The newAlien: RomulusXenomorph Offspring is one of the most terrifying movie creatures of all time, and the film deserves all the praise possible for its shocking reveal. ThebestAlienmovieshave redefined filmmaking with their ingenious use of practical effects and with their ability to mix elements of body horror into science fiction, creating a cinematic experience that’s existentially and viscerally frightening. In a world where facehuggers, chestbursters, and fully grown Xenomorph aliens are the typical villains, managing to one-up them is a daunting task.
Throughout theAlienfranchise, various directors have made attempts to expand on the concepts derived from Ridley Scott’s original movie. Scott himself developed the most drastic augmentations with hisPrometheusfilm, adding the Engineer species to the lore as an explanation for the Xenomorph’s origins.Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez, takes these ideas and pushes them a step further, developing a Xenomorph hybrid creature that stretches the imagination of creatures from the previous movies. The film makes manyreferences to pastAlienmoviesbut also received praise for expanding on these ideas.
The Offspring’s Design In Alien: Romulus Is Perfectly Disturbing & Nightmarish
The Offspring Is One Of The Most Terrifying Movie Creatures Ever
The Offspring was born as an off-putting, alien version of a human baby, birthed by the pregnant Kay after she injects herself with the compound liquid from the Renaissance space station. She injects it, hoping to save her life, but it ends up mutating her unborn baby, causing it to develop rapidly. After it’s born, it grows to its full size rather quickly, becominga horrifying pale, lanky humanoid creature that spends the rest of the film trying to kill Rain. The Offspring is a perfectly disturbing blend of other species from the franchise, making for the ultimate final boss.
The fact that the Offspring was created with practical effects somehow makes it even more terrifying
One of the most insane aspects of the Offspring is that the character isn’t CGI. Theactor behind theAlien: RomulusOffspringisformer viral Romanian college basketball player Robert Bobroczkyi, who gained international recognition years prior for his 7'7" form. Bobroczyki put his height to excellent use inAlien: Romulus, contributing to the fear factor of the monstrous creature. The fact that the Offspring was created with practical effects somehow makes it even more terrifying and speaks to the effort Fede Álvarez went to in order to make his film feel authentic.
Alien: Romulus Uses Aspects Of The Entire Franchise To Make The Offspring’s Design
The Offspring Is Part Engineer, Part Xenomorph, & Part Human
As mentioned,Alien: Romulusdraws a significant amount from the previousAlienfilms, including the prequels. The Offspring is part Engineer due to theblack goo fromPrometheusbeing used in the Z-01 pathogen. This gives him his pale form and some of the distorted humanoid features, reminding audiences of the terrifying beings from Ridley Scott’s prequel movies. Seeing as it’s hard to go wrong with the classics,the Offspring is also part Xenomorph, which explains the lanky inhuman aspects of the character, along with its animal-like nature.
Alien: Romulus Has A Perfectly Timed Countdown To The Ending & I Loved It
Alien: Romulus has a countdown to the movie’s ending, and I loved it because it turned out to be perfectly timed with the space station crash.
Alien: Romulushad Xenomorph antagonists of its own, as it would feel wrong to have anAlienmovie without them. However, taking elements of the Xenomorph and applying them to a new creature was a fantastic way to merge the old and the new, making the Offspring all the more memorable. Lastly,the Offspring is also part human, as he’s technically an altered version of Kay’s original baby. The subtle human qualities of this monstrosity are perhaps the most shocking to experience, as it somehow feels more real than the Xenomorph.
The Offspring’s Nightmare Design Makes Him An Effectively Scary Final Threat
The Offspring Defines Alien: Romulus' Third Act As A Crazy Last-Minute Twist
Alien: Romulusis an extraordinarily effective return to the form for the franchise, primarily because it involves so many of the elements that made the original 1979 film so effective while also bolstering them with modern filmmaking effects. But at the same time, relying too heavily onAlienfranchise tropes and references audiences already know can only take the movie so far, andthe Offspring served as the perfect final plot twist, elevating the material in its final stretch of screen time.
Disney Has A Guaranteed Sci-Fi Movie Hit Asking To Be Made After Alien: Romulus
Thanks to Alien: Romulus' success, Disney has a guaranteed sci-fi movie hit on its hands that’s just asking to be made next, if the stars align.
Having a horrifying Xenomorph antagonist for Rain and Andy to overcome was one thing, and the movie could’ve ended at that point being decently solid. But the incorporation of the Offspring as a final threat proved thatAlien: Romuluswasn’t just there to rehash old material, but to take Ridley Scott’s world and expand on it. If the film ends up having sequels, it now has plenty of its own original content to explore, allowing it to continue exploring the lore of this sci-fi universe while developing its characters.
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
