New Alien movie promises to have the most ‘realistic, visceral’ carnage yet

Stephen Porzio

‘It’s never been done in the way we did it on this film, like in such a realistic, grounded, visceral way,’ the sci-fi movie’s director told JOE.

Alien: Romulus arrives in cinemas this week and you can read JOE’s rave review for the latest entry in the legendary horror sci-fi franchise right here.

The movie centres on a group of youngsters (led by rising star Cailee Spaeny) who attempt to pull off an ambitious heist but wind up running afoul of dozens of facehuggers.

JOE had the pleasure of speaking to co-writer and director Fede Álvarez about the blockbuster ahead of its release.

And we opened the chat by asking the filmmaker – who was a life-long fan of the series – about the things he always wanted to see in an Alien movie that he got to include in Romulus.

His response: more “realistic, grounded, visceral” carnage.

“Well, everything that’s in the movie is exactly what I wanted to see,” he told JOE – half-joking, half-serious – in his response to our question.

“I’m trying to think if there’s something I left out. I think if I left out some things, it’s because I was saving something for the sequel, if we get lucky enough that people want to see another one but it’s definitely – everything that’s in the movie, it’s the things that I couldn’t wait to see again.

“Specifically I think there’s some things that people tend to believe they’ve seen a lot of times like the chest bursting and stuff like that.

“But the reality [is]… on Alien, you had a good chest burst scene and then Aliens has a quick one then in the middle but then Alien 3 doesn’t really do it, I think Alien: Resurrection might have something there.

“But I think it’s never [been] done in the way we did [it] on this film, like in such a realistic, grounded, visceral way – I think it’s never been really portrayed in camera.

“So, there were a lot of those things I just couldn’t wait to bring to life for a new audience with modern techniques and with [a] more raw approach to filmmaking.”

Having seen Alien: Romulus, we can confirm that the movie is full-on with the gore – in the best way possible.

You can watch JOE’s full interview with Álvarez right here, although we get into spoilers during the conversation so it’s best to avoid until after you’ve seen the film.