| Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | The Brothers Strause |
| Written by | Shane Salerno |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Daniel C. Pearl |
| Edited by | Dan Zimmerman |
| Music by | Brian Tyler |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40 million[4] |
| Box office | $130.3 million[5] |
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (stylized on-screen as AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem) is a 2007 Americanscience fictionactionhorror film[5] that is the second installment in theAlien vs. Predator franchise, and a sequel toAlien vs. Predator (2004). The film was directed by theBrothers Strause from a screenplay byShane Salerno.
Set immediately after the events of the previous film, the film begins with a Predator ship crashing into a forest outside ofGunnison, Colorado, where anAlien-Predatorhybrid known as thePredalien escapes and makes its way to the nearby small town. Wolf, a skilled veteran "cleaner", is dispatched to kill the Predalien, and the townspeople try to escape the ensuing carnage. The film starsSteven Pasquale,Reiko Aylesworth,John Ortiz,Johnny Lewis andAriel Gade.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem premiered on November 4, 2007, inLos Angeles. It was released theatrically on December 25 in theUnited States. The film received generally negative reviews from critics for its poor lighting, editing, and lack of originality. It grossed $130.2 million worldwide against a production budget of $40 million. Plans for another sequel were abandoned, with further independent entries in both franchises released in2010 and2012 respectively.
AYautja ship leavesEarth carrying capturedXenomorph facehuggers and Scar's body before a chestburster emerges, with characteristic traits of both species.[a] The chestburster quickly matures into an adultPredalien, and starts slaughtering the Yautja aboard a scout ship. One Yautja unintentionally blows a hole in the ship's hull from its Plasmacaster, causing it to crash in a forest outside ofGunnison, Colorado. The last surviving Yautja onboard sends a distress signal before being killed by the Predalien. The Predalien and several facehuggers escape, implanting embryos into several humans, such as a hunter and his son named Buddy and Sam, and several vagrants in the sewers. On Yautja Prime, the Yautja home planet, Wolf, a highly skilled veteran Yautja, receives the distress signal and departs for Earth with an array of weapons and equipment, intent on solely exterminating the Predalien and the Xenomorphs. He arrives at the site where the ship crashed, using a Yautja's mask to watch a recording of the ship attack and a syringe to detect traces of the facehuggers. He also triggers a bomb that destroys the entire ship.
Later, Wolf encounters the corpses of Buddy and Sam, as well as the facehuggers that killed them, using an acid-like liquid to dispose of their bodies and killing a police officer that spotted him, with the town having launched a manhunt to investigate their disappearances. Meanwhile, ex-convict Dallas Howard returns to Gunnison after serving time in prison. He reunites with his younger brother Ricky, who is in love with his classmate Jesse Salinger but is constantly harassed by her boyfriend Dale Collins and his two friends Nick and Mark. Kelly O'Brien also returns to Gunnison after serving in the army reserves and reunites with her husband, Tim, and daughter, Molly.
After disposing of the remains of the homeless people killed by the facehuggers and facehuggers, Wolf starts killing Xenomorphs in the sewer, but they manage to escape when the Predalien intervenes. The latter escapes as well and makes it to the diner, implanting Xenomorph embryos into the pregnant waitress there who was the wife of the police officer killed by Wolf. Wolf pursues the Xenomorphs to the power plant, where collateral damage from his Plasmacaster causes a citywidepower outage. Ricky and Jesse meet at thehigh schoolswimming pool but are interrupted by Dale and his friends just as the power goes out. A Xenomorph then appears and kills Dale's friends, but Dale, Jesse, and Ricky escape; Wolf then arrives and kills the Xenomorph, destroying the evidence before escaping. Another Xenomorph invades the O'Briens' home, killing Tim while Kelly escapes with Molly.
Ricky, Jesse, Dale, Dallas, and Sheriff Eddie Morales gather at asporting goods store to collect weapons, where Kelly and Molly meet them. Reinforcements from theColorado Army National Guard arrive but are quickly ambushed and slaughtered by the Xenomorphs. Wolf captures Dallas inside the store to use as bait to lure the Xenomorphs. Several Xenomorphs arrive, with Dale killed during the battle by a Xenomorph's blood, and one of Wolf's Plasmacasters is damaged, but Wolf reconfigures the other into a Plasma Pistol.
