Romulus Strange reminds me of that $165 million horror movie from 25 years ago

With an innovative storyline that both recalls previous entries in the franchise and pushes the story in exciting new directions, Alien: Romulus is a widely successful addition to these Alien Movie series. And yet, for all its strengths, when I watch the 2024 sci-fi horror, I can’t help but be reminded of a completely unrelated thriller. While the Alien franchise has historically relied on xenomorphs, evil robots, chestbursters and mysterious black goo, some details in Alien: Romulus Prove that the film has a surprising amount in common with a $165 million cult thriller from 1999.

in many ways, Alien: Romulus Marks a return to what originally made the franchise so successful. A far cry from the polished aesthetic that defined Ridley Scott’s prequels, The film features the retro-futuristic technology that made the 1979 movie so distinctive. The movie also incorporates all the elements required of a classic Alien film, with nods to each installment of Alien to Bond. But though Romulus is undoubtedly steeped in franchise tradition, it also has other, more subtle influences. As the story progressed, I found the surprising similarities with one 25-year-old shark movie impossible to ignore.

Alien: Romulus is strangely similar to Deep Blue Sea

The story follows a very similar pattern

While Romulus has been praised and criticized in equal measure for the sheer number of references it includes to the preceding Alien movies, The one movie I couldn’t stop thinking about while watching Álvarez’s interquel was the 1999 shark thriller, deep blue sea. like Alien: Romulus, deep blue sea is set on a remote laboratory in which a series of dubious experiments take place for the good of mankind. Although the open ocean is different from outer space, both settings convey a sense of isolation and trap the protagonists along with some dangerous monsters.

The similarities don’t end there. Both movies involve the main character desperately trying to escape the research station as it begins to collapse around them.. There are also scenes with lift shafts and isolated crew members being slowly picked off one by one, with the ethics of the labs themselves forming a key plot point. The only real difference is that one story involves hostile, parasitic aliens, and the other features killer sharks.

The Deep Blue Sea Link Can’t Help Alien: Romulus’ Story

It undermines the horror of what’s unfolding

The unknown similarities between deep blue sea And Alien: Romulus Are bad news for the 2024 film. From a personal perspective, as soon as the connection was made, I found it impossible not to see the movie through the prism of the notoriously stupid Thomas Jane flick. Although this does not necessarily have to be detrimental, the sad consequence is that The comparison undermined the horror of what was unfolding on screen.

For all the terrible intensity of Alien: RomulusThe fact that it seems to recycle key plot elements from a film about giant mako sharks curing Alzheimer’s somewhat diminishes the tension that the movie looks to build. In the end, it becomes difficult to be shocked by some of Alien: Romulus‘ Gory death scenes when the whole movie is evocative of something so ridiculous. The connection between Alien: Romulus And deep blue sea Can only be tangential. Nevertheless, for me, the link was enough to avoid what could otherwise be an effectively scary horror movie.