Alien – that drooling, jagged-tooth beast that first terrified cinema-goers way back in 1979 – creeping back onto our screens this week.
Helmed by Evil Dead director Fede Álvarez, it’s the seventh outing for the demonic extra-terrestrial, first brought to life by filmmaker Ridley Scott. The newest story in the franchise, Alien: Romulus, involves a group of young space colonists – including Cailee Spaeny and Industry’s David Jonsson – who, while scavenging a derelict space station, “come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”
It hits cinemas in the UK on 16 August, but the embargoes have just been lifted for reviewers. Here’s what they’re saying so far.
Variety’s Jazz Tangcay wrote on X: “The bitch is back. This is easily one of the better films in the franchise. Fede Álvarez doesn’t disappoint. Awesome sound design and world-building. The practical effects are so good that the film gave me nightmares.”
It was a co-sign from The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit, who claims that “Fede Álvarez & the cast just gave birth to summer’s best movie,” adding: “It has all the great hallmarks of what you would expect in an Alien flick but never feels like it’s pandering to nostalgia or fan service… and even goes into a crazy new direction.”
MovieWeb’s Richard Fink said he “really dug” it, adding: “It’s a gory monster movie with some truly inventive set pieces. Act 3 had me gasping in horror. It does play like a best of the Alien franchise for better and worse (one element I did not like) but it feels like the sequels finally found their footing.”
Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier said: “Alien: Romulus is a bonkers roller coaster ride through the previous six Alien movies, using bits of all them, to tell a focused, mostly standalone story filled with glorious gore & scares. It gets better as it goes along, ending with a phenomenal big swing of a third act.”
However, it wasn’t a total clean sweep. Next Best Picture’s Brendan Hodges said: “Alien: Romulus is mostly a gratuitous nostalgia play, remixing what came before with some occasionally strong thrills, but in a franchise famous for its psychosexual weirdness, it’s the safest, blandest and most vapid the series has ever been. I did not love it.”
Good Day Chicago’s Jake Hamilton concurred: “There’s a lot about Alien: Romulus I like — some truly creative moments in the first two acts that I REALLY dug. However, the finale takes a BIG swing that just didn’t work for me and left me feeling underwhelmed.”