Five years ago, Disney bought out 20th Century Fox, the home to a MULTITUDE of excellent films and film franchises. 73 billion dollars was the magic number. With that, Disney finally acquired ALL the Star Wars movies, because Fox had owned the original in perpetuity(forever). But with Fox went Alien, Predator, X-Men, and so many others. People were concerned, and rightfully so, about whether or not Disney was going to dumb down the harder-edged franchise like Alien and Predator to suit their more…family-friendly image. Well, Disney had tried to assure the audiences that R-rated movies were still going to get made, but they would not be under the Disney logo. Disney was also the owner of studios like Miramax and Hollywood Pictures who were known for their more adult-oriented fare.
I can tell you right now, that Disney is not afraid of letting 20th Century Studios continue putting out the really violent R-rated movies. While The Last Duel bombed at the box office(pandemic), there was still a market for the harder-edged movies. Enter Prey, the latest film in the Predator franchise, directed by Dan Trachtenberg and released directly to Hulu. It was rated R, and it did phenomenally well on Hulu. It was one of the most-watched movies that Hulu had ever seen. It was fantastic. Then came the Hellraiser reboot. Again, that was a movie that I never thought was ever going to get made. It was fairly well-received as well. When it was announced the Fede Alvarez, the director of the Evil Dead remake and the low-budget thriller Don’t Breathe was hired to helm the upcoming Alien Romulus film, horror fans got energized. Considering that both Alien and Predator were both run into the ground by 20th Century Fox, Prey was a great surprise. Well, the first teaser trailer for Alien Romulus dropped this morning as of this writing, and I have to say….holy shit:
First off, it looks like Romulus is going back to basics with Alien. From what I understand, this movie is actually set between the original Ridley Scott film and James Cameron’s more action-oriented sequel. But the visual aesthetic is more in line with Scott’s movie. The look and shape of the corridors feels right out of the 1979 movie. The steam and the lighting really add to the atmosphere. The teaser’s only a minute long, but in that minute, the hairs on my arms and back stood up straight. I consider myself to be an apologist for the Alien franchise. I love all these movies, but even I noticed a downward trend starting with Alien 3. It just got to the point where the mystery of the creature was no longer there. Prometheus and Alien Covenant explored the origins of the creature. When you explain the origins of a monster like the xenomorph, you inadvertently eliminate the mystique of the creature. Was it a naturally existing creature or was it a biological weapon? Up until Prometheus, that was never answered. It never should’ve have been. The more you know about the creature, the less terrifying it becomes.
That said, Fede Alvarez is just the kind of guy to breathe new life into this franchise. He hit the ground running with the excellent Evil Dead remake and followed that up with the incredibly intense Don’t Breathe. This guy knows how to use atmosphere to instill dread and terror. It also doesn’t hurt that he knows how to use gore to spectacular effect. Romulus is going to be gory. I’ve no doubt of that, but it’s the atmosphere that’s drawing me toward it. As with most teasers, we’re given a taste of what to expect, but we’re not given enough information to know what’s going, like the story. They’ll save that for the next trailer which should hit sometime in late June or early July. The movie itself is set to release in August. You bet your ass I’m going to be there, day one.
Because of Prey, I think that the person in charge of 20th Century Studios Steve Asbell, is understanding how much these franchises mean to people, and wants them done right. If Prey and Alien Romulus are any indication, I think these movies have a real future. Not only are we going to be getting a sequel to Prey, but we’ve got even more Alien goodness on the way in the form of TV series that’s being helmed by Noah Hawley. Oh, I think Alien is here to stay. I was less sure when Covenant bombed at the box office and Neill Blomkamp’s direct sequel to Aliens was canceled. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Disney, but their approach with 20th Century Studios is making me more optimistic about the future of these franchises. I don’t know if Alien Romulus is going to be good, it may not be, but with Alvarez at the helm, it’s going to be memorable one way or another. I can’t wait. The movie hits theaters on August 16th. Hell, yeah.