A surprisingly decent sequel to the terrible Aliens vs. Predator (2004), Requiem jettisons the Chariots of the Gods nonsense of its predecessor in favor of a straightforward aliens-invade-small-town plot line involving a Predator spaceship carrying Alien embryos that crash lands near a picturesque Colorado community. After a hunter and his little son are dispatched through the usual chest-bursting Alien scenario and a deputy is skinned alive by a Predator tracking the Aliens, all hell essentially breaks loose, and the remainder of the film cuts between battles featuring the Predator and his myriad prey, and the tribulations of human characters gradually whittled away through either Alien absorption or collateral damage from interspecies mayhem. Directed by Greg and Colin Strause, Requiem serves up decent tension, sudden shocks, and some unexpected twists, while also managing to avoid the overabundance of gore common to many horror flicks today. On the other hand, much of the monster fighting is depressingly videogame-ish, and the final face-off has the feel of an encounter between two rubber-suited guys playing Godzilla and Mothra. Optional. [Note: Available in both unrated and R-rated editions—as well as a double-disc special edition (with a digital copy for portable media players) and a single-disc Blu-ray release (with a digital copy for portable media players), DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (one by filmmakers Colin and Greg Strause and producer John Davis; the other by “Alien” Tom Woodruff Jr. and creature effects designer Alec Gillis), “Preparing for War: Development & Production” (16 min.), “Fight to the Finish: Post Production” (12 min.), “The Nightmare Returns: Creating the Aliens” (8 min.), “Crossbreed: Creating the Predalien” (8 min.), “Building the Predator Homeworld” (6 min.), still galleries, a special marker viewing option that indicates where footage was added to the theatrical release, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a better-than-average sequel.] (F. Swietek)
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Fox, 93 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.98, Apr. 15 Volume 23, Issue 3
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: