Film review: Alien: Romulus

There’s a lot of nods and parodies that reference the previous films both overtly and covertly. From the dialogue, the camera moves, the technology, the weapons and many more, all establishing the Alien films as a genre unto themselves. The theme and variation on the score from the previous films by Benjamin Wallfisch, particularly Jerry Goldsmith’s work on the first movie, is well pitched throughout. It’s enough for any fan to feel nostalgic.

For this viewing I visited the Odeon Luxe cinema which features their biggest screens for the best viewing angle and twice as many Dolby Atmos speakers as their average cinemas, as well as their luxury recliners for a state of the art cinematic experience. This was certainly a worthwhile choice to bring the most out of the picture, but particularly the Atmos soundtrack. Romulus has an incredibly detailed and layered mix, and I’m sure these subtleties would be lost on an inferior system. From the magnificent industrial space travel scenes and dizzying camera angles, the grand motion of heavy metal to the smallest creature movements, I could localise every detail and feel the bass fill the room.

This postmodern take was tastefully crafted by Álvarez and Scott and it pays wonderful homage to the movies that built the perfect organism in our minds. Despite the more obvious plot devices, it’s a highly recommended watch, and even worth a repeat viewing. I would be happy to see Álvarez and Scott work together again for another delicious slice of this delightful horror.