franchise that fails to live up to its predecessors. The creature is the standout element, but it is surrounded by a story that is too slow, too talky, and too derivative. Fans of the franchise will find some things to enjoy, but they will likely leave the theater disappointed.
The film is a reminder that horror is about more than just monsters. It is about atmosphere, about dread, about the unknown. “Alien: Romulus” has the monster, but it lacks the terror. It is a film that is safe, comfortable, and ultimately forgettable. It is a film that will be remembered for its creature, not its vision.
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