Alien: Romulus is director Fede Alverez’s ode to the long-running sci-fi horror franchise that reminds us that in space, no one can hear you scream. While previous Alien sequels and prequels focused more on blue collars, scientists, and soldiers, the latest film, the seventh in the franchise, is more about a new group of misfit kids who refuse to accept their fate but place them in similar circumstances of fighting to survive, escaping with their lives, and putting their fate in the hands of a dubious android. Now, fans can relive all of that with the release of Alien: Romulus on digital.

Setting aside that Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection were wild deviations from the franchise and Prometheus and Alien: Covenant were prequels that explored the mythology, Alien: Romulus is a back-to-basics sci-fi horror that is less concerned about continuing specific stories and more focused on expanding from a different and much younger perspective, while still reminding us of how futuristic corporate capitalism is willing to risk the lives of their blue-collar crew to increase their profits.

Set in 2142, after the events of the first Alien, Alien Romulus follows Rain (Cailee Spaeny), an orphan miner who works and lives with her adoptive brother Andy (David Jonsson), a malfunctioning android reprogrammed by Rain’s late father, on a planet that receives little to no sunlight. Ultimately, Andy serves as Rain’s caretaker and protector, programmed to do what is best for Rain. When Rain receives word that the Weyland-Yuntai corporation has extended her work contract, she has to make new arrangements to get off the desolate planet.

She reluctantly teams up with her ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux), who persuades her to join an expedition with his pregnant sister Kay (Isabela Merced), their cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Bjorn’s adoptive sister Navarro (Aileen Wu) and board a derelict spaceship that seems to be orbiting the planet. They all intend to leave the planet for greener pastures. However, what they don’t know is that they are aboard a research vessel that currently holds cloned inert facehuggers, which were retrieved from a cocoon that contains the remnants of a xenomorph that nearly killed the Nostromo’s crew. Now that they are trapped with the killer organism, Rain and Andy are in the ultimate fight for survival, as they will have to get off the ship one way or another.

Part of what makes Alien: Romulus so striking is that, like all great horror films, it serves as social commentary on the world that we live in today. The film starts by bridging the gap between itself and the Alien original by having a Weyland-Yuntai vessel recover a Big Chap Xenomorph in its cocoon stage from the wreckage of the Nostromo. Curious scientists are eager to crack open the egg without asking how it got here or what happened to the ship. Blinded by their ambition or oblivious to how expendable they are to Weyland-Yuntai, the science crew pierces the cocoon and begins working on cloning it.

The film then focuses on the misfits searching for a better life off the suffocating planet enveloped in darkness. Audiences quickly get a sense that these kids were born into a suffocating world of destitution and irrevocable labor contracts and see them as replaceable. It’s quite a shift in direction for the franchise, as Alien had the Nostromo crew discover they were expendable. In Alien: Romulus, these kids know nothing of working for a living, only fighting to survive in a time of where the generation are more aware of corporate capitalism. Yet, it is a shift that reflects the world the new generation lives in today, where they either have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet or work in a job where they are disposable and can be easily replaced by a labor force working for small wages or, worse, AI.

Though Rain and Andy discover that Tyler has been less than straightforward with them when they finally board the space station, they uncover a darker truth when they reactivate Rook. tragedy of the situation. Unlike the early Alien films that portrayed the Xenomorph as the ultimate soldier, Alien: Romulus pictures the Xenomorph, or its human hybrid form, as the ultimate laborer, which could replace a human workforce working in harsher conditions without question. Rook informs them and the audience that deceased scientists performed twisted genetic engineering that mixed human DNA with Xenomorph DNA. And we get an image of the possible final product later on as the film reaches its third and final act. It’s a piece of social commentary that shows how AI’s advancements could reduce the human workforce if unchecked. However, in contrast, AI could also be beneficial in terms of efficiency.

