Summary
With an innovative plot line that both echo former entree in the dealership and push the lore in exciting new directions , Alien : Romulusis a loosely successful add-on totheAlienmovie serial . And yet , for all its strengths , when I was watching the 2024 sci - fi revulsion , I could n’t help but be reminded of a totally unrelated thriller . While theAlienfranchise has historically relied on xenomorphs , malevolent robot , chestbursters , and mysterious black goo , several details inAlien : Romulusprove that the film has a surprising amount in mutual with a $ 165 million craze thriller from 1999 .
In many ways , Alien : Romulusmarks a return to what in the first place made the franchise so successful . Far removed from the polished aesthetic that defined Ridley Scott ’s prequels , the film feature the retro - futuristic engineering science that made the 1979 moving-picture show in particular typical . The movie also incorporate all the component want of a classicAlienfilm , with nods toevery installment fromAlientoCovenant . But althoughRomulusis undoubtedly steeped in franchise custom , it also has other more subtle influences . As the report progressed , I detect its surprising similarities with one 25 - twelvemonth - former shark movie inconceivable to dismiss .
Alien: Romulus Is Weirdly Similar To Deep Blue Sea
WhileRomulushas been lauded and criticized in equal measure for the sheer telephone number ofreferences it includes to previousAlienfilms , the one movie I could n’t stop thinking about while ascertain Álvarez ’s interquel was the 1999 shark thriller , Deep Blue Sea . LikeAlien : Romulus , Deep Blue Seais fix aboard a remote lab in which a serial publication of dubious experiment are select position for the good of humanity . Although the open ocean is dissimilar to outer distance , both setting transmit a sentiency of isolation and pin the protagonists alongside some grievous monsters .
The similarities do n’t end there . Both movies involve the fundamental cast desperately trying to escape the research station as it begin to collapse around them . There are also scenes involve lift shafts and isolated crew penis being slowly picked off one by one , with the ethics of the lab themselves shape a cardinal plot point . The only real difference is that one tarradiddle imply hostile , parasitic aliens , and the other features killer shark .
The Deep Blue Sea Link Doesn’t Help Alien: Romulus' Story
It Undermines The Horror Of What’s Unfolding
The uncanny law of similarity betweenDeep Blue SeaandAlien : Romulusare bad tidings for the 2024 film . From a personal position , as soon as the connexion had been made , I found it out of the question not to view the motion-picture show through the optical prism of the notoriously lightheaded Thomas Jane flick . While this did n’t of necessity have to be detrimental , the distressing consequence was thatthe comparison undermined the horror of what was spread out on silver screen .
In the terminal , it becomes difficult to be shocked by some ofAlien : Romulus ' surprising death scenes when the whole film is evocative of something so idiotic .
For all the horrific intensity ofAlien : Romulus , the fact that it seems to recycle key game elements from a film about giant mako shark sharks curing Alzheimer ’s slightly dimishes the tension that the movie looks to work up . In the end , it becomes difficult to be shocked by some ofAlien : Romulus ' gory destruction sceneswhen the whole movie is evocative of something so ridiculous . The connection betweenAlien : RomulusandDeep Blue Seamay only be tangential . Nevertheless , for me , the link became enough to vitiate what might otherwise have been an effectively shuddery horror movie .
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
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