Alien: Romulus director says his work on 2013's Evil Dead and Don't Breathe helped him bring to life the "true horror movie" he's always wanted to make

The Xenomorph in Alien: Romulus
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Since Alien: Romulus has been announced, we have been teased that it will return the beloved sci-fi franchise back to its horror roots. And judging by both the first reactions and our very own Alien: Romulus review, it's certainly 'mission complete'.

Set in-between the events of Ridley Scott's Alien and Aliens, the film follows a group of space scavengers as they encounter some familiar foes on what they believe to be an abandoned space station. As they delve further into the deserted outpost, more and more scares are creeping around each corner, with the film climaxing with an absolutely unhinged finale.

That's to be expected though from director Fede Álvarez, whose previous work includes other horror films such as 2013's Evil Dead and Don't Breathe. In fact, it's these movies in particular that he says helped prepare him for tackling Alien: Romulus.

As he explained in an interview with GamesRadar+ and Total Film on the red carpet at the recent UK gala event, whilst Evil Dead and Don't Breathe are individually different beasts, he blended his approaches to these films to create the "true horror" movie he's always wanted to make with Alien: Romulus.

Álvarez stated: "I think Alien at its best is a combination of true horror, like really violent horror and intense unbearable suspense. And I think that's a good way to describe it. Evil Dead is really violent, really in your face and Don't Breathe is an exercise in suspense, so after those two movies I felt ready to make one of these."


Alien: Romulus is released in theaters worldwide on August 16. Before you watch the new film, check out our guide to how to watch the Alien movies in order as well as the movies and shows to watch before Alien: Romulus.

Emily Murray
Entertainment Editor

As Entertainment Editor at GamesRadar, I oversee all the online content for Total Film and SFX magazine. Previously I've worked for the BBC, Zavvi, UNILAD, Yahoo, Digital Spy and more.

Read more
Isabela Merced as Kay in Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus director says he wants to "go into uncharted waters" with Ridley Scott's franchise and take it "to a place we've never been before"
Fede Alvarez at the UK Alien: Romulus premiere
Alien: Romulus and Evil Dead helmer says he wants to take on "a good old slasher" movie next
Pulse
The 32 greatest sci-fi horror movies
Xenomorph in Alien: Earth
New Alien: Earth clip shows the last of another expendable crew
The Xenomorph in Alien: Earth
New look at Alien: Earth has fans theorizing over whether they can hear a Predator in the background
Julia Garner as Charlotte and Christopher Abbott as Blake in Wolf Man
Wolf Man director on how his new horror movie was inspired by Denis Villeneuve's Sicario and Prisoners: "This isn't a fantasy, this is real"
Latest in Sci-Fi Movies
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars fans have ignited an age-old debate, and there are some seriously hot takes
Sam Worthington in Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron's early cut of Avatar 3 is "absolutely breathtaking," according to Disney CEO Bob Iger
Pacific Rim
The 35 greatest 2010s sci-fi movies
Godzilla emerging from an exploding volcano.
Win a Blu-ray of Godzilla vs Biollante
The Mandalorian and Grogu
The Mandalorian and Grogu has the lowest budget of any theatrical Star Wars movie since Disney bought Lucasfilm
Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State
Despite being one of the most expensive movies of all time, The Electric State isn't set to break any viewership records for Netflix
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says