We’re still in awe of the insanely perfect director Fede Alvarez finally delivers Alien: Romulus. Just when you think it’s going to be your basic humans vs. aliens movie, it takes things up a notch with an ending that might not work for everyone, but is unforgettable nonetheless. Let’s dig into what happened, what it might mean, how we got there, and all that spoilery stuff.
As we approach the end Alien: RomulusRain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson) have killed enough aliens to restore their ship. There they find their long-awaited friend Kay (Isabela Merced), who was not feeling well earlier and secretly injected herself with a mysterious black goo. Then, just as they are all settling down for a good night’s sleep, Kay’s pod ejects. Something wrong. Her child is coming and the child is not a person. Thanks to the goo, her child is a rapidly growing hybrid of a human and a Xenomorph called “The Offspring.” It kills him, the rain blows it under the ship, and all is well… save everyone who died except Andy and Rain.
Inside all that, there’s a ton of digging, and let’s start with the goo. We’ve seen that good before, most notably in the middle Prometheus where it had the same line of destruction. In Alien fandom, its real name is Chemical A0-3959X.91. It was created by the Engineers, and may be directly responsible for creating the Xenomorphs and much more. It’s been around forever and it’s never been good. However, here, Rook (an Ash-like Android made to look like the late Ian Holm) says that Weyland-Yutani was able to get this out of the Xenomorphs and they believe it’s a cure-all. The point is that Weyland-Yutani didn’t want the Xenos as weapons, they wanted them to save humanity. Talk about a twist, if true.
Which we can’t believe it is. This film shows that the black grandmother first managed to cure a lab rat that turned into a hybrid and died, which is what the drug does in all the other films. Was the company after the Xenomorphs or this mysterious structure they have? Did Rook really believe it was a cure or did he want it because it was a killer? And what happened to the goo in the following years? The film doesn’t answer this so we’re left to speculate.
Then there’s the hybrid creature, the Offspring, who looks like someone who’s just been crowned the World’s Tallest Man. Guinness Book of World Records. The concept of this creature is almost completely removed The resurrection of aliens where the Alien Queen gave birth to a human/Xeno hybrid thanks to her mother, Ripley. Here however, it is the incarnation, that is why the Seed looks like a human. When that happens Resurrectionfans were not met with kindness and yet here, I feel like it will be. Why? Well, because unlike Resurrection where the idea that the Queen has a human reproductive system is thrown in at the end, the coming of the Seed is slowly mocked.
First, we learn that Kay is pregnant. Rook then talks about the goo and we see what it can do with a dead compound mouse. So when Kay takes the goo, we know it’s something bad. Those little pieces of information that are dropped prepare us for what ultimately happens. That then allows Alvarez to really show off the amazing, terrifying Slenderman creature he and his team have designed, which is far more beautiful and terrifying than the hybrid. Resurrection. This is another reason why the idea works better here. This creature is interesting and realistic. Therefore, it is even more frightening. The offspring will give us nightmares for months to come.
As for whether we’ll ever see the continued adventures of Rain and Andy, only the box office gods know. However, we expect that if we pick up the story as they go to the distant planet of Yavaga, something bad will happen. It always is. Especially since we now know that the Xenomorphs have a failed plan that puts them in stasis in space. That changes the ending of some movies, doesn’t it?
Where do you stand in the hybrid creature, Nzalo? What about the uses, and effects, of black goo? Let us know below.
Alien: Romulus now in the theater.
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