Nasty, no-nonsense nostalgia with teeth.

There are few more infuriating film franchises out there than the Alien series. Not necessarily due to any huge dips in quality (god knows, there are plenty of poorer franchises out there), but largely because nothing has ever really come close to touching the high bar its first two instalments set.

Of course, few films can possibly dream of matching the sheer perfection of either Alien or Aliens. However, the disappointment with the franchise stems primarily from the huge amount of potential the world possesses and that no film from Alien³ onward has truly managed to capitalise on it.

Yet, after the box office disappointment of Alien: Covenant and some serious franchise soul searching, could this finally be the moment? Could Alien: Romulus be where the franchise Ridley built finally gets its mojo back?

While scavenging the depths of a derelict space station left to drift above their home planet, orphan Rain (Cailee Spaeny), her synthetic brother Andy (David Jonsson), and a group of fellow young space colonizers find their desperate escape attempt thwarted when they come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

On the surface, forcing your audience to make a direct comparison between your film and not one, but two, stone-cold cinema classics is certainly a choice; however, in hindsight, the decision to take the latest instalment in this long running franchise back to (almost) the beginning and to slot it in neatly between Alien and Aliens has paid off handsomely.

Of course, there’s no Ellen Ripley in sight, but there’s certainly tonnes of potential in the time period between the first two films if it can be capitalised on, and, for the most part, Alien: Romulus capitalises. Undoubtedly - and almost inevitably - nostalgia plays a huge part in proceedings, and there are many points where Romulus’ trigger-happy approach to ‘member berry’ storytelling threatens to undermine it, yet there’s so much to appreciate here that it’s easy to forgive (most of) the film’s nostalgic indulgences.

Without wanting to spoil things, there are moments throughout Romulus that its overzealous reverence to the past feels far too pandering and heavy handed for its own good (including a certain ill-judged cameo that will inevitably enrage many). However, despite this overeager nostalgia, much of it undoubtedly comes from the right place, and with a clear fan in the shape of Fede Álvarez at the helm, the film always feels like it’s in safe hands as the director honours the past while doing his own thing entirely.

Without a doubt, Fede Álvarez just gets it. Wearing his Alien nerd credentials on his sleeve and with an innate ability to nimbly navigate this sprawling, convoluted universe, it’s obvious that the filmmaker understands precisely what makes an Alien film tick, with Romulus positively bursting with love and admiration for its franchise.

With a keen eye for visuals, a gift for tense atmospherics, a knack for getting the most from a stripped back environment, and a clear thirst for visceral, bloodcurdling horror, Álvarez takes the distinct style he’s honed from a filmography that includes the exceptionally vicious Evil Dead reboot and the brutally executed Don’t Breathe and implants it directly into Romulus’ chest.

Undeniably one of the smartest and most impressive looking entries in the Alien franchise to date, Álvarez knows precisely what he’s doing and how to get the most out of his $80 million budget. With riveting camerawork, jaw-dropping sets, and gory practical effects galore, Romulus soars where previous Alien series entries sunk; going back-to-basics and squeezing every last drop of blood, sweat, and blind terror from its admirably limited setup.

Much like he did with his Evil Dead reimagining, Álvarez strips a well-known and well-loved horror franchise down to its bare flesh and offers a lean, mean killing machine of a film. Clearly comfortable with his surroundings, Álvarez brings everything he’s got to the table for a thoroughly unique Alien experience that’s both undeniably retro and bullishly intent on blazing its own inimitable trail with the franchise’s lore.

Becoming far too expansive, expensive, and unwieldy for its own good, it wasn’t too long ago that the Alien franchise was in dire need of dialling it in - and dialling it in is precisely what Álvarez does here, as the director’s paired down approach feels refreshing, while instantly drawing comparisons to its earliest predecessors. From the silliness of Alien: Resurrection to the mythos-building pomposity of Prometheus and Covenant via whatever the vs Predator things were, it’s fair to say this franchise has been spiralling outwards for some time, and while Romulus is certainly far from perfect, it does an excellent job of reining it all back in again.

