Romulus was teased months ago – here’s why it hits so hard

• Many were shocked by an extreme scene at the end of “Alien: Romulus”.

• Actor Isabela Merced teased the “disgusting” moment in a February interview that now makes sense.

• “Alien” has long pushed the boundaries of body horror, but here’s why this scene is so disturbing.

Warning: Major spoilers for “Alien: Romulus” ahead.

“Alien: Romulus” star Isabela Merced teased a gruesome scene from the film a few months ago, saying that even the crew didn’t get to watch it.

In the film, a group of interplanetary scavengers enter an abandoned space station to find supplies.

Once inside, they discover evidence of horrific experiments on the Xenomorph alien race and must fight to survive.

20th Century Studios has recruited “Evil Dead” director Fede Alvarez to bring the sequel to life. And there is one moment that stands above the rest of the film.

In February, Merced told The Hollywood Reporter that the scene was so disturbing that the crew couldn’t watch it when Alvarez showed the footage on an iPad.

“There’s a scene where I’m in and they all had to go back. Not one person stayed to look at that iPad because it was so disgusting,” she recalled.

Understandably, the crew couldn’t watch the scene in question, as Merced’s character Kay gives birth to a horrible monster.

A shocking birth

Kay reveals that she’s pregnant early in the story, which should send up warning signs to any horror fan, as it immediately makes her more vulnerable than the rest of the crew.

The franchise has always subverted ideas about birth since the iconic chest explosion scene in 1979’s “Alien.”

But in the 2024 film, the aliens discover a gooey black serum derived from the Xenomorphs that the corporation running the space station wanted to give to humans to improve them.

So when Kay is injured by the Xenomorphs, she injects herself with it to save her child. Uh oh.

Fast forward to the end of the film, the substance has drastically altered Kay’s DNA, causing her to give birth to a monstrous giant egg containing a Xenomorph/human hybrid.

The creature (called “Oldspring” in the credits) continues to grow at an alarming rate and eventually grows to over seven feet tall with elongated limbs and a secondary mouth.

She then goes back to nursing Kay, as the serum has caused her body to secrete a sticky substance.

The scene is foreshadowed early on when Rain (Cailee Spaeny) walks past a Renaissance-style painting of a baby nursing its mother’s corpse.

The scene is also notable for appearing to rely on practical effects, not CGI. Romanian basketball player Robert Bobroczkyi plays physically with Offspring.

Speaking to USA Today, Alvarez praised Bobroczkyi’s performance.

“He did an amazing performance for someone who has never done this before. Being tall is one thing – with Cailee, who is 5 feet tall, that’s magic. But he really brought a talent that amazed us all. -the finger with Isabela in a face-to-face (meeting) and it’s fantastic,” he explained.

Unsurprisingly, the scene got horror fans talking and many are already speculating what a sequel would look like.

The buzz surrounding “Alien: Romulus” led to an impressive first weekend as it grossed $108 million worldwide by the deadline.

Read the original article on Business Insider