Director: Fede Alvarez

Writers: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Dan O'Bannon

Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux Rated: R for bloody violent content and language.

Synopsis: The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. “Alien: Romulus” is produced by Ridley Scott (“Napoleon”), who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler”), and Walter Hill (“Alien”), with Fede 2 Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (“Charlie’s Angels”), Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), and Tom Moran (“Unstoppable”) serving as executive producers.

Review: You might notice that the studio provided synopsis is lacking a synopsis. The studio has said that Romulus returns the Alien franchise to its horror roots and takes place between the events of the first two films, Alien and Aliens. For some, that’s all they need to know. Personally, they had me at Alien.

Those desperate for a plot, the setup is essentially this: A group of Weyland-Yutani employees look to escape indentured servitude by stealing Cryosleep chambers from a seemingly derelict space station that has drifted into orbit.

If you’ve seen any of the Alien films, you can probably guess what awaits them. If this is your introduction to the franchise, buckle up and prepare for a thrill ride that mixes creature-feature scares with a science fiction sheen.  

Romulus doesn’t look to expand the mythology of the franchise in the way that Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and to a lesser extent Covenant did. Instead, it takes pieces of the established universe and ties them together in an incredibly enjoyable way. It is first and foremost a horror film, but there is more than enough action to satiate those who prefer the action elements that James Cameron emphasized with Aliens.

I was afraid that the script might try to make Rain, Cailee Spaeny’s character, into a Ridley clone, but besides being working class people being crushed by the bureaucracy of Weyland-Yutani, they’re not particularly alike.

The film features some fantastic set pieces. There is one towards the end involving gravity (or lack thereof) that feels entirely fresh (and has me wishing for a video game adaptation). The art design is strong and effectively mirrors the look and feel of the original films. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. H.R. Giger’s work is iconic. Don’t mess with it too much.

There is one new Xenomorph that resembles a creature from Davi Cronenberg’s adaptation of Naked Lunch (no, not the typewriter). This monstrosity has tormented me for nearly 30 years. I’d like to think that director Fede Alvarez rummaged my psyche and pulled the design out just to trigger me. He succeeded. Thank you very much.

Overall, Alien: Romulus is what I hoped for.

Oh, and that throwback cameo? I’m totally fine with it.