As a lifelong fan of science fiction and horror, I find myself deeply immersed in the Alien franchise, having watched each installment numerous times. The journey through these films is like a rollercoaster ride, with each one offering its unique blend of suspense, action, and terror.
As a long-time enthusiast of science fiction and a passionate follower of Alien franchise news, I was thrilled to discover that this article had been updated to include details about the latest installment: Alien: Romulus. Having grown up watching Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece and eagerly anticipating each new addition to the series, it is always a treat to delve deeper into the expansive universe of these iconic creatures. The update on Alien: Romulus offers fresh insights that have only served to heighten my excitement for its release.
2021 has been an exciting year for fans of the Alien franchise! Recently, moviegoers have had several chances to witness their beloved multi-mouthed, acid-oozing killing machine again. Ridley Scott’s 1979 blend of ruthless monster film and gritty futuristic sci-fi made a comeback in April, once more terrorizing nerves and stomachs. (The ads claimed, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” However, in theaters, the sound echoes, and it’s contagious.) The rerelease was likely a strategy to generate excitement for the latest addition to the series, which premiered this week: Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, set between the original storyline and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel. For even more Alien content, look out for Noah Hawley’s Hulu spinoff focused on the sinister Weyland-Yutani Corporation, scheduled to arrive early next year.
It’s astonishing that the series initially started by Scott and developed by Cameron is still active today, though not always at its peak strength. Nowadays, we have entire periods of the Alien franchise underway. The early films, compiled in a comprehensive nine-disc DVD set known as the “Alien Quadrilogy,” all feature Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, a space trucker whose life is dominated by her ongoing struggle against the Xenomorph across different time periods. After Fox had extracted everything they could from this increasingly complex and valuable storyline, they followed the model of the classic Universal Monsters and pitted the alien against another creature under contract, the Predator. While these movies are often dismissed as low-budget B-movies, some argue that they better embody the spirit of Alien than Ridley Scott’s recent prequels, which exchange the raw intensity of his initial film for a more contemplative and mythological approach. These films can be seen as loosely connected to the Alien series.
Still, all of the above have an official place in the series, and so all have been included below in our ranking, which expresses a clear hierarchy when it comes to those various eras of Alien. Keep reading to see where Romulus fits in that spectrum of quality, spanning from influential masterpiece to shamelessly janky exploitation of the brand. Rest assured, it’s as disgustingly wet as the rest.
9.
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Instead of being merely the worst film featuring either the “Alien” or “Predator” characters, this cross-over for Fox’s iconic extraterrestrial monsters transforms both into typical slasher flicks. The Brothers Strause, who started as special effects artists and later made the “Skyline” movies, direct most of the action shrouded in thick, unclear darkness, making it hard to tell who’s attacking whom. This film introduces a new member of the franchise family, a massive Alien-Predator hybrid, but we rarely get a clear view of it as it affectionately feeds on its human victims, filling their bellies with offspring. The only redeeming quality of this violent, money-driven movie is its harsh edge; even innocent children are not spared from the film’s gruesome, chaotic, and indiscriminate violence, which makes the unexpected Christmas Day release date even more amusing.
8.
Alien vs. Predator (2004)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=Xh1TwRilcLo
In essence, Requiem isn’t drastically inferior to its forerunner, as it built upon a humorous Easter egg from the 1990’s Predator 2 – a solitary shot of a Xenomorph skull among hunter trophies – into a full-blown B-movie confrontation. The film offers brief glimpses of amusement, such as actress Sanaa Lathan embodying Ripley and creatively employing alien body parts as weapons. Additionally, the subterranean arctic-pyramid setting appeals to director Paul W.S. Anderson’s affinity for geometrically complex death traps. However, the movie predominantly falls short, featuring uneven action sequences, characters who are remarkably expendable, and CGI effects that have aged poorly compared to the prosthetic creatures of earlier films in the series, not to mention the haunting imagery found in Anderson’s more successful Alien reinterpretation, Event Horizon. The film’s tagline, “Whoever wins, we lose,” is wittier than anything within the movie itself.
7.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
As a fan following the divisive prequels that sometimes seemed like an attempt to appease fans rather than integral parts of the story (Don’t Breathe director Fede Álvarez has returned the series to its roots with this “interquel” focusing on a group of young miners inadvertently awakening the monster on an abandoned Weyland-Yutani station). Visually, Romulus is often striking, as Álvarez carefully emulates the now retro-futuristic design of Scott’s original while crafting some entertainingly gruesome practical effects sequences. (It might even be the scariest use of Facehuggers yet.) However, Álvarez’s characters are generic and dull, and they’ve been inserted into a straightforward action ride that prioritizes nodding to beloved stories like the first two Alien films over discovering a fresh tale worth telling. After watching it, I gained a newfound respect for Scott’s uneven Prometheus series, which aspired to more than just stringing together callbacks to the classics.
6.
Prometheus (2012)
The Alien series’ version of Batman Begins: an origin tale that reintroduced some depth and quality to a franchise that had sunk to a comically absurd level five years earlier. Reconnecting with the foundation of the series (and his own career), director Ridley Scott creates a daring prequel where a group of reckless scientists search for their creators – the “Engineers” they believe gave rise to humanity – and inevitably find themselves in pre-Nostromo trouble. Prometheus boasts stunning visuals, strong performances (particularly Michael Fassbender who leaves a lasting impression as the intriguingly curious android David), and one suspenseful sequence that stands out. However, it’s also plagued by conflicting objectives, with a script by Damon Lindelof of Lost fame struggling to balance its grand philosophical queries with obligatory franchise requirements. Fortunately, the storyline itself carries a subtle critique: As the characters learn, revisiting the origins of something can sometimes lead to disastrous results.