As the survivors attempt to escape Gunnison, they learn Colonel Stevens is staging an air evacuation at thetown center. Dallas and Kelly, however, are skeptical since going there would cause them to become surrounded by Xenomorphs. All of them head towards the helicopter, at thehospital to evacuate the town, while Eddie and Darcy (wife of Buddy and mother of Sam) head to the evacuation zone. However, the hospital has been overrun by Xenomorphs and the Predalien, who has been building a new hive by implanting Xenomorph embryos into the pregnant women. Wolf arrives at the hospital and dispatches more Xenomorphs, wounding the Predalien in the process but losing his Plasmacaster. During the battle, he accidentally kills Jesse with a Shuriken when she panics. Distraught, Ricky rushes Wolf with gunfire, only to be injured by the Predalien. A Xenomorph attacks Wolf, and both tumble down anelevator shaft. Dallas takes possession of Wolf's Plasma Pistol.
Dallas, Ricky, Kelly, and Molly reach the roof and fight off several Xenomorphs before escaping in the helicopter. Wolf, having survived the fall, kills the remaining Xenomorphs on the roof before engaging the Predalien in single combat. The two mortally wound each other and engage in a standoff just as anF-22 Raptor arrives and drops atactical nuclear weapon, which annihilates the Predalien, Wolf, the rest of the Xenomorphs, and the remaining townspeople there. The shockwave causes the fleeing helicopter to crash in a forest clearing, where the military rescues the survivors. Wolf's Plasma Pistol is confiscated from Dallas, and his brother is given medical attention.
Shortly thereafter, Colonel Stevens presents the plasma pistol to Ms. Yutani, claiming that the world is not yet ready for this kind of technology.
Inspired byTerminator 2: Judgment Day, brothers Colin and Greg Strause moved to Los Angeles to break into the film business. After an unsuccessful attempt to find employment atIndustrial Light & Magic, the brothers worked onThe X-Files film and founded their own special effects company,Hydraulx. The company produced special effects for films such asVolcano,The Day After Tomorrow,Poseidon and300 and the brothers began a career directing commercials and music videos. Colin believes Hydraulx secured a strong relationship with20th Century Fox, which owns theAlien andPredator franchises.[7]
The brothers unsuccessfully pitched an idea for the firstAlien vs. Predator film and Fox almost bought a film titledWolfenstein suggested by the brothers. Said Colin, "When the script came up for this movie, they thought we'd be perfect for it because it's an ambitious movie for the budget that they had and they knew that having our visual effects background was going to be a huge thing."[7] The brothers were hired to direct the sequel toAlien vs. Predator in late spring 2006 and had limited time to start filming in the fall.[7] The film's original title wasAlien vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest, but was later dropped.[8]
Filming onAliens vs. Predator: Requiem begun on September 23, 2006, inVancouver,British Columbia[9] for a 52-day schedule.[10] During filming breaks, the brothers supervised visual effects work on300,Shooter andFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer by using in-house supervisors and a system calledMavis and Lucy, which let the brothers track, view and approve dailies. Colin estimates Hydraulx produced 460 of the 500 visual effects shots including the nuclear explosion which was created usingMaya fluids and BA Volume Shader. The interior of the Predator ship was created usingcomputer-generated imagery (CGI), as the brothers felt it would be more cost effective than building a set.[10] The visual effects team peaked at 110 people for several months and averaged 70, almost all of the entire Hydraulx staff.[11]
Using their knowledge in visual effects and making use of principal photography, the brothers tried to film as much as they couldin camera without resorting to CGI. Colin said, "other than the exterior spaceship shots, there are no pure CG shots." CGI was used for the Alien tails and inner jaws, whereas they required puppeteers and wire removal on previous films. The main visual effects of the film included set design, a nuclear explosion, the Predator's ship crashing and the Predator cloak, about which Colin stated: "We wanted to make sure it didn't look too digital."[10]
The brothers wanted actorAdam Baldwin to reprise his role as Agent Garber fromPredator 2, but were unable to do so, instead using Robert Joy as a new character.[12]
ComposerBrian Tyler was hired to write the score for the film.[13] The soundtrack album was released on December 11, 2007, byVarèse Sarabande andFox Music.[14] Despite not appearing in the CD soundtrack, the song "Wach auf!" ("Wake Up") by German bandOomph! was released as a promo in January 2008, with the music video using clips from the film.[15] The song appeared on the band's albumMonster.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem had its premiere at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci Fi Convention in Los Angeles on November 4, 2007.[16] The Brothers Strause attended the event, presenting the film to an audience for the first time.[17] The film was later released in theUnited States and in other territories on December 25, 2007.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was released onDVD,Blu-ray and PSPUMD Disc on April 15, 2008, inNorth America[18] and May 12, 2008, in theUnited Kingdom byFox Home Entertainment. It was released in three versions: a single-disc, R-rated version of the 94-minute theatrical presentation, a single-disc unrated version extended to 101 minutes and a two-disc unrated version with the 101-minute film and a second disc of special features. Extra features on the single-disc editions include twoaudio commentary tracks: one by the directors and producerJohn Davis and a second by creature effects designers and creators Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis.
