(Long Island, N.Y.) So, what’s a Requiem, you might ask? Merriam-Webster defines a Requiem as “A mass or solemn chant for the dead.” That alone tells us that no good will befall any of the characters involved in today’s review- 20th Century Fox’s Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem, a sequel to 2004’s fairly brain-dead Alien vs. Predator. The original film pitted the title creatures, both “stars” of their respective franchises, against one another for some hot monster-on-monster action.
Okay, I answered the question of what a Requiem is, but I’m sure someone is asking, “Okay, but what’s a Predator? What’s an Alien? And why are they annoyed at each other to such a degree?” Well, I suppose someone out there might be asking that, and I owe it to my many, many fans, even the shut-ins devoid of any pop-culture knowledge, to give them the whole scoop.
Back in the fabled year of 1979, director Ridley Scott helmed what many consider a definitive classic in horror/sci-fi movies- Alien. The story dealt with the small crew of a starship and a rather
unruly intergalactic hitchhiker who starts knocking off the crew, one-by-one. The eponymous creature referenced by the film’s title (also known as a Xenomorph), designed by crazy Swiss painter H. R. Giger, was universally hailed as one of the most horrific abominations ever captured on film. A huge hit, Alien spawned several sequels, the first of which (1986’s Aliens) was written and directed by none other than Mr. Titanic himself, James Cameron. Unfortunately, subsequent films never matched the quality displayed in the first two entries, and the franchise itself eventually fell into dormancy.
Meanwhile, in 1987, another iconic modern movie monster reared its ugly head for the first time. Predator featured a 7-foot tall alien trophy hunter as it stalked and killed an elite squad of commandos in the South American jungle, utilizing stealth, guerrilla tactics and high-tech weaponry. Unfortunately for this particular creature, however, it had picked a unit led by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime, and soon met its end by his hands. Arnold was originally set to team up with Danny Glover to take on yet another Predator in the sequel, but instead opted out to make some movie called Terminator 2 (yeah, I never heard of it either). Designed by make-up/effects wizard Stan Winston, the Predator’s unique and frightening design made it an enduring fan-favorite throughout the years, despite no further sequels being made after Predator 2.
An amusing nod regarding a possible connection of the two series was originally featured in Predator 2, when a brief glimpse of the extraterrestrial hunter’s trophy case included the familiar Xenomorph skull. Fans of both series latched onto this, resulting in crossover tales covering all forms of media- comic books, video games, action figures, etc. An eventual movie featuring this carnage seemed a lock, and in 2004 maligned Hollywood director Paul W. S. Anderson produced a very, very average motion picture entitled (can you guess?) Alien vs. Predator. Featuring a pretty senseless story, annoying characters, and a total disregard for the established continuity and canon of both series, it whetted the appetite of fans but left them wishing that someone a trifle more gifted had handled the film’s creation. Still, AvP was successful at the box office, paving the way for a sequel. When it was announced that a totally different team would be handing the writing and directing duties (The Brothers Strause, former music video directors), hope blossomed that the film would improve on the original. It wouldn’t be that hard a feat to accomplish.
The sequel was released on Christmas Day 2007, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the birth of our savior than monsters dismembering each other and any human stupid enough to get in their way. Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem begins literally
30 seconds after the end of the first movie. Aboard a spaceship departing Earth, a Predator corpse, impregnated with an Alien embryo in the first film, bursts open from within. Revealed is a hideous Alien/Predator hybrid that rapidly grows to full-size and begins attacking the other passengers of the spaceship, who promptly open fire with their energy weapons. Of course, the dim-witted Predators miss and hit their own vessel, causing it to crash land in the backwoods of a small American mountain town. The hybrid survives, as do captive creatures known as “facehuggers,” which are basically the first stage of the Xenomorph lifeform. The facehuggers locate some humans out hunting and, well, hug their faces,
implanting Alien eggs into their chests for good measure. Before you know it, the town is overrun with full-grown Xenos, and things are looking grim.
Enter the newest Predator, nicknamed “Wolf” (played by the 7’2” Ian Whyte). He is an elder hunter, summoned to Earth by a distress call issued by the crashed ship, and unlike previous depicted Predators, this one is a “cleaner.” That is, he’s here to wipe out any and all evidence of his race or the Xenomorphs on Earth, and to that end, Wolf starts hunting and killing every Alien he can get his
hands on. However, the Alien infestation soon grows even beyond the experienced and battle-hardened hunter’s control, and soon it becomes clear that far sterner measures may be called for.
Oh, and there are a bunch of human characters tangled up in this mess as well, but they’re all generic monster movie-type victims that you’ve all seen countless times before and not worth delving into in any way. Just suffice it to say that all the major stereotypes are covered- the loner with a troubled past, the kid who gets bullied, the girl he loves, her creepy boyfriend, etc. All one-dimensional, and all there just to get killed.
Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem is much better than the generic first installment and a solid action/horror film in its own right. I know some people have seen AvP:R and hated it, but I think these people were expecting Shakespeare instead of a modern version of Frankenstein Meets The Mummy, which is all this series has ever aspired to be. It’s unfortunate that expectations should be placed so low in reality, given both series’ esteemed pedigrees, but when you see these cinematic match-ups (another example is Freddy Vs. Jason), it’s usually because both series have run out of steam and are being milked for whatever they have left. It’s shame.
Unlike the PG-13 rated original, Requiem is a full-on R and does everything in its power to earn it. There’s plenty of non-stop violence and gore on display, and it’s directed at everyone- not even women or children are safe. It’s not a good flick to take your little kid to see if they’re tired of Spongebob reruns, that’s for sure. Unless you’re a really horrible parent. Or a really cool one.
One major issue I had with the film was the camerawork and lighting. Basically, it was too dark and the camera moved around too much. Stupid, stupid decision on the part of the directors, as it really hurt the movie. A lot. I just kept thinking the whole time how older Alien/Predator films managed to be dark and moody but you could still see everything clearly enough. But in AvP:R it was fairly difficult to see the various Aliens or the Predator, which is a shame, since they obviously have some very intricate design work put into them (I especially enjoyed the throwback to their designs used in their earlier movies). I’m really getting tired of this low-light/rapid-fire editing/shaky camera garbage.
So, Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem succeeds in improving on the original AvP, but further signals the demise of its once-revered individual franchises by cheapening
them with an only slightly above-average effort. This series does indeed have potential for greatness, however, and if they make another sequel, I personally hope it’s set in the future this time instead of the modern-day. If so, they should consider using the superior comic book series as a storyline base, which somehow managed to be more intelligent and creative than either of the AvP films thus far. This film leaves itself open for that possibility, so we’ll have to wait and see.
