The most unexpected sci-fi success of the year has easily been the acclaim and box office slam-dunk of Alien: Romulus. Saddled with a strange subtitle, and a lot of continuity baggage stemming from eight previous installments in the franchise, Romulus could have been doomed for irrelevancy, and seen as yet another example of studios milking existing IPs for pseudo-nostalgic moneyshots. But, strangely, despite some of its flaws and reliance on some well-trodden tropes, Romulus is actually a solid sci-fi thriller and a strangely approachable entry into the Alien franchise. This no-frills, back-to-basics approach from director Fede Álvarez worked better than it maybe deserved to, and the result was one of the slickest horror movies of 2024.
And now that Romulus has just hit Hulu, here’s why you should stream it ASAP, in case you missed screaming in the theater this past August.
