Alien: Romulus – We saw the first minutes of the film, here is our opinion

While fans await its release in French theaters on August 14, Alien: Romulus continued to be revealed this Friday, June 21, 2024. Its director Fede Álvarez was in fact in Paris to present a handful of minutes of the film to the French press, and answer a few questions.

The Digitals was present at the event and here is what to remember, as well as our opinion on these first images of the next installment of the cult science fiction franchise.

Between Giger and Alien: Isolation

With a coffee in hand and in a relaxed mood, Fede Álvarez was visibly happy to finally be able to show his baby to the public. Far from feeling crushed at the idea of ​​having to contribute to the building of one of the cult sagas of cinema, the humble Uruguayan filmmaker seemed rather honored to stand alongside the immense Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Questioned by the journalists present, he took the opportunity to clarify his ambitions with Alien: Romulusand explain how he knew how to remain faithful to the universe:

“To be faithful, you have to create something of quality above all. And at the same time bring new things, and dare to reinvent to make your film special. When Cameron made his Aliens he didn’t particularly stay faithful to the first film, did he?”

Looking at the trailer for the film, however, it is difficult not to see that this Alien: Romulus is much closer to the first film from 1979 than to the other parts, and that it is particularly inspired by the work of the artist HR Giger.

“The main idea of ​​the film was to go back to basics, because it’s impossible to do better than Giger’s original design”did he declare. “Above all, I wanted to bring back the biomechanical aspect of the creature, which had been somewhat abandoned. This natural evolution, which makes it more and more warm and organic, like a monster.”

At the other end of the spectrum of references, Fede Álvarez also confirmed having been greatly influenced by video games, notably the successful Alien: Isolation :

“I played it when it came out in 2016 […] and it really is a very cinematic experience. The team behind it put a lot of love and details into it to expand the universe of the first opus. And he reminded me that, done the right way, the Xenomorph could once again be as terrifying as it was in the first film.

15 bloody, anxiety-inducing minutes… and promising

But in the end, what are these first images worth?Alien: Romulus ? We were able to see three separate sequences from the film, for 15 minutes of footage in total.

Warning, spoilers: the article below reveals elements of the film’s plot.

Without revealing too much, we follow a group of young protagonists who leave their planet and go on their space mission. It is only after having docked a drifting ship that they realize that it is populated by creatures well known to the spectators.

Result: it’s brutal, bloody and extremely anxiety-inducing. Above all, the production is careful: smoke, lighting effects, dust, secretions of all kinds are on display, giving a tangible dimension and reinforcing the sticky appearance of the whole. No doubt, Alien: Romulus reconnects with an assumed horrific DNA, much more advanced than in Ridley Scott’s first opus.

The creatures are particularly neat, and fans will have the opportunity to observe the facehuggers and the Xenomorph like they have never seen them before. We return to a more organic and repugnant creature design, openly emphasizing the sexual dimension of the monsters, as in the original drawings of HR Giger.

During this handful of sequences, Fede Álvarez also shows a certain talent for raising the tension and stakes of a scene, thanks to good ideas, whether it is a door that struggles to open, or a simple device to X-rays… Formidably effective.

While we will remain cautious given the small number of images that we were able to view, we must admit that everything is promising and has raised our expectations considerably. See you in theaters on August 14.

Directed by Fede Alvarez and co-written by Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, the film stars Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), Isabel Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Upgraded) and Aileen Wu.

• Watch the trailer forAlien: Romulus :

You want to see (or rewatch) the films Alien in streaming ? Since the acquisition of Fox by Disney in 2019, the saga has been the property of Mickey. The entire franchise, including the least compelling Alien Vs. Predatoris therefore available on the Disney+ streaming platform.