Movies News Talk
Despite how shocking the twist might be, Alien: Romulus should avoid repeating Alien: Covenant’s twist ending where every human character dies. This bleak punchline, where the surviving heroes are tricked by Michael Fassbender’s duplicitous droid David, aimed for darkness but ended up feeling frustrating and pointless instead. The final scene of Alien: Covenant revealed that David won and everyone died, but this made the entire endeavor feel somewhat aimless. The new movie’s limited cast makes a similarly grim ending seem likely, but the filmmakers should carefully consider this option and potentially reveal more hidden Alien: Romulus characters instead.
It is possible to pull off a hopeless horror movie ending effectively. 2017’s Alien-inspired sci-fi horror Life managed to make an ending where everyone dies feel fresh and clever thanks to a mean-spirited but ingenious final twist. Similarly, some of Fede Alvarez’s earlier movies feature endings where the heroes are thoroughly decimated by evil forces. The director’s 2013 Evil Dead reboot left everyone but Jane Levy’s heroine Mia dead, while 2016’s home invasion horror Don’t Breathe left everyone but Jane Levy’s Rocky dead. As if to consciously buck this trend, 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot implied every character died.
That said, it will be tough for Alien: Romulus to convince viewers that its cast isn’t doomed. There are only six named characters in Alien: Romulus and one of them, David Jonsson’s Andy, is an android rather than a human. This means his potential death would hold less emotional weight, but the movie’s promotional materials seem determined to undermine the effectiveness of every other demise. Already, Alien: Romulus’s trailers spoiled Navarro’s chest-burster, and heavily implied Bjorn will suffer the same fate. That leaves only four named characters, not including the robot Andy, who could survive the story.
It almost seems disingenuously silly to argue that a violent, scary sci-fi horror movie shouldn’t kill off its characters. However, Alien: Romulus killing off all its main characters isn’t a good idea despite how impactful it may sound. Alien: Romulus can expand the world of the series, but this will only work if the reboot establishes characters the audience can get invested in. If no one is left alive by the time the credits roll, viewers have no reason to anticipate another installment from the franchise. This is perhaps best illustrated by the classic original movie from 1979.