Every Alien fan has thoughts on Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the two films that returned Ridley Scott to the film that made him famous. But now Fede Alvarez, director of 2013’s Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe, steps in to terrorise a group of characters aboard a ship with an alien terrorising them.

Setting the film after the events of the first Alien film, but before Aliens, Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues introduce us to a new group of young characters who are stuck on a mining planet, searching for a way out but under the foot of the Weyland Corporation. Seeing no way off the planet, hope appears above their heads when an abandoned Weyland Corp station drifts into their orbit. Looking to get aboard before anyone else, they head up to search for the materials and beds for Cyro Sleep, enabling them to travel away from their would-be prison home. But it’ll be no surprise to learn that this Weyland Corporation station has some secrets, including Facehuggers, a Xenomorph, and more.

Stepping away from the more philosophical questions about life raised in Ridley Scott’s last two films, Alien Romulus takes things back to basic and follows a core group of younger characters, not doctors, not scientists, not Colonial Marines, but instead, miners looking to escape their sun-less purgatory on a planet that’s void of sunlight and whose air is killing those hacking away at its resources. Cailee Spaeny plays Rain, who, alongside David Jonsson as Andy, her synthetic/android “brother.” The two of them build a unique dynamic with the Alien films, usually having the android characters always be disliked or on the edge of some secret betrayal. She wants the two of them to escape to a sunnier planet, so when ex-Tyler (Archie Renaux), his sister Kay (Isabela Merced) and their friends Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Navarro (Aileen Wu) invite them onboard their crazy plan, but one that could lead to the future Rain wants for herself and Andy she joins.

Alvarez paces out the first two acts of Romulus as a back-to-basics Alien film with things playing out satisfyingly, but one that’s somewhat predictable. The third act adds some exciting twists to the film and the Alien lore as a whole, and the film’s big ‘action’ scene is a fantastic thriller that uses the Alien’s acidic blood in ways the franchise hasn’t seen before. Along the way, however, in wanting to craft a film that feels at home between Alien and Aliens, Alvarez isn’t able to develop anything as scary as the first film or as bombastic as the second. Several scenes with chances seem squandered, either in a rush to move on or as a byproduct of how the editing played out in post-production. One such scene sees a couple of characters attempting to sneak through a corridor of Facehuggers, which should be heart-racing and making me want to sweat, but due to some of the editing and placing it against another scene, which is supposed to increase the thrills, it instead takes away from both of them.

Cailee Spaeny is excellent in the ‘Ripley’ role, but David Jonsson’s nuanced performance as the android Andy stole the film for me. It’s a pity that any other supporting cast couldn’t have had a little more injected into them to make their more obvious alien fodder stand out.

A true spectacle on the big screen, I’m jealous that I can’t see Alien: Romulus on an IMAX as it was shot for. From the production design to the stellar visual effects and music from Benjamin Wallfisch, this is the most cinematic-looking and sounding Alien film released since I’ve been alive. It is worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find.

Alien: Romulus will likely be ranked third best by many people, and that’s a perfectly acceptable spot to land.