Alien: Romulus Director Has Surprising Reason for Prioritizing Practical Effects

Alien: Romulus opens in theaters this week and the latest entry in the Alien franchise is already earning high praise from critics — as of this article’s writing, the film has an 82 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes — in part due to the film’s extensive practical effects. But while for some, the use of practical versus CG effects could come down to a debate over quality, for Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez, it’s actually about something else: giving the cast something real to experience and react to while making the film. Speaking with ComicBook, Álvarez explained that the discussion about effects “transcends” and, that for him, it’s about wanting something real.

“It really transcends the discussion of, which is an impossible discussion to get to, which is what looks better or what it’s not about that best because CG should be invisible so you cannot compare,” Alvarez said. “It’s really what’s best for these guys and for myself, when you get into the adventure of making the movie, you got to be things happening that they can react to and I can shoot and we can be in real places. I’m not, I didn’t get into film to shoot a green screen and empty places that then someone in animation world is gonna build later. And so, they can tell you firsthand their experience of what it is to be on a set where everything is real, right?”

Cailee Spaeny, who stars in the film, said that she feels like the practical effects make the film “scarier” and that getting to have practical effects on set was a treat for herself and the other performers making the film.

“I do think it makes it scarier, though. I feel like my brain just knows when it’s CG. And when it’s practical, like the first Jurassic Park, you know. I know those are men in suits, but I find it way scarier because it’s right there in the room,” she said. “I think, I hope that the audiences also feel that. Obviously, it was such a treat for us as actors. Fede really prioritized whatever was going to make it easiest for us so we shot it chronologically then anything that could be practical was practical. But I also think as sort of film lovers, we’re sort of craving that again. And also, it was such a nice experience to collaborate with these artists who built these creatures and worked on Aliens and sort of hear their stories and it just sort of made set so much more interesting to have those guys around.”

What is Alien: Romulus About?

Alien: Romulus will see a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. Álvarez has previously explained a deleted scene from James Cameron’s Aliens, which featured young colonists, inspired Romulus‘ story.

“My first instinct, just to try something different that hasn’t been seen before, was to approach it form the angle of characters who are not professionals or scientists; they’re not even adults,” he said. “I liked this concept of putting people in the front seat of the story who are closer to what the audience is — not that the audience is young, more that the audience is completely virgin to the realities of space. When the characters are professionals, they know more than you do. But when they’re still in their early 20s, they don’t know how to operate the f-cking airlock.”

He continued, “All their parents probably worked on the same ship when they were kids, and that’s how they got to know each other … There’s a lot of history between them because they’re the only family they have. They truly act more like surrogate siblings; some of them even lived under the same roof. A lot of the big themes of the movie are about siblinghood and what does that mean? The Romulus of it all, and the bigger plot with Weyland-Yutani, is actually connected to that as well.”

Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and Aileen Wu. Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. 

Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Álvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train), and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers. 

Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16th.