In the Alien films, a xenomorph is a monstrous, all-consuming life form that exists only to make more and more copies of itself. Once the first xenomorph appears, it’s only a matter of time until all those gleaming chrome walls will be covered in creepy black goo and the humans suspended lifeless from the ceiling

Anyway, Alien: Romulus is the seventh film about these particular monsters. According to the producers, the film takes the franchise ‘back to its roots’. So we get a group of grimy crew-mates piloting a big rust-bucket of a spaceship who pick up an extraterrestrial stowaway and end up having to use their wits and courage to survive as it gobbles them up, one by one.

And it’s not a bad film. It’s nicely creepy, the special effects are good, the acting is perfectly serviceable. In fact, I could give you a normal review of Alien: Romulus, but just writing this is making me feel a little crazy. It’s not a bad film, but it’s also a direct copy of a much better film that already exists. That film is called Alien, and it came out in 1979. It had Sigourney Weaver in it. It hasn’t vanished. If you have a Disney+ subscription or a torrent client, you can watch it tonight. Why have we made it again? What’s the point? Why have we spent the past 45 years – which is longer than I’ve been alive – making seven different versions of the same film? What on Earth is going on?

  • @dohpaz42English
    15•4 months ago

    What’s the point?

    Um, same point as any franchise or reboot or remake: money. It’s easy too. Story is already there in one form or another; just add a few modern tweaks. You get the nostalgia kick from the original fans, and you get a boost from the younger fans who have heard all of the hyper from the OG fans. People have short term memories, so they get to rinse and repeat every few years.

    Edit: for example… 🙄

    • @[email protected]English
      8•4 months ago

      Hey, I have an idea, let’s make another Spiderman/Batman/nope not going to continue this even as a joke…

        • @[email protected]English
          1•4 months ago

          Maybe if a radioactive spider bit a photographer… and then he grew up to become Batman!? (Bc he likes bats, what’s to question about that?)

          And then a rich billionaire son loses his parents, becomes a ninja… and buys a costume to become Spiderman?! (again, he’s rich, he can buy whatever costume he wants!)

          • @MotoAshEnglish
            2•4 months ago

            and not a cool spider man outfit, but some weird fursuit spider suit that immediately makes everyone feel awkward to be around.

            Use the tweaks as springboards to make it truly different. Make the audience empathise where they weren’t expecting, feel something different.