[Updated] It's Official! Fede Alvarez's New Film is Titled Alien: Romulus

[kwisatz]

Do we actually know how long it takes for a hugger to stun the host though?

The Kane hug immediately cuts away.. Wasn't someone ripping of an already attached hugger in Covenant or something? 

[SiL]

It's as immediate as the film wants it to be.

But I just checked and it's a design feature from Alien³, which Fede has referenced in the past when he held a Runner head and asked what film it came from. So the guy clearly has a preference.

[BlueMarsalis79]

That makes me very happy personally, I think the barbs are terrifying, makes me wonder what other features from Alien³ we will see in this film.

[BigDaddyJohn]

I never noticed that in A3, that's cool. Maybe unnecessary but cool.

[SiL]

That makes me very happy personally, I think the barbs are terrifying, makes me wonder what other features from Alien³ we will see in this film.

They're cheap, nasty, and superfluous.

I never noticed that in A3, that's cool. Maybe unnecessary but cool.

Only the super face hugger; they're not visible even in the extended version of the film and aren't seen being used.

[BlueMarsalis79]

I think it makes sense for the Queen Facehugger type, if you want to go that route anyway, it prioritises implantation over absolutely everything  and the extra armour adds to that look.

I do not agree with it being on the regular one though, I agree here it feels superfluous.

As for being nasty and cheap, that I expected from day one.

[Nightmare Asylum]

This definitely feels like a very Fede Álvarez call. Should be very mean-spirited in its use/execution on screen, which is something I expected this film would lean into from the moment he was announced as director.

I've said it before, but Covenant's shower scene is probably the horror beat in the series that most feels like a thesis statement for what I'm expecting from Álvarez's work on this one.

[SiL]

I've said it before, but Covenant's shower scene is probably the horror beat in the series that most feels like a thesis statement for what I'm expecting from Álvarez's work on this one.

Nah, that scene still pulls away to recreate the Lambert death beat. I don't expect Fede to shy away and rely on audio or a character seeing the aftermath.

I hope he does. I don't expect it.

[BlueMarsalis79]

I am hoping for the same brutality we saw in Alien³ but expecting none of the artfulness of it either, I hope he surprises me on that count, if we get an Alien POV shot at any point, I hope it is a fisheye and not that awful veiny POV in Covenant.

[SiL]

Alien³ isn't particularly brutal, it's just bloodier. The only time the Alien does anything different to others is when it's seen mauling the corpse.

[BlueMarsalis79]

I think of the part when it just running into Jude splatters him all over the doorway as particularly brutal. And the autopsy and theatrical chestburster as emotionally brutal.

[SiL]

In that regard yes, I expect the tactlessness of Alien 3 and Resurrection.

I also expect to be on the edge of my seat, mind.

[BigDaddyJohn]

I don't see how it particularly make sense for the facehugger to almost inevitably damage the host with those added barbs though.

Maybe it has another purpose but I doubt it. I totally recognize Fede's style in this, it makes sense in that regard.

[SiL]

I guess they're not going with the original impregnation time either. Not damaging the host makes sense if they might get to move around undetected before popping; if it's microwave bake Aliens from AvP onwards, what does it matter if you damage them?

[PortugueseXeno]

Damn, the "barbed wire" facehugger is such a nasty and raw addition.

Not only does it have acid as a defensive mechanism, but if some other party tries to remove the facehugger from the host by other means, it will start ripping off the skin (and more) from its victim's face, therefore making it more likely for it to be left alone.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is Isabella's disgusting scene.

She gets face-hugged, and when the other crew members try to remove it, the facehugger will rip her face her off.

Knowing Fede and his movies, this could probably be his best practical effect achievement yet.

Evil Dead had the arm scene, but this seems like it could top it.