Movie Review

Alien: Romulus brings back the true horror of the original film

Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson in Alien: Romulus.

The Alien franchise has turned out to be one of the most durable and malleable ones in movie history, with 2024 marking the 45th anniversary of the original 1979 film. Over the years it has been taken in different directions by a variety of filmmakers, including two ill-fated Alien vs. Predator spinoffs. With the latest film, Alien: Romulus, the series has returned to its true horror roots.

Taking place between the events depicted in Alien and Aliens, it centers on Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny), who lives on a remote mining colony in deep space. Desperate to get away from a place where the sun literally doesn’t shine, she takes up an offer from her group of friends – Tyler (Archie Renaux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu) – to go to a decommissioned space station orbiting their planet, where they hope to find cryo chambers that will allow them to travel far away from home.

With the help of Rain’s “brother” – a synthetic being she’s nicknamed Andy (David Jonsson) – the group is able to infiltrate the dual-sided station, but soon discover that certain creatures are also on board. What follows is a dreadful cat-and-mouse game, with the group trying to evade the aliens at all costs, something that proves difficult due to their numbers and ability to quickly evolve.

Directed and co-written by Fede Alvarez, best known for horror films like Evil Dead (2013) and Don’t Breathe, the film is the most effective one in the series, from a pure horror aspect, since Aliens. While all of the non-spinoff films have relied on the terror that the aliens known as Xenomorphs bring, other filmmakers have chosen to either focus on other things or didn’t showcase them effectively.

Not so with Alvarez, who uses the claustrophobic confines of the ship to aid in the classic horror film structure. Having the group consist of 20-somethings gives viewers the familiarity of many earthbound scary films, as does that group featuring different personalities who often make questionable decisions. Additionally, the intensity and scale of the face-huggers and Xenomorphs, not to mention a good amount of gore, ups the fear factor exponentially.

Alvarez uses some clever storytelling devices – a faulty gravity sensor, the corrosiveness of the aliens’ blood – to add in some extra suspense. He also throws in a few references that pay tribute to the original films while still giving Romulus its own flavor, although one decision may prove to be a step too far for longtime fans. With the help of de-aging technology, an original character plays a key part in the film, although there doesn’t seem to be a legitimate reason for shoehorning that person into this particular story.

Spaeny is on a hot streak following her strong performances in Priscilla and Civil War, and she proves once again that her skills are adaptable to multiple genres. Jonsson nearly steals the film despite the fact that Andy speaks in a monotone. He gives the character a ton of nuance, making him into someone who’s alternately pitiable and abhorrent. The rest of the cast is solid, especially Merced, who still looks like Dora but delivers a mature performance.

Alien: Romulus makes the case that the franchise can continue indefinitely as long as it’s paired with filmmakers who know how to bring out the best in their casts and the well-known aliens. The series succeeds the most when horror is the focus, and this film has it in spades.

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Alien: Romulus opens in theaters on August 16.

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Movie Review

Humans are scarier than zombies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Photo by Miya Mizuno

Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

It’s not often that a return to a franchise after years of no activity results in an actual good movie, but 2025’s 28 Years Later proved successful by reuniting director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, who made the original 28 Days Later. Another sequel, The Bone Temple, was filmed back-to-back with last year’s film, with Nia DaCosta taking over for Boyle in the directing chair.

The movie picks up soon after the end of the first film, with the young Spike (Alfie Williams) now an unwilling member of a group called the Jimmies, which are led by a man who calls himself Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). Unlike the main group in the first film that was just looking to survive the zombie apocalypse, the Jimmies are a bloodthirsty bunch who gleefully attack any zombies they find and brutalize other survivors they come across.

The story also returns to Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whose solitary time at his self-built bone temple is interrupted by a massive zombie he has dubbed Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Against the odds - and with the help of some morphine - Kelson is able to bond with Samson, giving Kelson some strange but welcome companionship. But with the Jimmies lurking nearby, any peace he’s found may soon be shattered.

DaCosta, working from a script by Garland, ably steps into Boyle’s shoes, putting the emphasis on the story rather than trying for lots of stylistic flourishes. That’s not to say that she doesn’t do great work, however. The creepiness and sadistic nature of the Jimmies comes through loud and clear under her direction, and she brings out the campy comedy that comes from the unexpected pairing of Kelson and Samson.

Like the first 28 Years Later, the story is somewhat of a slow burn. The film doesn’t have many plot developments over its 109 minutes, and so DaCosta must get by on mood rather than action for the most part. But when things do get ramped up, they can get very uncomfortable as the film does not shy away from extreme gore. The damage inflicted by Samson and other zombies is one thing, but when it’s sentient humans going savage, it becomes even more difficult to look at the screen.

The juxtaposition between the chaos of the Jimmies and the quiet existence of Dr. Kelson works well for the film. Their separation for the bulk of the story gives them plenty of time to have the characters come into their own. Sir Jimmy Crystal is the ringleader, but Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) gets her own showcase. Samson was already a (literally) big presence from the first film, but this film gives him a degree of humanity that gives the story more depth.

O’Connell made a big impression as the lead vampire in Sinners, and he’s just as interesting/intimidating here. Fiennes plays a character where being over-the-top is the natural reaction, and yet he keeps Kelson grounded in a number of ways that make him much more than one-note. Lewis-Parry was likely cast for his physique, but he brings out more from a zombie than you’d ever expect. Williams fades into the background a bit after his starring role in the first film, but he’s still strong.

Releasing The Bone Temple in January was not a great sign given the month’s reputation as a dumping ground for bad movies, but it actually proves to be a great choice. With most other releases being Oscar hopefuls or truly awful films, it stands out for being another compelling entry for the franchise, one that will make anticipation high for whenever the third film in the 28 Years Later series comes out.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theaters on January 16.