Summary
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: RomulusOne hurdle for Fede Álvarez in his addition to a troubled franchise,Alien: Romulus, wasappealing to old and new audiences. Having a young cast that made sense in the story was a great move. However, while Álvarez found a way to make youthful protagonists thrive, providing a believable explanation for some of the irrational decision-making that afflicts many otherwise believable horror movies, this hasn’t always been the case for theAlienfranchise.
Given thatAlien: Romulusis an interquel set betweenAlienandAliens, opting for a raw and youthful cast was a big risk for Álvarez’s movie. In many cases,audiences that prefer the original movies often cite the characters’ age and realistic responses to adversity, as well as crew members that feel as weathered and haunted as the spaceships they inhabit. The risks of replacing realistic protagonists with reactionary and often foolish horror archetypes can be seen across the franchise, including in its worst installments. Putting this demographic front and center and turning it around to work in the film’s favor is nothing short of genius.
Alien: Romulus Ending Explained
Alien: Romulus' ending leaves the door open for another entry in the franchise. We break down the Alien sequel’s final moments & what might come next.
Reactions To Young Characters In Alien Films Haven’t Historically Been Good
Much of thehorror in theAlienfranchisereflects human vulnerability when confronted with the incomprehensible. The series has a variety of experience levels and backgrounds throughout – from the Nostromo’s crew inAliento the prisoners and guards on Fiorina 161 inAlien 3. This breadth provides contrasting characters and choices in the face of primal fear. This being said, audiences are frustrated whencharacters make needlessly silly decisions. This has been done to create more of a slasher movie feel, as withAliens vs. Predator: Requiem, which is set on Earth and features mostly teen citizens.
It goes beyond demographics – even inPrometheusandAlien: Covenant,audience frustrations come down to crew incompetence. Despite the questionable merits of theAvPmovies,Alien vs. Predatorgot a few things right, one of them being Lex Woods making a strong point about nobody wandering off on their own. Although I’m in the faction of viewers that like the prequels, I can’t deny that the crews in the prequel duology don’t get enough character development for their poor decision-making to be anything but frustrating, including separating and going off on their own against protocol – a vastly overplayed trope.
Alien: Romulus Does A Younger Cast Right This Time
The self-referential dialogue is what makes the tropey moments wink at the audience.
With these gripes in mind, I had my reservations about a younger cast inAlien: Romulus,but Fede Álvarez, a master of tension, pulled it off. Something the films in the original series do really well is a wry self-awareness. InAlien 3, when Aaron says,“The whole place is a basement,”Ripley replies,“It’s a metaphor.”The self-referential dialogue is what makes the tropey moments wink at the audience. InAlien: Romulus,there’s similarly self-aware humor. When Tyler demonstrates the F44AA Pulse Rifle to Rain, she asks him,“Where’d you learn all this?”– he replies,“Erm, games and magazines.”
This got a big laugh in the screening I went to and I think it’s a brilliant moment – itmakes the characters more relatable, cutting through the pretense. I also found it refreshing that without the power structure of a formal crew, it gets straight to the core of moral choices and the merits of both humans and synths on those tough calls. The survival instincts also make more sense – at several points in the movie, the characters try to stick together or reunite with their friends, despite the Trolley Dilemma decisions of Andy andRook, who resembles Ash inAlien.
By sidestepping the pitfalls of previous attempts to appeal to a teenage demographic, Álvarez has crafted a film thatresonates with both longtime fans and newcomers. The characters' relatable struggles and youthful energy inject vitality into theAlien: Romulusstory, while their vulnerability and moral dilemmas offer a fresh perspective on the classicAlienformula. By embracing the trope of inexperienced characters and turning it on its head with clever dialogue and character development,Alien: Romulusdemonstrates that sometimes, a younger cast is exactly what a franchise needs to thrive.
