A group of young space colonists downtrodden by the all encompassing Weyland-Yutani Corporation decide to risk everything by boarding and scavenging from a derelict space station. Their goal is to find enough cryogenic fuel to allow them to escape to the next inhabitable system. What they did not account for though was the terrifying alien creature on board. 

Our young crew are essentially indentured servants to Weyland-Yutani, the corporation that has always been the Alien franchise’s secondary villain to the xenomorph killing machine it desperately wants to harness. Colonists of a mining planet that sees no sunlight all year round where their families are decimated by lung diseases and mining accidents. 

Rain (Cailee Spaeny) believes she is entitled to leave having reached her allotted hours of work in her contract only to have the required hours doubled. Her ‘brother’ Andy (David Jonsson) is a synthetic human reconditioned by her now dead father with the prime directive of doing only what is best for Rain. When they are approached by Rain’s ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux) they reluctantly agree to his plan to scavenge from Space Station Renaissance. 

The group of six youths is completed by Tyler’s pregnant sister Kay (Isabella Merced), his cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Bjorn’s girlfriend Navarro (Aileen Wu). The result is a group almost as unique and interesting as that in Alien/Aliens and certainly a match for the groups from the other films in the franchise. 

The opening of the film lays the groundwork for why our crew would embark on this task perfectly. The colony’s permanent darkness, constant rain and dire conditions place a drain on the viewer just watching them and reference those found in the Aliens movie well. As the crew board the space station we understand their motives and are rooting for their success. 

As soon as we arrive on the space station all of the hallmarks of the original Alien movie appear. Dark and unforgiving corridors create the sort of claustrophobic atmosphere for the horror movie that is about to unfold. Co-Writer/director Fede Alvarez has been hired for his horror pedigree and he delivers with aplomb as the crew slowly begin to realise what they are up against. 

Unquestionably the most perfect aspect of the film is its art direction. The lighting, set design and combination of physical and computer effects combine to make the perfect Alien atmosphere. A world that perfectly fits in with those created in the previous six films in the universe. 

Whilst the performances of Spaeny and Jonsson are also worth raving about. Spaeny has had a stellar 12 months with Priscilla, Civil War and now this. Her Ripley surrogate the best we’ve seen on screen since Sigourney Weaver herself. But Jonsson is astonishing. The role of the Android has always been the most intriguing and captivating part of the Alien franchise. Ian Holm, Lance Henriksen, Winona Ryder and Michael Fassbender have all provided fascinating performances of artificial intelligence and Jonsson joins them with an exceptional performance. The way his mannerisms change to show his prime directives are just brilliant. 

Álvarez also delivers on some exceptional action sequences in amongst the claustrophobic scares. 

The only negatives for me are about just how much it pays homage. There were a few moments where it feels like an overstep. I loved its references to Prometheus and respected just how much it looked and felt like each of the other films at different moments. But these are minor, with there being only three moments I had particular doubts about. I will not spoil those for you though.

Overall though, I loved this entry into the Alien series.