Alien: Romulus Is A Stealth Remake Of Another Fede Álvarez Movie

Priority One: Avoid spoilers. All other considerations secondary. Be warned, this article discusses major plot details from "Alien: Romulus."

For those who haven't been paying close attention, it might've been easy to miss how the first "Alien" movie in over seven years ended up in the hands of Fede Álvarez. Genre junkies have been well aware that he made quite the entrance in 2013 with his "Evil Dead" remake. Only a few years later, he teamed up once again with lead actor Jane Levy for the original horror movie "Don't Breathe," which spooked and grossed out moviegoers in equal measure on its way to becoming a critical and box-office hit. With both success stories under his belt (not to mention the trust of producer Sam Raimi), it was only a matter of time before he landed on the radar of someone like Ridley Scott and was brought on board to help figure out where to take the "Alien" series next.

But even though "Alien: Romulus" represents his most significant step yet into the world of blockbuster filmmaking, some habits apparently die hard. Now that the film has opened in theaters and moviegoers are turning out in droves (which would confirm the bullish tracking numbers in the weeks leading up to release), fans may have noticed something a bit familiar about this new sequel. "Romulus" certainly pays homage to its franchise past — arguably too much, according to /Film's review by Chris Evangelista – but nobody could've expected just how closely it would resemble the overall premise and structure of a very different film.

Incredibly enough, this movie might have less in common with its own "Alien" predecessors than it does with one of Álvarez's previous efforts. That's because, ultimately, "Alien: Romulus" feels like a stealth remake of "Don't Breathe."

Kids these days ... always breaking into places they shouldn't be going anywhere near. "Alien: Romulus" marked a franchise first by focusing exclusively on a cast of teens and young adults to heighten the sense of danger, but this was hardly the first time director Fede Álvarez leaned on that trope. While Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her mates make the woefully misguided choice to break into the derelict space station known as Romulus, "Don't Breathe" similarly follows a trio of house-robbing friends who target the worst location imaginable. Both main settings are designed strategically to convey a sense of claustrophobia and, yes, both are haunted by killers who are uniquely suited for each of their respective environments. I'm not saying the Xenomorph and the shockingly murderous Blind Man (played by Stephen Lang) are exactly alike, of course, but the parallels are certainly right there.

The similarities go much further than mere appearances, however. At the root of both of these movies is the shared thematic concern of young protagonists desperately trying to claw their way out of untenable circumstances. In "Romulus," Rain and her fellow mining colonists are so far down the food chain that they might as well be indentured servants to Weyland-Yutani. Having been forced into backbreaking labor for much of their young lives, it's no wonder that they all but jump at the chance to explore the hidden space station in orbit for the mere prospect of escape. Likewise, it's made painfully clear through Levy's Rocky in "Don't Breathe" that she needs the bounty hidden in the Blind Man's home to flee her awful living conditions and make her own way.

Both stories are about the monumental risks worth taking for the chance of better lives.

Expectations are a hell of a thing, and Fede Álvarez sure knows how to mess with them. The horror filmmaker has already made a niche for himself by crafting some of the most gnarly, frightening, and downright disgusting movies of the last decade. Much of that comes from his innate understanding of how to write a story that zigs when they've conditioned us to anticipate us a zag, but it also stems from his ability to make even the most surprising villains as scary and horrific as possible.

Take the sequence set on Romulus about halfway through the movie, where our leads (those still alive, at least) must traverse from one part of the space station to the other so they can reunite with their friends. This involves walking through a contained section teeming with facehuggers but, in a genius twist, the synthetic Andy (David Jonsson) literally raises the temperature in the room to help mask their body heat and hopefully avoid the detection of the parasites ... provided they remain deathly silent. Remind you of anything? In the most harrowing scene of "Don't Breathe," Rocky and Alex (Dylan Minnette) similarly find themselves in the Blind Man's death trap of a basement. But once he shuts off the lights and makes full use of his home-field advantage, even the slightest noise means game over, man.

In both "Alien: Romulus" and "Don't Breathe," Álvarez meticulously designs each set piece for maximum impact. Obviously, it's one thing that the Xenomorph and the Blind Man rely on much more heightened senses beyond sight to find their prey. It's quite another to cleverly play to these strengths and incorporate them directly into the action.

Which leads us to the messed-up portion of this article. It wouldn't be a Fede Álvarez experience if he didn't make it seem like our heroes have somehow made it through the darkest and deadliest part of their journey ... only to snatch that away at the last second and plunge them into even more nightmarish situations. Of course, that's a time-honored staple of practically every "Alien" movie. Franchise leads like Sigourney Weaver's Ripley or Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth Shaw in "Prometheus" or Katherine Waterston's Daniels of "Alien: Covenant" always seem to think they're safe and sound — until, quite suddenly, they aren't anymore. For his part, Álvarez wields this like a weapon to truly put some of his most off-putting and disturbing themes on display.

Look no further than how the writer/director chooses to deal with prolonged moments of sexual horror in each of these movies. "Don't Breathe" became somewhat notorious for its rapist villain, who is revealed to have imprisoned a victim in his basement so that he could impregnate her. It isn't long until Rocky is put in the exact same peril by the end of the film, pushing the boundaries to unbearable levels of misery. "Romulus" returns to this well (as all of the "Alien" films have done, in fairness) to even more excruciating results, as Isabela Merced's Kay undergoes a birthing scene that's as deranged as any in this franchise, which is saying a lot. It would come as no surprise if this final act proves most divisive, though it'd be even less surprising if this was exactly the intent. Either way, Álvarez found yet another way to turn "Romulus" into a "Don't Breathe" redux, for better or worse.

"Alien: Romulus" is now playing in theaters. Several of the /Film editors talked about it in detail on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below: