FromEvil DeadtoAlien: Romulus,Fede Álvarezhas directed some of the best horror movies of the past decade – but not all of his films have been quite that great. Álvarez first caught Hollywood’s attention when he dropped his short filmAtaque de Pánico!on YouTube in 2009. He was quickly recruited by Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures to develop his debut feature, and that debut feature ended up being a remake of Raimi’s own debut feature,The Evil Dead. Álvarez’s 2013Evil Deadintroduced the franchise to a whole new generation of horror fans.
SinceEvil Deadput Álvarez on the map as an exciting new voice in the genre, he’s become one of the most sought-after horror directors in Hollywood. He’s helmed daring original projects, likeDon’t Breathe, and tackled other daunting reboots of legendary franchises, like hisAlienmovie.Álvarez is a visionary filmmaker who goes all in when he takes on a new project.But his movies haven’t all been as successful asDon’t Breathe; he’s also directed some disappointing duds, like the misguidedThe Girl in the Spider’s Web. So, here are all his films, ranked worst to best.
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The only real disappointment of Álvarez’s directorial career isThe Girl in the Spider’s Web.It’s technically a sequel to David Fincher’s English-language remake ofThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoofrom 2011, but it features an entirely different cast and, with Álvarez at the helm, a totally different style.Claire Foy replaces Rooney Marain the role of hacker Lisbeth Salander and Sverrir Gudnason replaces Daniel Craig in the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The plot revolves around Lisbeth’s battle against a shady organization known as “The Spiders,” who seek world domination.
The movie isn’t based on an entry in Stieg Larsson’s originalMillenniumseries; it’s based on a book by David Lagercrantz that takes place in that universe.That might be the root of the problem; it plays more like a fanfic than a genuine canonical entry in this saga. It eschews the intense realism of theMillenniumseries and essentially pits Lisbeth against Dr. Doofenshmirtz.The Girl in the Spider’s Webis the only movie Álvarez has directed that was widely panned by critics, and deservingly so.
Álvarez proves himself to be a pretty capable action director, but his reboot lacks the nuance and intrigue and complexity that made this franchise so popular in the first place.
Whereas Fincher’s movie and Larsson’s original novels dared to go to some really grim places,The Girl in the Spider’s Webplays it disappointingly safe. Whereas Fincher’s movie and the books were gritty mysteries that left a trail of breadcrumbs for eagle-eyed audiences to follow,The Girl in the Spider’s Webis a by-the-numbers action thriller with no discernible tension.Álvarez proves himself to be a pretty capable action director, but his reboot lacks the nuance and intrigue and complexity that made this franchise so popular in the first place.
There is one bright spot inThe Girl in the Spider’s Web.Foy gives a typically terrific performance in the lead role, seamlessly adopting the role from Mara, but she’s given almost nothing to work with. The complicated antihero fromThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, who Mara played so spectacularly, is reduced to a standard one-dimensional action star.The Girl in the Spider’s Webis almost cartoonish in its use of Bond movie clichés and high-octane action set-pieces. Drawing inevitable comparisons with Fincher’s masterful work on the previous film doesn’t do this one any favors.
For his very first feature film, Álvarez took on a project that even the most seasoned horror director would find intimidating: a remake ofThe Evil Dead.Horror remakes are almost always pointless and dissatisfying, because nothing is ever as scary the second time. But against all odds, Álvarez managed to create anEvil Deadreboot that lived up to its predecessors. 2013’sEvil Deadis just as much grisly fun as any of Raimi’s original films, and Álvarez managed to take the gore to an even crazier level in the reboot.
Álvarez’sEvil Deadaddresses some of the plot holes from the original. In the original movie, there’s no real reason for these kids to go and stay at a creepy cabin in the middle of nowhere.But in Álvarez’s remake, they need to get their drug-addicted friend to an isolated location so she can go cold turkey and kick her addiction.This also creates a great conceit that draws out the suspense longer than the original. When she starts seeing paranormal terrors around the cabin, her friends assume she’s just hallucinating as a symptom of withdrawal.
