Alien: Romulus (2024)

Set between the events of Alien and Aliens (yet made 40 years after the fact), this loose "inter-quel" shouldn't work as well as it does. But behind the skilled direction of Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe), he manages to pull it off with enough finesse to make Ridley Scott proud. It retains that lo-fi look that makes you feel like it was shot back in the '80s (with one glaring exception which I won't spoil). You've got all your classic staples here; androids, cocoons, ovomorphs, face-huggers, chestbursters, full-on xenomorph and...well, I'll let you discover for yourself. 

There are not too many surprises to be found here if you are familiar with the Alien franchise, but it's done so competently, you don't really mind. It's nostalgia bait for sure, but it's a good one.

3 wait...what is that? out of 5

DON'T BREATHE [2016]

Fede Alvarez directs Don't Breathe, a home invasion thriller that flips the usual story on it's head and isn't afraid to get really really vicious with it.
Three young thieves wait until dark to break into a blind man's house thinking it's an easy score only to find he's a lot more than what they bargained for.
Despite it's simplicity and thinly written characters, Don't Breathe manages to constantly up the intensity and thrills with clever menace.  There's all sorts of minor themes and ideas thrown around in the background but they never detract from the fact that the film intends you to nervously be gasping for air by the time the credits start rolling.

3½ ladybugs out of 5

EVIL DEAD [2013]

Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell & Roger G. Tapert, the lunatics who brought you the camp cult classic The Evil Dead give their producing stamp of approval on director Fede Alvarez's psychotic remake, simply titled Evil Dead. 

Overflowing with shockingly gory sequences and disturbing violence, the film surprisingly has a wickedly dark, DARK sense of humour I found absent in the trailers.  It's been a long time since a horror film has been this bloody and fun, without sacrificing it's substance over style.  Like the original, it aims to shock and it does so with flying colors, pleasing this gorehound who was cautious going into this remake.  Apparently Raimi wants to combine the character of Ash with the surviving character of this film into a future story, which makes me wonder if this is really a remake or sequel.

3½ "drug withdrawls" out of 5