Finally releasing in theaters this week, it feels like Alien: Romulus has been a long time coming, especially given the last installment in the sci-fi franchise was 2017’s Alien: Covenant.
This time filmmaker Fede Álvarez is in the director’s chair and given his history making nightmare fuel such as 2013’s Evil Dead, he set out to return the Alien franchise back to its horror roots. And that’s something he’s accomplished according to the first reactions and our own Alien: Romulus review.
One element of the movie which has been receiving particularly high praise is the final act and having seen it, we can see why – it is truly wild. In fact, it’s so unhinged that star Cailee Spaeny, who portrays our protagonist Rain, expressed concern with Álvarez that it was going too far during shooting.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ and Total Film on the red carpet at the recent UK gala screening, Spaeny recalled the moment she spoke to the director about just how bonkers the film’s conclusion is: “I think my imagination thinks in stick figures so like, I don’t have the most amazing imagination with those visuals. I remember reading the third act and thinking: ‘Oh my god, this is amazing, but what is it actually going to look like?’ And then on the day, I was going: ‘Oh my god Fede, what have you done, this is traumatizing?’
“But that’s what the people want! The second I thought maybe we are going too far he’s like ‘no, I’m right in my sweet spot’ so hopefully the fans appreciate how we took a big swing.” Well Spaeny, it is indeed what the people (especially the sickos) want.
Spaeny’s co-stars were also taken back by the film’s conclusion, with Archie Renaux (who plays fellow space scavenger Tyler) telling us: “I was honestly cold to the bone watching that because it’s so freaky. I didn’t know how it would look until I saw it in the cinema and yeah, it’s the stuff of nightmares.”
Actor Spike Fearn, who portrays arguably the most rebellious member of the group Bjorn, added that it’s something that will blow away both fans of the franchise as well as newcomers: “I was just in awe of what was going on. I think that’s something that the true fans will just love and even if you are not a fan, it’s so mad you’re going to be like ‘wow’.”
However, for Fearn that wasn’t the first ‘wow’ moment he had on set – that title of course belongs to the xenomorph who is brought to life via actors and practical effects in Alien: Romulus. Yeah, we would be wowed by seeing it in the flesh too.
In fact, as Renaux admitted seeing the xenomorph on set was like “meeting a celebrity”. He explained: “It’s so iconic and has been for 45 years so to actually come face to face with one, honestly, we were so lucky to have those as practical effects rather than CGI because it made everything so much more real – we were genuinely reacting to these things playing out.”
Alien: Romulus is released in theaters worldwide on August 16. Before you watch the new film, check out our guide to how to watch the Alien movies in order as well as the movies and shows to watch before Alien: Romulus.
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