Naman Shrestha
The seventh installment in the ‘Alien’ franchise, ‘Alien: Romulus,’ was brought to life under the direction of Fede Álvarez, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the same. It follows a band of young space colonizers and scavengers who embark on a mission to search a dilapidated space station. While scouring through the deep ends of the ruined station, they unexpectedly encounter the most terrifying Xenomorph in the entire universe.
Soon, the space station becomes a hunting ground for the creature as it hides in the shadows and hunts the young colonists one by one. Serving as a standalone interquel between the happenings of the 1979 ‘Alien’ and 1986 ‘Aliens,’ the science fiction horror movie features a talented ensemble cast comprising Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. Given the eeriness of the space station, it also serves as a character in itself, multiplying the dread caused by the alien.
Alien: Romulus Filming Locations
The shooting for ‘Alien: Romulus’ took place primarily in Hungary, especially in the capital city of Budapest. Principal photography for the Cailee Spaeny starrer got underway in March 2023 and wrapped up in less than four months, in the first week of July of the same year. A brilliant collaboration of Fede Álvarez’s unique filming style with Cinematographer Galo Olivares’ cinematic vision and Production Designer Naaman Marshall’s creative ability to recreate the magic of the predecessors helped create the desired frightful atmosphere of the film, thus ensuring a thrilling viewing experience. All the team members made sure they produced a film worthy of the hype.
Budapest, Hungary
‘Alien: Romulus’ was filmed entirely in the city of Budapest in Hungary. To create the world of the space station Renaissance where the bunch of space colonists face their worst nightmare, the production team utilized the services provided by the iconic Origo Studios, one of the largest studios in the country. Exactly located at Budapest, Felsőkert u. 9, 1151, the filming complex is known for providing cutting-edge technology, well-equipped sound stages, VFX/multimedia stages, skilled professionals, and a world-class post-production facility. The fact that they also offer eco-friendly practices adds to their already soaring popularity among filmmakers from across the globe. It has also served as the backdrop for several major productions such as ‘Dune,’ ‘Borderlands,’ and ‘Poor Things.’
Despite it being a through-and-through science fiction film based in space, the crew relied heavily on practical effects rather than CGI. Mostly everything — ranging from the spaceships and creatures to miniatures and the space station set — was constructed by the production team and later merged with Computer Graphics. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fede, who is best known for his horror ventures, revealed the same and elaborated on his “obsession with no green screens” and usage of practical effects. He stated, “Everything had to be built so we were really living and breathing in these spaces.”
Talking about his vision and treatment of CG, he added, “There’s some things that only CG can do for the scope and movement. So it really has to be the right tool for the shot. Ideally, you should never feel like you’re watching CG. Ideally, there should be nothing there where the audience goes, ‘Well, that was clearly CG.’ It should always feel practical, but I prefer practical because I want to see it when I’m there (on set).” In a conversation with Film Stories, he talked more about how they avoided the green screen as much as possible. “If there’s any moment where we require an extension, we do it with old-school paintings in the background, there’s just a painting there,” Fede said.
The director added, “You’ll never notice on the fly, but if you pause it you’ll go, ‘That’s a fucking painting at the back!’ Which I love. A lot of the time people will go, ‘Is that a problem…?’ Of course it’s not a problem… It gives the movie the texture of the originals as well. There’s every trick possible. I’m trying to remember if we did mirrors. I think we were going to do mirrors on one of the sets and we just ended up building it. ‘Ah, let’s just build it.’”
The cast and crew members seem to be in agreement with the director’s choice. Cailee Spaeny, who plays Rain Carradine, explained how it was easier to express natural terror while shooting with animatronic/puppet alien creatures as well as “face-huggers” instead of a tennis ball. To achieve the required outcome, the filmmaker gathered up seasoned artists who have worked under some of the industry greats like special make-up effects artist Stanley Winston (‘Terminator’ film series, several ‘Jurassic Park’ films, ‘Aliens,’ and ‘The Thing) and ‘Alien’ director Ridley Scott.
Several of the cast members gathered together in a conversation with Collider and spilled the beans on the environment and energy on set. Interestingly, the film was taped in a chronological manner. David Jonsson, who stars as Andy, stated that it “means that one day of shooting will inform the next day of shooting will inform the next day of shooting, and so on.” Spaeny added that despite the intense vibe of the film, the atmosphere on the set was quite chill as they enjoyed each other’s company. Archie Renaux, who plays Tyler, echoed the sentiment and added that filming in the presence of the Xenomorph was one of the most exciting parts of the entire experience.
Renaux mentioned, “Because we knew that they were building them and we’d seen photos and stuff, but to actually be in the presence of one was a day that I think we were all very much looking forward to.” Isabela Merced, the actor who steps into the role of Kay, offered an interesting perspective when she stated: “You’ll see in the last 20 minutes of the movie, that’s what I feared the most about filming. You think it’s over then something crazy happens, and I think that was what I definitely dreaded getting right.” All in all, with ‘Alien: Romulus,’ Fede has creatively struck a balance between practical and physical effects, making it an exhilarating experience for fans of the genre and film franchise. It is as he told Film Stories: “All those space shots and anything that becomes more CGI, we also have miniatures and ships and stuff like that.”
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