Themes aside, Alien: Romulus makes for quite a sci-fi horror for the new generation. Alverez crafts a story that engages because of its timelessness while also having the audience build emotional attachments through the Rain and Andy sibling dynamics organically. The film hinges on their sibling relationship because they are there for each other. Where the malfunctioning Andy’s primary directive is to be Rain’s caretaker and protector while also doing what’s best for her, Rain could never leave Andy’s side because he is all she has left of her family. Rain’s trust in her brother is tested when his prime directive shifts to a more distrusting android that serves Weyland-Yuntai. The androids in Aliens are untrustworthy by nature, but that’s because they were designed to serve their creator’s interests. As such, because Andy has been given some semblance of humanity and is flawed, he is more human than the other crew members.

On the technical side, Benjamin Wallfisch‘s fist-clenching score is a tribute to characters trying to outrun every Xenomorph lifeform. At the same time, Naaman Marshall‘s production design crafts a fear that can only be felt in deep space or even when surrounded by darkness. The practical effects help ground the film, making what we see more believable and giving the cast what they need to be more playful with the set’s tangibility. Even the technology, though a bit futuristic, still functions with buttons and levers instead of holographic keyboards.

The way that the tension and scares build wouldn’t be as terrifying without Jake Roberts‘s masterful editing, and the sound design Lee Gilmore, along with sound mixer Will Files, hits at the right moments which amplified everything we love about the franchise.

Even the disembodied Rook, who took the likeness of late actor Ian Holm (Ash in the original film), was a puppet operated by puppeteers, likewise for the Xenomorph and all of its lifeforms who were a combination of headpieces, puppetry, and creature suits. Watching the facehuggers scurry themselves across the floor to latch onto their prey is scary enough as it is and mirrors the amazing wirework and stunt performances meant to make Rain and Andy look like they navigate a hull full of the Xenomorph’s acid blood in zero gravity.

Alverez and Rodo Sayagues’ script is a love letter to the first two chapters of the Alien film franchise. It connects the two while distancing itself from being the typical sequel/prequel overstuffed with fan service. Sure, the nods are there, but they aren’t distracting. Spaeny and Jonsson have outstanding chemistry, with the former not necessarily raising the bar but taking the heroine role of the Alien film franchise and making it her own thing. Jonsson has to play dual roles as Andy, making the role more complex and complicating the sibling dynamic when he inserts Rook’s chip into himself.

As one of the best Alien films since Aliens, Alien: Romulus is a breath of fresh air that you will be taking a lot of as the terrifying scares and tension that build throughout steal them. The first two acts set the film apart from its predecessors by giving us a cast of characters who face the terrors of corporate capitalism and the horrors of space aliens.

Of course, a home entertainment release wouldn’t be much without its bonus features. Here’s a list of what you can see after or before you watch Alien Romulus.

Bonus Features*

Return to Horror: Crafting Alien: Romulus

• The Director’s Vision – Discover how one of today’s greatest horror directors, Fede Alvarez, collaborated with master filmmaker Ridley Scott to craft a new, heart-pounding chapter in the Alien franchise.

• Creating the Story – Learn what inspired the story of Alien: Romulus and see the many easter eggs from previous Alien installments that you may have missed. 

• Casting the Faces – Meet the stars of Alien: Romulus as they take us inside the hearts and minds of their characters. Explore the parallels between Rain and the iconic franchise heroine, Ripley, and learn how filmmakers brought back a face from the past. 

• Constructing the World – Explore the massive, practical sets of Alien: Romulus that hearken back to the futuristic style established in the ’80s and get up close and personal with a hoard of practically built facehuggers, chestbursters, and xenomorphs. 

Inside the Xenomorph Showdown – Experience the film’s climactic zero-gravity sequence from every angle as filmmakers break down what it took to make the moment spectacular. From sets and performances, to wirework, stunts, and VFX, see how it all came together. 

Alien: A Conversation – A special conversation with Ridley Scott and Fede Alvarez for the Alien 45th Anniversary theatrical re-release. 

Alternate / Extended Scenes – Check out scenes that didn’t make the final cut.

Alien: Romulus hits digital on October 15, 2024, and Blu-ray on December 3, 2024.