"Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" is the darkest tale to be spun out of the twin horror franchises. Dark doesn’t mean moody, or complex, or any of the interesting qualities affixed to the word. It’s dark as in poorly illuminated. How dark? Entire sequences go by in a black blur, with only an Alien screech here and a Predator trill there to tell us what’s going on. Like Roland Emmerich’s "Godzilla," "Requiem" is set either at night, during a rainstorm, or both.
At times, "Requiem" is so misbegotten you’ll wish the entire screen just went black and stayed that way. "Requiem" opens with a ship containing both Aliens and a Predator/Alien hybrid crashing down to earth, or more specifically, a small Colorado ‘burb. The creatures escape the downed spacecraft and start doing what they do best – indiscriminately killing humans. A second Predator later lands in the same Colorado town to wipe out the new Alien infestation.
Meanwhile, a pizza boy named Ricky (Johnny Lewis) is trying to get the attention of his crush (Kristin Hager), but the gal’s boyfriend keeps beating him to the punch, literally. Then there’s Ricky’s brother (Steven Pasquale), who just got out of prison but is on remarkably good terms with the local sheriff (John Ortiz, earning the dubious prize as the stiffest actor in the lot).
Not enough characters for you? How about Kelly (Reiko Aylesworth of "24" fame), an Iraq veteran just home from the Middle East? Before you can say, "hey, she looks a lot like Sigourney …," she strips down to a tight T-shirt and starts blasting Aliens like a woman scorned. The townsfolk get picked off in one lethargically scripted kill scene atop another, while our rag-tag heroes try to flee their once bucolic town. And just when the action couldn’t get any darker, an Alien vs. Predator skirmish plunges the entire town into blackness.
One reason these two monsters won, or rather ripped out our hearts, in the first place was based on more than just their monstrous appearance. They had brains. Aliens were shrewd and manipulative, and Predators were similarly skilled in outwitting their prey. Here, they lumber from scene to scene without any sense of a master plan.
Had "Requiem" delivered fresh wrinkles to either franchise, sequences recalling earlier film highlights would seem more an homage and less like downright theft. Aylesworth repeats Ripley’s daring tank-like escape from "Aliens," and a secondary character delivers a whiny rant a la Bill Paxton. One sequence even features a flashing strobe light effect like the final moments in "Alien."
Anything that dredges up memories of such superior films can only make "Requiem" seem even worse by comparison.
Some sequences resemble an arcade game shoot ’em up, which may make sense since these crossover films have their roots in both comics and video games. But it doesn’t fly for a cinematic experience.
Two thirds in, the "Alien" franchise’s distrust of the military rears its head with little context or rationale. "Requiem’s" final 20 minutes does deliver a few exciting moments. During one monster-on-monster smack down, the viewer can actually see some of the punches which land.
The disk’s best moments come via the featurettes. Two separate segments detail the artistry which made the Aliens and the new "PredAlien" possible. It’s also a glorious example of what you can do without resorting to CGI trickery. Watching grown men walking around the set in Alien costumes is a treat for any horror fan.
These segments also allow us to enjoy these movie monsters with the klieg lights on. Let’s hope the word "Requiem" here means the funeral dirge to a monster franchise that deserves a quick, painless death. This title hits the streets April 15, 2008.
Final Grade D
EM DVD Review
By Christian Toto
Please pass over this. This series needs to end. How can these two species be so advanced yet so utterly stupid enough to continue to lose to the human race. I would not spend your money on this DVD.