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So what is there left to learn about our slobbery sci-fi friend the Alien? Or I should say Aliens, since their number has evolved from a solo horror in Ridley Scott's original 1979 movie to a clamoring horde in James Cameron's 1986 action-classic sequel, and remains alarmingly large in the new "Alien: Romulus," which effectively replays some of the series' most famous shocks while at the same time making the thrills feel fresh again?

The director, Fede Alvarez (helmer of the 2013 "Evil Dead" remake and the subsequent "Don't Breathe" films), has taken an affectionate and respectful approach to the franchise, reverting to vintage practical effects for many scenes instead of opting for the usual computer overkill. And the movie is filled with sudden glimpses of beauty -- especially in the rainbow-bridge conceptions of outer space -- and borne along on an emotional undercurrent that's similarly unexpected. None of this is to say that Alvarez is some kind of softie -- he stages a wild creature attack in a half-flooded bay and introduces a hideous new kind of alien toward the end of the picture. (This new-breed monster might be a stretch for some fans to accept, and surely there'll also be those who object to the digital reclamation of a character from the original "Alien" -- one played by an actor who in real life died four years ago. This sort of thing was creepy when it was used to reanimate the late Peter Cushing for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," but here, deftly executed, it works.)

The story, written by Alvarez and fellow Uruguayan filmmaker Rodo Sayagues, is set between the first two films in the franchise and once again begins with a crew of humans on their way into unimaginable horror. This time, rather than weary 30- and 40-year-olds, as in the first movie, the voyagers are mostly 20-something refugees from a bleak mining planet run by the series' notorious Weyland-Yutani Corporation (poster slogan: "Building Better Worlds"). Among this group are Rain (Cailee Spaeny, of "Priscilla") and her android "brother" Andy (David Jonsson, of "Industry"). Spaeny isn't an obvious knockoff of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in the earlier "Alien" films (she's not as grim-lipped and driven), but she's likably feisty and she looks good wielding a very big machine gun. And Jonsson, giving the movie's most affecting performance, is a moving incarnation of a sad-eyed, emotionally uncertain being who's ultimately revealed to be smart and brave (not unlike Bishop, Lance Henriksen's android in "Aliens").

Rain and David and four comrades are planning to access an abandoned space station and pilfer the cryo-sleep equipment inside to outfit a decommissioned starship for a voyage they're planning to a faraway and far better planet than the one they've known. However, that plan is wrecked when they discover that the space station is infested with swarms of ferocious face-hugger aliens, whose penchant for forcing egg-laying tentacles down their victims' throats is especially bad news for two of the young rebels, Kay (Isabela Merced), who happens to be pregnant, and the pilot Navarro (Aileen Wu, recalling Jenette Goldstein's kickass Private Vasquez in "Aliens").

As always, the hateful creatures are relentless, and the human crew finds hope increasingly hard to summon. Realizing their peril at one point, in a passing moment of silence, Andy sums up their options very quietly: "Run," he whispers.

To find out more about Kurt Loder and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.

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