DUBAI: Fede Alvarez is no stranger to horror flicks. The Uruguayan filmmaker first made his mark on Hollywood in 2013 with his take on the 1981 horror classic “Evil Dead.” In 2016, he stepped out of his comfort zone of working with a familiar IP to write and direct “Don’t Breathe,” universally acclaimed by fans of the horror genre, as well as critics.
Fast forward to today, and with “Alien: Romulus” he’s paying homage to one of the greatest sci-fi horror franchises of our time. Set between Ridley Scott’s seminal 1979 original and James Cameron’s 1986 follow-up “Aliens,” “Romulus” acts as an “interquel,” bridging the two films while telling a standalone story. “There’s an ‘Alien’ movie I’ve been waiting to see for a long time, and so when I was given a chance to do one, I just went and did exactly the things that I wanted to see as a fan,” Alvarez told Arab News.
“I think every movie, even the first one in a saga, has a backstory. In this case, it’s just that those stories happen to be other movies. But if they didn’t exist, it would work anyways.
So, you have to do it in a way that a new audience doesn’t feel alienated. It has to work for them. And if you’re a fan, you make all the connections.
That’s really the balance you’re trying to find,” he continued. The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), David Jonsson (“Industry”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“Sicario: Day of the Sold.