The Alien franchise, suffice it to say, has legs. Xenomorphs and facehuggers are among the most iconic sci-fi creatures in movie history. And multiple directors, including legends Ridley Scott and James Cameron, have made nine Alien films in 45 years. And it would seem that the latest installment, Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, shows that interest in watching people fight gooey space parasites has not waned. The worldwide box office currently sits at $289.5 million, and it had the second highest opening weekend of any Alien movie to date.
In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, and I compare Alien: Romulus to many other Alien movies (and we’ve all seen different ones!), and in doing so contemplate the contribution the film makes to the franchise overall. P.T. gives not one but two mind-melding monologues: one about the behind-the-scenes story of the original Alien’s development and another about the academic discourse surrounding the franchise’s subversion of gendered horror stereotypes. We talk artificial intelligence, corporate capitalism, horror vs. thriller, and whether or not it’s possible to be an auteur in a franchise sandbox. The bell has rung and class is in session on this one.
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Alien: Romulus Review