Set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), Alien: Romulus, the latest addition to the sci-fi horror franchise, eschews the slick look of the last two instalments and takes us back to the chunky, grimy aesthetic of the original films; it's a style that has seen the film nominated for a Best Visual Effects Academy Award at this years Oscars 2025.
With Alien: Romulus we’re back in a world where computer operating systems are text-based and DOS-like, where every grainy video feed jitters to life on an analogue screen, and every creaky, dishevelled piece of tech is ancient-looking and coated in filth, but somehow still works. Just about. (It's the same retro, nostalgic approach the artists behind Alien: Rogue Incursion took.)