It usually doesn’t work when a horror remake employs CGI to recreate scares from the original film, because the weightless digital effects don’t elicit the same visceral response as old-school practical effects. But 2013’sEvil Deadis the exception that proves the rule, because its modern effects actually enhance the horror.The notorious tree attack sequence from the original movie looks a little silly by today’s standards, because off-screen crew members are just waving twigs and branches in front of the camera.
But in the reboot, Álvarez uses CGI to make this scene more convincing – and, in turn, more horrifying.
There is one downside to Álvarez’sEvil Deadremake, and it’s a pretty big one: for the most part, it forgoes Raimi’s signature absurdist humor.To be fair, that humor wasn’t really prevalent in the original film that this one is based on – it became a bigger element in the sequels – but it’s one of the main reasons whytheEvil Deadfranchiseis so unique and endearing, so it was pretty disappointing for a newEvil Deadmovie to do without it. But that’s a minor gripe in such a great horror movie.
Álvarez finally redeemed a string of underwhelming sequels, prequels, and spin-offs and got theAlienfranchise back on track withAlien: Romulus.Alien: Romulustakes place betweenAlienandAlienson the timeline, and it’s also pitched somewhere between those two movies tonally.It sees a group of young space colonists traveling to an abandoned research station in search of the cryosleep chambers they need for their journey to a brighter future.But when they get to the station, they find that it wasn’t abandoned; it’s been ravaged from the inside.
Each half of this station represents the style of a differentAlienmovie: the Remus half is a chilling haunted house where the crew has to stay on their toes, where the movie enjoys the claustrophobic thrills ofAlien, while the Romulus half is a festering hive of xenomorphs where the crew has to shoot their way out, replicating the blockbuster action spectacle ofAliens. Álvarez does a fine job of balancing these two tones.The James Cameron-style pulse-rifle-toting action never undermines the Ridley Scott-style unsettling atmosphere.
Álvarez also recreates Scott and Cameron’s use of practical effects over CGI.The grimy retro-futuristic production design would’ve made H.R. Giger proud, and the practical xenomorph costumes make the creatures much more terrifying than the CG xenomorphs of the last fewAlienmovies. Led by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson’s heartfelt sibling dynamic,Alien: Romulushas some of the strongest character workof Álvarez’s filmography. Like Scott, he takes plenty of time to let the audience get to know the characters, so they care enough about those characters to root for them when the xenomorphs show up.
Throughout its first two acts,Alien: Romulusis a very well-made sci-fi horror film with mesmerizing visuals, fiercely effective scares, and a deeply unnerving atmosphere.But the third act is when it goes from good to great. Just when it seems like the movie is wrapping up and Álvarez hasn’t quite pushed the horror far enough,a truly disturbing monstrosity shows up and pushes the film to greatness.
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Arguably Álvarez’s finest film is also his most original.Don’t Breatheflips the usual home invasion thriller formula on its head. In most home invasion movies, fromPanic RoomtoWait Until Dark, the homeowners are the protagonists and the burglars are the antagonists. But inDon’t Breathe, the opposite is true: the protagonists are the young criminals who break into a blind war veteran’s house to retrieve the money they need to buy themselves a better life, and the antagonist is the blind man who promptly turns the tables on these would-be thieves.
Álvarez has some truly jaw-dropping twists up his sleeve inDon’t Breathe– not the least of which is the disturbing sight they find in the basement.
Álvarez did an admirable job of recreating the claustrophobic feel of Scott’s originalAlienfilm inAlien: Romulus, butDon’t Breatheis his most claustrophobic film.Álvarez creates a palpable sense of dread as the burglars desperately attempt to escape from the house with their lives.Every new discovery about the man they’re robbing reveals him to be even more monstrous and terrifying. Álvarez has some truly jaw-dropping twists up his sleeve inDon’t Breathe– not the least of which is the disturbing sight they find in the basement.
WhereasEvil DeadandAlien: Romulushave some lulls in their tension,Don’t Breathemanages to maintain the suspense from beginning to end. As soon as the blind man starts fighting back against the burglars who have broken into his home, the movie draws audiences right to the edge of their seats and doesn’t let them relax until the very end. It’s easy to see whyDon’t Breatheconvinced Disney executives thatFede Álvarezwas the right filmmaker to tackle anAlienmovie.
