Space Ghost: "Alien: Romulus" Pushes Boundaries of Digital Trickery

For all its gore and carnage, the most disturbing creative decision in "Alien: Romulus" is decidedly artificial. As a young cadre of space scavengers venture into a face-hugger-infested abandoned ship, they encounter a semi-destroyed humanoid on the floor of a control room. Or rather, its torso – or his torso? - riddled with holes. The white liquid that runs through its veins leaked who knows how long ago, and now it is crustily caked in whatever remains of him. We know of this detail about android anatomy because the original "Alien," directed by Ridley Scott, made us privy to this industrial secret. In one of the most shocking scenes, the Nostromo crew rebels against their on-board medic, Ash (Ian Holm). He is not a compassionate doctor but a corporate shill willing to sacrifice everybody to accomplish the actual goal of the mission: to bring a live xenomorph back to Earth so that the Weiland-Yutani company can develop the mother of all arms.

So far, so good. By now, we expect androids to work next to humans. There was Lance Henriksen as Bishop in the James Cameron-directed sequel "Aliens" (1985). The heroic Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) did clone duty in "Alien: Resurrection" (Jean-Marc Jeunet, 1998). Michael Fassbender stole both Scott-directed prequels, "Prometheus" (2012) and "Alien: Covenant" (2015) as the scheming David.  Even "Alien: Romulus" introduces a new artificial man, the mild-mannered Andy (David Jonsson). Good for him. It is a meaty role fit for an established star or an up-and-coming talent. If you are devout to this franchise, there is a lot of suspense associated with the eventual revelation of who plays the role. When Rain (Caileey Spaney) turns it over, you might jump at discovering it is...Ian Holm?

Yes, Ian Holm. The English actor was born in 1932. He worked steadily on film and TV until the original "Alien" took his career to the next level. He earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Chariots of Fire" (Hugh Hudson, 1982). He should have won an Oscar for his towering performance in "The Sweet Hereafter" (Atom Egoyan, 1997). In this gut-wrenching adaptation of the Russell Banks novel, he plays a grieving ambulance-chasing lawyer trying to whip up a case in a remote Canadian town where most of the children have died in a freak accident. He was not above gracing commercial blockbusters, taking the role of Bilbo in Peter Jackson's adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings." Holm had a long, fruitful career. And then, on June 19, 2020, he died of Parkinson's disease. He was 88 years old.

With excuses to Jeunet, this entry should hold the title "Resurrection." Uruguayan director Fede Alvarez uses digital animation to bring Holm back from the dead and deliver a mechanical performance. Perhaps they thought it would fold in with the artificial nature of the character. Who decided to take this route? I want to believe Ridley is above this, but for all the admiration we can profess for his original film, he is no stranger to bringing dead actors back to life. During the production of "Gladiator" (2000), legendary actor and alpha male Oliver Reed dropped dead. He had enjoyed a lifetime of excess, which caught up with him in the least convenient moment. He passed without completing his scenes as Proximus, Maximus (Russel Crowe) fatherly trainer. Ever the practical man, Scott used movie magic to complete the scene with digital animation. It was rough but as good as possible at the dawn of the XXI Century. It was ghoulish then, and it's ghoulish now. As a producer on "Alien: Romulus" – the movie comes from his company, Scott Free Productions – we can assume he greenlighted this.

The trick doesn't look better twenty-five years later. The most convincing element is the voice, perhaps because it's the most human. Actor Daniel Betts imitates Holm's cadences rather convincingly. Then again, we can't compare them. You won't pause "…Romulus" to check a scene in its predecessor – although you could do this when the new movie hits streaming anytime soon. The entire series is currently available on Hulu.

I knew Holm was dead, so the trick did not work with me when the movie made the big reveal. It was first disconcerting, then creepy, and I venture not in the way they intended. Then again, what did the filmmakers expect out of this? I doubt "Alien" fans find gratification in stunts like this one. This is not a Marvel story springing a new entry every few years. We first saw Holm-as-Bishop 25 years ago. If you discovered the movie through a home video release or a recent theatrical repertory screening, it must feel newer to you. However, it looks so rough it is distracting; in a movie filled to the gills with serviceable special effects, both mechanical and digital – just a couple of shots with a swarm of face-huggers looks as dinky as the new Ash – sorry, its name is Rook. He might look like Ash, but he is Rook.

Why not hire a different actor if it's a different character? Thanks to the tyranny of IP, fan service is the new king of Hollywood. Recycling these elements has nothing to do with continuing a story but with giving audiences a shot of nostalgia. Make them remember how delighted they were when they first saw this person, heard this catchphrase, got surprised by this plot twist. If you were ten years old when Ash confessed his treacherous plan, you are 55 now. Are you psyched about this carnival trick? I doubt it. And if you don't know or remember Holm, the stunt means nothing. For all we know, maybe he willed his heirs the freedom of monetizing his likeness - the State of Ian Holm receives thanks in the final credits - but it does not make this any less distasteful.

"Alien: Romulus" suffers from its commitment to fan service. Some shots mirror memorable moments in the previous movies. In "Aliens," Michael Biehn teaches Sigourney Weaver how to handle a big space gun. Here, the same thing happens between Archie Renaux and Cailee Spaeny. A xenomorph extends its jaw-within-the-jaw towards a terrified Rain stuck against the wall. It is an exact copy of a shot from David Fincher's unjustly maligned "Alien 3." It was so cool that it closed the trailer for the 1992 release. 

I lost count of too many clapbacks while "Alien: Romulus" lost track of itself. The only thing missing is a cat – What? No Jonesy?  With its cast of pretty young people, it aims to be The CW's "Alien." It would have been better had it committed to that idea, but it is too busy invoking the past. Worse yet, it blinks when it inches to true transgressiveness. A plot development may remind you of the end of the second season of Lars von Trier's series "Kingdom" (1997) or the recent indie folk horror "All You Need is Death" (Paul Duane, 2023). Suffice it to say that it leads to a disgusting, horrible act from which Alvarez cuts away. Really? Do you get all proper and cautious now? He should have gone full Dario Argento – or Mario Bava, for that matter! -, but no. In moments like this, you realize the "Alien" franchise has matured into staleness. Out of this paint-by-numbers exercise, we can rescue the way Cailee Spaeny's star quality shines through. Between this blockbuster, Sofia Coppola's indie jewel "Priscilla" (2023), and the issue-driven "Civil War" (Alex Garland, 2024), it seems like there is nothing she can't do. I hope the super-hero complex does not swallow her down. You know, like a xenomorph would.