Alien: Romulus is too good to be scary
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I was not particularly happy when I learned that the next installment in the Alien Franchise will yet again be not directed by Ridley Scott. There are very few directors as good as James Cameron that can step into Ridley's shoes and deliver something amazing. Fede Álvarez is almost there. The movie is very pretty to look at and very engaging. It has interesting new concepts and ways people solve the problem of the Xenomorph. But frankly it is not very scary.
The film suffers from the same problem something like War Of The Worlds by Steven Spielberg suffers from. It is too good for its own good. You have so much dopamine from the good stuff that it overshadows any Norepinephrine from the scary stuff. The best horror films engage with the Norepinephrine side of things so deeply as to disturb you from within in the same time as from without. Alien: Covenant, the previous film in the franchise, by Ridley Scott, plays with Norepinephrine very well. And therefor it is very effective at horror. And the best horror films I've seen were from Lars Von Trier who is just a master of Norepineuphoria.
But Alien: Romulus is not that. There are too many things that are designed to give the viewer some sort of nostalgia, or other form of joy. The beginning of the film includes dated looking tech that would look at home in the original Alien from the 70s. The Wayland Utani logos everywhere and the aesthetics of everything is just beautiful to look at. The constant callbacks to other films in the franchise, with subtle musical queues and other little things are just delightful. And therefor no matter how much the film tries to be scary, you cannot shake off the good feeling you feel when watching it.
It doesn't help that the visual effects are breathtaking too. I mean the damn particle simulation of the station going through the rings. Just so cool to look at. How do you want me to feel scared in the same time?
But it doesn't mean that the film isn't trying. It is bombarded with moments that are trying to make you be weirded out or scared. Some truly creepy shit is being explored. But it doesn't work. The film is too good for it own good.
One aspect of the film that I really enjoyed, for a reason I don't quite understand yet, is the lead actress Cailee Spaeny, who you may know from Civil War, another kind of a horror film that was released recently. First of all she is just simply a phenomenal actress. But that is not what makes her so good for me. She is not you typical long-legged blond scream queen. She is very baby-face cute, but in the same time very serious. And that combination of the two makes her do wonders to my dopamine receptors. She did the same to me in Civil War. It is some dark magic. I don't understand it.
Another interesting actress that was in the movie was Isabela Merced that you may know from Transformers 5 by Michael Bay. Last time I saw her, was in that movie and even though the movie was kind of crap ( apart from the stuff I enjoy because I can be a Michael Bay fan boy at times ) she was not the worst part in that film. She was 14 though back in the those days. Now she is adult and plays a pregnant character in a horror film. That is a bit of a jump. It is like jumping from Empire of the Sun straight to American Psycho when it comes to being a fan of Christian Bale. If you know what I mean. It is a noticeable thing.
In anyway I think Alien: Romulus is kind of good. Even though it may not work as well for its horror, I still enjoyed a crap ton out of it.
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