Alien Romulus: A group of young adults indentured for life on the cloud-shrouded mining planet of Yvaga discovers a derelict spacecraft orbiting above. They plan to rendezvous with the craft and steal the ship’s cryostasis suits to travel to another planet. Once inside the spacecraft they soon detect they are not alone.

Romulus enters the Alien franchise as the seventh film, situated between Alien and Aliens, attempting to walk the path between Ridley Scott and James Cameron-two giants that Alvarez fails to surpass with this entry.

The story plays homage to its predecessors in the first acts, delivering plenty of frights and gore, enhanced by great graphics, visuals, and adequate acting. However, it then drifts off course into territory best left unexplored. But I guess that’s called setting up the sequel or more likely a spin-off.

Genre:  Horror—Sci-Fi–Suspense–Thriller

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Screenplay by: Fede Alvarez Rodo Sayagues

Music by: Benjamin Wallfisch

Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux

Film Locations: Budapest, Hungry and Various Studios

ElsBob: 6.5/10

IMDb: 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 80%

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: 85%

Metacritic Metascore: 64%

Metacritic User Score: 7.1%

Theaters: 16 August 2024

Runtime: 119 minutes

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic. Graphic: Alien Romulus Poster and Trailer, 20 Century Studios