The DNA of the earliest Alien films is etched into this latest instalment of the franchise as emphatically as a batch of caustic xenomorph blood searing its way into the hull of a spaceship. And in some ways that’s an asset. The first two films remain the very finest of the series, and Alien: Romulus, a standalone story that takes place between the events of Alien and Aliens, wisely pays tribute to its predecessors rather than attempting to revamp or reinvent them.
But it’s also arguably a negative. It’s directed by Uruguayan genre specialist Fede Álvarez, who, as his 2013 reimagining of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead demonstrated, is a film-maker with gleefully gonzo instincts who is never happier than when he’s knee-deep in a slurry of entrails and gore. But while Alien: Romulus leans into the grislier elements of its horror heritage – at the expense of much in the way of deeper story development – it fails to assert itself as a particularly distinctive addition to the series, formally, tonally or thematically.
