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ALIENS VS. PREDATOR-REQUIEM 2-Disc Unrated Edition (2008).
© Fox Home Entertainment

Mania Grade: B
DVD: Aliens Vs. Predator-Requiem (2-Disc Unrated Edition)
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz
Written By: Shane Salerno
Directed By: Colin & Greg Strause
Distributor: Fox Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2007
Extras: Two commentary tracks, five featurettes, still galleries, digital copy, trailers
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Franchise
Alien Vs Predator
Requiem
Predator 2
Movie Trailer

ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM

The second AVP feature film fared little better than the first film from a critical standpoint. Part of the problem with the AVP films is living up to the success and acclaim of the solo films. Fox seems almost in a no-win situation with the series in trying to produce a film that is faithful to both franchises. AVP Requiem picks up where the first film left off although seeing the first isn’t a prerequisite. Aboard a Predator ship, a Chestburster alien explodes out of the body of a fallen Predator. This mutant grows into an Alien/Predator hybrid—A Predalien! It has the mandibles, dreadlocks, and coloring of a Predator but the rest of the body is Xenomorph.

It attacks the lone Predator onboard, causing him to misfire his shoulder laser, blowing a hole in the ship’s hull, and forcing a crash landing in a remote part of the Colorado wilderness, near a small town called Gunnison. Before he dies, the Predator sends out a distress signal and soon a lone Hunter returns to Earth to find the destroyed ship. Putting on the dead Predator’s mask he is able to see a replay of the last several minutes of his life. The Predalien has escaped into the wilderness and a couple of Facehuggers have impregnated an unfortunate hunter and his son. The Predalien shows many different traits than other Aliens. It is able to use its mandibles to force its embryos down its victim’s throats, resulting in not one, but several Chestbursters being born. This ability is on visceral display as the Predalien turns the local hospital into its hive, and several female patients as its hosts.

As the Predator hunts down the quickly spawning Aliens throughout the town, the humans are virtually caught in the middle. Dallas (Pasquale) is an ex-con who has just been released from prison. His best friend is Sheriff Morales (Ortiz). They along with Iraq War veteran, Kelly (Aylesworth) help to try and lead several other townspeople to safety. Everything collides in an all out battle between the Predator and the Predalien.

This unrated edition is without a doubt the bloodiest and goriest Aliens/Predator movie yet. Even women and small children are not spared from the carnage the Chestbursters leave behind. Add to that the Predator is blowing the heads off any human who gets in its way. The human characters are just fodder in AVP Requiem. While it’s a veteran cast, their credits mostly come from the small screen and it’s obvious that they are a bit of an afterthought to the creature mayhem throughout the film. They’re not awful but they are fairly forgettable.

There are a few logic problems such as how the Predalien grows to adult form almost instantaneously and why only ONE Predator answered the distress call. It’s a movie where you don’t want to think too much. The Predalien design was quite cool and it’s stunning that the original draft of the script had the creature being killed at the beginning of the film. Thankfully, wiser heads prevailed. This isn’t Alien and isn’t meant to have the sheer terror and suspense of that film. AVP Requiem is all about action and on that level it is successful.

Extras

My grade for AVP Requiem is boosted by a strong lineup of extras found on the two-disc edition. The DVD comes with two audio commentaries: one by the directors and producers and one with Visual Effects Supervisor, Tom Woodruff, and Special Effects Supervisor Alec Gillis.

The DVD comes with five behind-the-scenes featurettes:

Preparing for War (15:45) covers the initial, top secret design of the new Predalien creature (codenamed “Chet”), the development of the script, and the casting of the film

Fight to the Finish (12:13) Looks at the film’s edition process and what scenes were put back in the film for this unrated, extended edition. Also examines the various post-production visual effects.

The Nightmare Returns (7:32) examines the design of the various Aliens and Predators and their evolution over the years since the original 1979 movie.

Crossbreed (8:21) is all about the development of the Predalien’s look which is described as 85% Alien and 15% Predator.

Building the Predator Homeworld (6:58) While brief, we do get a look at the Predator home world and how the look and styling of their world influenced human design as shown in the first Aliens Vs. Predator film.

In addition, there is a footprint feature which, when turned on, will alert the viewer that the particular scene is one of the added/expanded scenes not seen in the theatrical release.

There is also the digital copy feature which allows you to download a digital copy of the film to a PC or handheld device.