5.
Alien: Covenant (2018)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=92Q7Rv5jT80
In Scott’s sequel to the prequel, titled more as an authentic Alien movie compared to Prometheus, there is indeed a significant increase in Xenomorph encounters, with the crew of Covenant being stranded on another deadly alien planet and facing numerous gruesome death scenes. However, it seems that Scott only partially revisits his 1979 classic, using the traditional run-and-scream elements as a canvas for something more intriguing: a gothic horror story revolving around creation and destruction. A significant portion of this film takes place within a spaceship that functions like a Transylvanian manor, featuring two Frankenstein-like characters engaging in dialogue reminiscent of Byron and Shelley. Fassbender’s dual role as the characters David and Walter, named after the long-standing producers of the Alien franchise, almost makes one yearn for their intriguing relationship to be the main focus instead of a secondary plot point inserted through the revival of an old intellectual property.
4.
Alien Resurrection (1997)
Initially serving as a creative relay between various filmmakers, the Alien series evolved into both Predators and prequels. In keeping with its genetic fusion theme, Alien: Resurrection combines the unique styles of two distinct directors, venturing to depict what an Alien movie helmed by the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the director of City of Lost Children would be like. The result: witty and ornately strange! Critics initially panned this arguably redundant fourth installment, but time has favored its eccentric reinvention, boosted by thrilling set pieces (such as a swim-based chase scene that showcases the aliens’ aquatic prowess) and an eclectic ensemble cast featuring Dan Hedaya, Brad Dourif, Ron Perlman, Leland Orser, and the versatile character actor known simply as “That Guy.” Despite cloning Ripley in a move that appears to tarnish her selfless sacrifice from the previous installment on paper, Sigourney Weaver once again delivers a compelling performance, maintaining her unwavering toughness and internal conflict.
3.
Alien 3 (1992)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=dCTd1XHbliU
A critically panned yet compelling film, “Alien 3,” even disappoints its own director, David Fincher. Despite his rejection of the movie as his debut work, remnants of his stylish filmmaking techniques are evident in the final product. In this installment, Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver with a sense of anguish and a freshly shorn haircut, crash-lands on a drifting penal colony. She rallies a group of penitent maximum-security prisoners, devoid of weapons, to wage a battle against the monstrous entity that accompanied her – a creature reminiscent of a stalker boyfriend from hell, especially when the script reveals its most cruel twist. Whether you choose the criticized theatrical version or the more favorably regarded “assembly cut” created without Fincher’s involvement, “Alien 3” is a difficult pill to swallow for fans of the “Aliens” series. The film seems particularly disappointing to those who were hoping for a continuation of the hopeful ending from the previous movie. However, despite the creative disagreements and studio interference, “Alien 3” retains an operatic intensity, embodying the struggles it faced during production like battle scars. As a horror film featuring a resilient survivor engaging in her final stand against her tormentor, it’s only fitting that it carries a few of those hard-earned scars.
2.
Aliens (1986)
As a passionate cinema enthusiast, I often ponder how one could surpass or even equal the chilling terror of the original ‘Alien’. James Cameron wisely chose not to tread that path. In crafting a sequel to Ridley Scott’s masterful space thriller, the director of ‘Terminator’ opted for a unique approach, shifting the genre focus from horror to action, replacing mounting tension with unrelenting intensity, and escalating the threat from a single, ruthless creature on the loose to an entire horde, pouring out from vents and rafters to shred a tough-talking squad of space marines. ‘Aliens’, one of the finest Hollywood sequels (and arguably among the greatest in action- and war-movie history), stands apart due to its evolution from its predecessor, rather than merely attempting to replicate it. Although it may lack the stark simplicity of Scott’s film, there is a profound emotional depth beneath its explosive action, deeply intertwined with Sigourney Weaver’s powerful portrayal of a grieving mother transforming into a fierce shield of protection. The franchise’s narrative logic is both cynical and healing, providing Ripley with catharsis while subjecting her to further hardships in the pursuit of the financial success Cameron had promised studio executives when he famously wrote “Alien$” on a whiteboard.
1.
Alien (1979)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=U-mmbStFrAA
The cold and calculating character Ash, portrayed by Ian Holm, refers to the monster that’s killing his crewmates as a “perfect organism.” Over time, numerous films have been made, emulating the design of this creature created by H.R. Giger, which seems to validate Ash’s assessment. If _Alien_ is considered the best monster movie, it’s partly due to its outstanding monster – a menacing entity with a bio-organic appearance that exudes hostility and doom. However, _Alien_ transcends the genre of monster movies: It’s like John Hurt’s unfortunate character, Kane, who becomes congested in a gruesome manner. The film is an incubator, with its shiny surfaces hiding an allegory of ruthless capitalism, a terrifying depiction of sexual anxiety, and a sort of reverse _Psycho_, gradually eliminating the crew until only Ripley, the emerging action heroine, remains. Despite having one monster, one ship, and one crew, _Alien_ manages to achieve all this without compromising its brutal simplicity. Even decades later, the awe that this film inspires has not diminished.
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2024-08-16 18:54