Don’t get me wrong: I was thoroughly enamored with James Cameron’s “Aliens,” propelling our very own Sigourney Weaver into bad-ass chick status. And even “Alien 3” has a special place in my dark heart, although that film was plagued with some problems. Of course, “Prometheus” for me put the “science” in the “science fiction horror,” which makes the genre live on in my opinion. And “Alien: Covenant” was fun, I guess?
(We shan’t not discuss the ‘other’ sequel, “Alien: Resurrection,” as that one was just sort of weird!)
But none of it would’ve ever been possible had it not been for the OG — the good ol’ fashioned claustrophobic, psychologically horrifying character study that was the original “Alien”!
Wouldn’t you know it? Warner Bros. just released its first full trailer of the next film in the franchise: Alien Romulus. And dare I say — this is a return to form, a final destination if you will! For three major reasons!
1) Looks Like We’re Trapped on a Ship or Station with an Alien Again
That ain’t no pleasure cruise. You may notice the reference link above was for the Alien Romulus teaser that was released a couple months ago, too; and that also certainly didn’t look like a pleasure cruise.
This was what made things go bump in the night for me. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Only thing you could do was close doors, and even that wouldn’t be enough to keep the demons away.
What made the original “Alien” work was the scenario of being stuck out in space, bringing in a nasty alien that would then hunt you and your crew down in such a tightly knit area. Talk about being cornered…. There was something so violating about it that the mere thought of it was what scared you. You almost didn’t have to watch the movie! All you had to do was think about it….
And then you wouldn’t sleep for at least a couple days.
2) The Alien Romulus Trailer Doubles Down on the Face-Huggers
https://gty.im/1164833003
I’m talking big time.
I do want to reiterate just how scary the big aliens are, though. Not discounting that. But there’s something about a weird crab creature that latches onto you and sticks its penis-like tube into your throat, so it can impregnate you with a giant black cockroach.
The chills are real just by thinking about that. And I’m a horror author, so that’s saying something.
Now what I mean by “doubles down” is that if you do pay close attention to the Alien Romulus trailer, you’ll notice that not only do we get one face-hugger clamped on a poor soul, it looks like we might get at least two. And the trailer doesn’t hold back on how it looks.
You get to see all of the slimy nastiness.
In retrospect and comparison, we didn’t even get to actually see that in “Aliens.” It came close on a couple scenes, but alas, no weird alien sex impregnation ordeal commencing. Plus, we hardly see it actually happen at first in the original film. We only see poor Kane basically sleeping with a big crab wrapped around his face for a while. It was the ‘after’ that then scared us to never-ending shadows.
But Alien Romulus? Jesus H. Christ…. Game over, man. It’s game over.
3) the ChestBursters, Oh, My Dear
To harken back, the chestburster was so iconic that we really only needed it once at that time when “Alien” premiered. We got it again in “Aliens.” Yet we weren’t heavily invested in the character who suffered the most horrible death (the person was just one of the colonists on Acheron, formerly known as LV-426).
And as much as some would have an issue with “Alien 3,” watching a chestburster do its thing to our very own Ellen Ripley was so poignant, poetic, and utterly gut-wrenching in its design. You had to admit it hits home where it hurts. Right in the chest, in fact. Ironically.
But the Alien Romulus trailer? Oh. My. God. Just watch it again. Seriously, play that damn YouTube video again and listen to the score and sound effects. Nothing beats hearing the beating of a beast in your chest until you explode; the bones then crack, splinter, and leave you for dead.
Seriously, if the film’s anything like the trailer, we’re in trouble (but in a good way!). And you’d half-expect to be sleeping peacefully with Fede Alvarez, director of classics like Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe. While helming this night terror of a film we’re going to see, we can’t do without producer Ridley Scott who began it all.
But, Seriously, Seriously…. Don’t Take My Word for It
Just watch the damn trailer again. And again. Let it sink in.
If anyone thought the Alien franchise was dead? You’re dead wrong. You’ve certainly been impregnated by one of those face-huggers of truth, and you only have a short window of time to live. Let’s hope you live long enough to be there on premiere day for Alien Romulus. Maybe you’ll just build a fire, sing a couple of songs, just try that.
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