Disc one of the two-disc unrated edition includes both commentary tracks as well as both cuts of the film seamlessly branched and an exclusive "Weyland-Yutani archives" picture-in-picture reference guide to the warring extraterrestrial races;[19] five behind-the-scenes featurettes:Prepare for War: Development & Production,Fight to the Finish,The Nightmare Returns: Creating the Aliens,Crossbreed: The Predalien andBuilding the Predator Homeworld; multiple galleries of still photos showing the creature designs and sets; and the film's theatrical trailer. The second disc includes a "digital copy" download feature.
In its first week of release, the film debuted at number two on the DVD charts, earning $7.7 million and number one on the Blu-ray charts. The film has made $27,403,705 in DVD sales in the United States.[4][20]
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem opened in North America in 2,563 theaters along withThe Bucket List andThe Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. It was ratedR for violence, gore and language, unlike its predecessor, which was given aPG-13 rating.[21] In the UK and Australia, theBBFC's classification decision for the film is the same as the original (Rated 15), whilst the AustralianACB rated the film MA15+,[22] up from the original's M rating.[23]
The film grossed $9,515,615 on its opening day for an average of $3,707 per theater and was number six at the box office.[24] It grossed $5 million in Australia, $9 million in Japan and the United Kingdom and $7 million in Russia, and had an international total of $86,288,761. The film had a domestic gross of $41,797,066 and an international gross of $88,493,819, bringing it to a total of $130,290,885.[4]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 12% of 78 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "The increased gore and violence over the firstAlien vs. Predator can't excuseRequiem's disorientating editing, excessively murky lighting, and lack of new ideas."[25] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[26] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.[27]
Chris Hewitt ofEmpire called it an "early but strong contender for worst movie of 2008".[28] Stina Chyn ofFilm Threat felt the camerawork "is a smidge too shaky and the lighting/color design too dark for me to relish the Predator-on-Alien butt-kicking".[29] Josh Rosenblatt ofThe Austin Chronicle dismissed the film stating it was "An orgy of mindless violence, a random collection of bloody bodies, alien misanthropy and slobbering carnage designed to bore straight into the pleasure centers of 13-year-old boys and leave the rest of us wondering when the movies got so damn loud."[30] Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter contributor called it a "dull actioner that looks like a bad video game".[31]
Chris Nashawaty ofEntertainment Weekly felt it was a "B movie that truly earns its B," and gave it a grading of "B" on an A to F scale.[32]Variety contributor Joe Leydon said it "Provides enough cheap thrills and modest suspense to shake a few shekels from genre fans before really blasting off as homevid product".[33] Ryan Stewart ofCinematical said he "can't recommend it as a good movie on its own merits, stocked as it is with cardboard cutout characters and a barely coherent plot, but it's miles more interesting than the lastAlien vs. Predator film."[34]
Conversely, Neil Genzlinger ofThe New York Times stated: "It may not be classic sci-fi like theoriginalAlien, which it has in its DNA, but it's a perfectly respectable next step in the series."[35]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Recipient(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Golden Schmoes Awards | Biggest Disappointment of the Year | Nominated | Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem | [36] |
| 2008 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Prequel or Sequel | Nominated | [37] | |
| Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie | Nominated | ||||
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Fight Sequence | Nominated | Alien vs. Predator | [38] |
During the production ofAliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the Brothers Strause expressed plans for a thirdAlien vs. Predator installment.[39] However, the planned sequel was put on hold indefinitely.
ThePredator franchise continued withNimród Antal'sPredators,Shane Black'sThe Predator (the latter of which featured references toAVP such as shurikens and Lex's spear which Scar made out of an Alien tail),[40][41] andDan Trachtenberg'sPrey,Predator: Killer of Killers andPredator: Badlands, while theAlien franchise proceeded withRidley Scott'sPrometheus andAlien: Covenant,Fede Álvarez'sAlien: Romulus andNoah Hawley'sAlien: Earth. The only direct follow up any of these films have had toRequiem wasFrançoise Yip reprising her role as Mrs. Yutani inThe Predator though much of her role was cut from the final film beyond silent background work.
Atie-invideo game for the film was released on November 13, 2007, in North America, November 30 in Europe and December 6 in Australia.[42] The game, developed byRebellion Developments and published bySierra Entertainment,[43] was athird-personaction-adventure game, allowing players to take the role of the Wolf Predator from the film.[44] Much like the movie, the game received generally negative reviews from the press.[45]
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