**This article contains spoilers for both the Alien franchise and its newest installment, Alien: Romulus**
As a summer film girl, my go-to activity before back-to-school season is to check out whatâs playing at my local theater. While I got to see some absolutely stellar summer blockbusters like Deadpool & Wolverine and Glen Powellâs Twisters, I was particularly impressed with the newest terrifying installment in the Alien franchise.
Alien: Romulus stood out to me as an impressive legacy addition to a very unique series that looks like it’s getting a well-deserved TV reboot later in 2025.
While Iâm typically not the biggest connoisseur of horror movies, I have always been a fan of the original Alien films Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), and Alien 3 (1992). In my mind, they perfected the idea of the final girl in the horror genre with the creation of the feminist horror icon Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Ălvarez, pays tribute to the strong female protagonist archetype that takes down an extraterrestrial evildoer. Rain, played by Cailee Spaeny (recognizable from Priscilla) perfectly embodies Ripleyâs female show of psychological, mental, and physical strength that had me eagerly following the next installments in the series. I highly recommend this film and its predecessors to anyone in search of feminist film classics to watch this semester.
The movie opens with a blink-and-you-miss-it reference to the ending of the very first Alien film by showing scientists going through the wreckage of the original spaceship Nostromo, before introducing us to the main character, Rain, who works in the mines of a sunless planet.
Alien: Romulus very quickly sets up Rainâs adventure to the wreckage of yet another alien-infested spaceship in order to search for a way to escape her current life. She soon has to go head-to-head with a frightening xenomorph in an epic battle to escape the wreckage as the last surviving crew member, cementing Alien: Romulus as a quality addition to the franchise.
Another reason I enjoyed this film as a homage to one of my favorite series is that it retained the existential heart and soul of the rest of the movies.
Exhibited by its 2010s prequel series Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), Alien always reliably comments on the role of capitalism in human discovery and often explores what happens when it goes unchecked. In nearly every film under the name, including Alien: Romulus, the discovery of the famed alien, a xenomorph, was heralded by scientists seeking answers about the universe.
However, if you examine the continuity of the franchise we learn that a dangerous corporation, Weyland-Yutani, has been the cause behind the creation of the xenomorphs and their continued terrorism of humanity.
I was particularly stunned by how well Romulus fits into this plot, as we learn very quickly that our protagonist is only in a situation where she faces a murderous xenomorph because the actions of Weyland-Yuntani prevented her from achieving her dreams.
I believe that Alien: Romulus is faithful to the ideology of its predecessors because it really embraces the retro sci-fi universe from the original movies that were praised for their world-building.
As the archetype of the strong, independent woman develops further in Hollywood, I think Alien: Romulus does a phenomenal job paying respect to Sigourney Weaverâs Ripley and her huge role in building the Alien franchise, especially now that an Alien: Earth miniseries is in the works at FX, set to release in 2025.
Without a doubt, this summer hit should be on the watchlist of any sci-fi horror fans!
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