Stripped to the bone and strikingly claustrophobic, Romulus is as confined and small scale as the Alien series has ever been, as its small cast and limited location bring things full circle to the earliest moments of the franchise. Despite this decidedly stripped back approach, however, Romulus certainly has an adventurous side that seeks to open the world up and offer plenty of genuinely jaw-dropping elements that feel huge and unlike anything we’ve ever seen from an Alien instalment before.

Although the film feels rather retrograde in its outlook, this shouldn’t distract from just how clever and subtly adventurous Romulus is with its world building. While it may initially feel jarring to join an exclusively young cast for the ride, what Romulus offers is very far from the teeny YA story you might be expecting; instead delivering a brutally unique perspective on a universe we thought we knew.

Whether it’s this band of orphans’ desperation to escape the disease and destitution of their rotting colony or the crushing depiction of the brutal, totalitarian greed of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, by filling in timeline gaps and depicting the effects that unfettered space colonisation and attempted Xenomorph harnessing has had on humanity, the franchise feels as satisfyingly filled out and lived in as it has done for quite some time.

Done right, the Alien universe is an extremely exciting sandbox to play in, and while some big-name filmmakers have come and gone from the franchise with varied results, few have taken to it in quite the way Fede Álvarez has. The man just knows his horror and knows precisely how the genre can be best deployed within the Alien world, and the results here speak for themselves.

Dark, foreboding, and deeply unsettling, Romulus offers an extremely visceral viewing experience, as Álvarez takes the basic Alien structure and wraps his own distinctive, disturbing style around it. Whether it’s stomach-churning gore or a collection of heart-pounding, nerve-shredding set pieces, Romulus delivers the kind of gut punch (or should that be chest burst?) we’ve not seen from this franchise in a long, long time.

Amidst all this, the film’s cast may be limited in size but there’s absolutely no shortage of talent on display here. It was indeed bold to go with such a strikingly young cast, but it certainly pays off, making for a surprisingly invigorating viewing experience, one that’s wholly different from anything Alien has ever offered before.

Of this tight ensemble, everyone plays their part - not least Isabela Merced, who positively throws herself into some of the film’s most memorable (and downright brutal) scenes – yet it’s undoubtedly the film’s two leads that shine the brightest.

Radiating big Ripley vibes but never tipping over into parody or impersonation, Cailee Spaeny is quite remarkable as our protagonist. Small in stature though she may be, Spaeny is nonetheless able to do so much of Romulus’ emotional and physical heavy lifting, as she capitalises on her recent momentum with Pricilla and Civil War to hammer home just how much of a phenomenal prospect she is.

It’s a remarkably astute performance that carries Romulus an awful long way on its own, however, it’s Spaeny’s co-star that positively steals the show. Synthetics are never an easy role to play within the Alien universe, yet, get it right - as David Jonsson does here - and you’ll be richly rewarded.

Coming hot off last year’s wonderful Rye Lane, Jonsson builds on the long legacy of standout synthetic Alien characters, taking elements from the likes of Ian Holm’s Ash and Michael Fassbender’s David and adding entirely his own spin on things. Constantly shifting tones from warm and empathetic to cold and calculated, Jonsson does a superb job offering something to root both for and against, adding a distinctively sympathetic layer to his character while losing none of the mechanical menace.

Jonsson and Spaeny’s adaptability to their surroundings and to Fede Álvarez’s taught, tense direction is quite remarkable, and while there are plenty of familiar elements to their characters, and to Romulus as a whole, there’s more than enough there that feels fresh and distinctive.

It must be said, some of these familiarity issues extend to the plot, which echoes its predecessors in many ways, however, as with the characters, the tweaks and newer elements offer plenty for audiences to get their teeth into. As evidence of this, Romulus’ third act is a lot - perhaps a little too much - to take in at times, as it piles more and more tension and xenomorph insanity on us; however, both it and Álvarez stand firm to deliver the franchise’s finest instalment in quite some time.

While it’s certainly trigger happy with its nostalgia, there’s so much to love with Alien: Romulus that it’s easy to forgive (almost) all its nostalgic indulgences. With a keen eye for striking visuals, a back-to-basics approach, and a thirst for tense, visceral horror, Fede Alvarez just gets it, offering a flawed but fascinating film and the kind of gut punch we haven’t felt since the first two Alien instalments.

Alien: Romulus is in cinemas now.