The summer will be particularly exciting in the 7th Art with, as always, many blockbusters coming to the United States. Among them, there is one which seems to crystallize expectations more than others, it is Alien Romulus (at the cinema on August 14, 2024). Not only because it is the new film by Fede Alvarez, to whom we owe the remake of Evil Dead and Dont’ Breathe, but also because this 7th episode wishes to reconnect with its roots, and what made Ridley Scott’s first Alien a success. The trailers predicted the best, the 15 minutes we saw confirmed all the good things we thought of the Uruguayan filmmaker, to whom we were also able to ask a few questions.
RETURN TO BASICS
Alien Romulus is nothing more and nothing less than the 7th episode of the Alien franchise, initiated and created by Ridley Scott in 1979. A film which quickly acquired its reputation and which will have an impact and influence incredible in science fiction, but also pop culture in general, even beyond the boundaries of cinema. Of course, this aura is also due to Hans Ruedi Giger, the man behind the creation of the Xenomorph and all the artistic work of the film. But Alien is also a franchise that has managed to renew itself thanks to the multiplication of its directors. James Cameron for Aliens, the 2nd episode, David Fincher for Alien 3, Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Alien 4 Ressurection and then the return of Ridley Scott to business with Prometheus in 2012 and Alien Covenant in 2017. Whatever our preferences and affinities according to this or that filmmaker, Alien is a franchise that counts and still wants to surprise the public. Proof of this is with this 7th episode, subtitled Romulus and which is a project which was entrusted to Fede Alvarez. His name is not yet very mainstream, but this 46-year-old director of Uruguayan origin has already built a solid reputation with his remake of Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe which you absolutely must see, don’t if only for Stephen Lang’s performance.
TO FEAR
And precisely, Fede Alvarez embodies the new generation of filmmaker capable of taking into account the legacy of the first Alien, while adding his personal touch. And that’s exactly what you feel when you see the film. Besides, to be clear, this morning we saw about 15 minutes of the film, not the first 15 minutes, but sequences carefully chosen by Fede Alvarez, in order to show us a little of who awaits us at the end of August. It was several sequences stuck together, and what immediately stands out about the film is its photography which is absolutely magnificent. We had already anticipated this in the trailers, it is confirmed by seeing these first images, there is care given to the images, with even a kind of patina which gives the feeling of having this unique atmosphere of the first Alien. Alvarez was accompanied by Galo Olivares as director of photography, I didn’t know him, but I saw that he had worked on the horror version of Hansel and Gretel in 2020.
Alien Romulus is therefore a very dark film, with reddish tints capable of making moments disturbing, even anxiety-inducing, with a fairly fascinating play of shadows and lights. In a few minutes, we are caught up in the claustrophy that emerges from each shot, especially since all this is magnified with a camera carefully placed in the right place to amplify each frame, it is a great beauty, let’s not have not afraid of words. In any case, the watchword with this Alien Romulus is the desire to return to the sources, which is what we have always been passionate about for the Alien franchise, especially since Ridley Scott has become a little too departed from the initial intention with Prometheus and Alien Covenant, two films that have been criticized and which are nevertheless the work of the original creator. Fede Alvarez, he is of our generation, and he, like us, grew up under the impact and influence of Alien and the works of Ridley Scott, with whom he worked closely.
THE RIDLEY SCOTT LEGACY
During our question and answer session, we learned that Ridley Scott did not impose anything on him, nor did he influence his choices, that he had total creative freedom. Moreover, once the film was finished, the first person to whom Fede Alvarez showed the result was Ridley Scott himself. After a moment of silence, and therefore blankness, Ridley Scott said: What can I say? The movie is fucking great. Among the advice that Ridley Scott gave him, there was this one that really resonated with him: “When in doubt, try to do better, not worse, but better”. And that’s exactly what you feel in the film, even just after 15 minutes. For example, the famous face-hungers who always had very minor roles in the Alien films are much more developed in the film. So much so that it was a facehunger that we chose to be on the main poster, not the Xenomorph and that’s a first. Fede Alvarez also wanted to show that the face-hungers are not only there to give birth to the Xenomorphs, but that they are also dangerous creatures, capable of creating moments of strong tension. We were also able to see a complete sequence where a handful of facehungers attack the members of the crew, with this moment where the creature tries to put its tentacle in the back of his mouth. A sexual reference which will obviously not be the only one in the film, nor in the passages that we have seen, in particular when one of the soldiers tries to grill the Xenomorph still in its cocoon. We see him inserting an electric stick into a sort of slit, which obviously resembles a woman’s vagina. These sexual allusions were also mentioned by a colleague from Ecran Large who asked Alvarez if there was also a desire for him to return to Giger’s very first sketches. And Alvarez responded in the positive, explaining that Giger was greatly inspired by the female genitalia, particularly in the alien egg, which is obviously no secret.
MORE ORGANIC, MORE SEXUAL
Something else that Alvarez will bring is the slightly more organic side of the creature, which we will see evolve over the course of the film. Until now, the stages of transformation have been skimmed over, but in Romulus, we will see the evolution, take the time to see that the small creature which emerges from the body will then molt, create its cocoon to grow, and the camera d ‘Alvarez will not hesitate to take close-ups of this scary creature, certainly, but also fascinating in its design. He is the ultimate predator and the viewer must feel it. Concerning the story, this Alien Romulus will place its events between the first Alien and Aliens the Return, that is to say between 2122 and 2179. We will follow a group which will have to go to a station which is drifting and whose members no longer respond. As for the subtitle Romulus, it is based on the myth of Romulus and Remus, the founding fathers of Rome. The best-known episode of the legend is the moment when the newborn twins are abandoned and are taken in by a she-wolf who breastfeeds them. But the most striking thing is the murder of Remus by his brother, which means that these are not siblings who followed the right path. Alien Romulus is a film about siblings, especially in the characters, how they will help each other to survive the attacks of the Xenomorph.
Concerning the casting, Fede Alvarez opted for little-known actors, some acting for the first time, but who gave the feeling of having known the profession forever. I personally expect a lot from Cailee Spaeny, who exploded thanks to Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla and more recently in Alex Garland’s Civil War where she already shone. I think her character is an echo of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, there are already so many shots that prove it in the trailer. I only saw 15 minutes, but if these edited 15-minute extracts reflect the film well, we risk having a monstrous episode and a return to basics that we were all waiting for. Final answer on August 14.
