Alien: Romulus trailer puts “horrifying” spin on the chestburster

The official trailer for Alien: Romulus proves the new installment will feel more claustrophobic and downright terrifying, and it’s sure to make anyone afraid of their own chest.

Serving as the seventh installment in the franchise, Alien: Romulus follows a group of young space colonists. As they explore an abandoned space station, they come face to face with an alien nightmare.

The big bad of the franchise returns with the facehuggers and chestbursters wreaking havoc like never before. But the trailer causes goosebumps and cold chills as one character feels something inside her.

Illuminating a light to her chest, you can see her ribs as a xenomorph chestburster tries to break through. The sound of thumping combined with her heartbeat is anxiety-inducing, to say the least.

One of the franchise’s hallmarks is the gnarly scene of the chestbursters emerging and wiggling around. But Romulus adds an even scarier twist by allowing fans to see it try and make its way free.

Fans are already on board thanks to the trailer, with one saying, “Looks horrifying, I’ll be there Day 1.”

“Looks great. Will probably be the best Alien movie since Aliens,” said another.

Alien: Romulus takes fans back to the early years of the franchise with the storyline taking place between Alien and Aliens. Director Fede Álvarez worked closely with Ridley Scott and James Cameron to develop Romulus and explains it’s a “hybrid” of both original movies.

The movie promises a deep dive into characters fans have never seen before and relationships that will be tested.

Fans will meet characters like Cailee Spaeny’s Rain and David Jonsson as her android foster brother Andy. Álvarez told Empire that Rain became Andy’s protector due to him being an older damaged model, despite her father leaving Rain in his care.

“That was always the heart of the story: this relationship between the two… and how that relationship unfolds once sh*t hits the fan,” said the director.

Alien: Romulus will also star Isabela Merced, Archi Renaux from Shadow and Bones, Spike Fearn, and newcomer Aileen Wu.

The movie is set to release on August 16. You can read more about what’s in store for the movie and new movies to be released.