Alien and its sequel are considered some of the best sci-fi movies as well as the best horror movies of all time. The franchise has never been far from theaters, with the latest sequel Alien: Romulus performing well at the box office. After a few busy weekends, I finally saw the new Alien, and there's one big reason that moviegoers should head to theaters instead of waiting for it to arrive on streaming. Specifically, the sound.
Since Alien: Romulus hit theaters, there's been discourse around its contents, including ranking the synthetics of the Alien franchise. While I enjoyed the most recent movie Covenant (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription), filmmaker Fede Álvarez really crushed it on the new movie. And it's tension was made all the anxiety-inducing by seeing it in theaters, where the sound vibrated my seat... especially as tension was building.
The jump scares of Alien: Romulus will likely till be effective once it's available to watch from the comfort of our own homes, but few moviegoers have the sound system of a professional theater. While I didn't watch Romulus in 4DX, the theater's sound system still helped the movie be super immersive, with tension building as my seat vibrated and Xenomorphs eventually began massacring the cast of characters. So if you're a horror fan, I highly recommend going to a theater while Álvarez's scary movie is still available there.
Obviously moviegoers can't see every single movie that hits theaters, and many of us wait for titles to arrive on streaming or to rent and purchase on digital. Add in busy the summer typically is, and it's understandable if even the most hardcore horror fan didn't manage to see Alien: Romulus. And while I debated waiting myself, I'm so glad I went to theaters to check it out... and want to make sure that any other fans of the genre or franchise don't make the wrong decision.
Given how acclaimed Romulus has been since its release in mid-August, the upcoming TV series Alien: Earth is going to have some very big shoes to fill. It should be interesting to see if a TV show is able to capture the same tension and horror of the franchise, but luckily filmmaker Noah Hawley is behind the camera. And the project is already filmed and heading to Hulu on Fox sometime in 2025.
Since Alien: Romulus has been such a big success, I'm super curious to see if the story is continued with a sequel by Fede Álvarez. The ending of Romulus definitely left more narrative threads to pull, so we'll just have to see what the studio is planning.
Alien: Romulus is still in theaters now, and scaring up money at the box office. Check the 2025 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theater in the New Year.
