Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

2007 film by the Brothers Strause
the film

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (stylized as AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem) is a 2007 American science fiction action film Matthew Charles Santoro provided the voice of Wolf. Whyte portrayed the four Predators in the previous film. Bobby "Slim" Jones ("Bull") and Ian Feuer ("Bone Grill") as the additional Predators.

Inspired by Terminator 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 at Industrial Light & Magic, the brothers worked on The X Files film and founded their own special effects company, Hydraulx. The company produced special effects for films such as Volcano, The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon and 300 and the brothers began a career directing commercials and music videos. Colin believes Hydraulx secured a strong relationship with 20th Century Fox, which owns the Alien and Predator franchises. The brothers unsuccessfully pitched an idea for the first Alien vs. Predator film and Fox almost bought a film titled Wolfenstein 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." Filming on Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem begun on September 23, 2006, in Vancouver, British Columbia for a 52 day schedule. During filming breaks, the brothers supervised visual effects work on 300, Shooter and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer by using in house supervisors and a system called Mavis 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 using Maya fluids and BA Volume Shader. The interior of the Predator ship was created using computer generated imagery (CGI), as the brothers felt it would be more cost effective than building a set. Using their knowledge in visual effects and making use of principal photography, the brothers tried to film as much as they could in 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." While the previous installment attracted casual moviegoers as well as fans of the franchises, the film catered exclusively to Alien and Predator fans with many references to the previous films appearing in the film.

Composer Brian Tyler was hired to write the score for the film. The soundtrack album was released on December 11, 2007, by Varèse Sarabande. Despite not appearing in the CD soundtrack, the song "Wach auf!" ("Wake Up") by German band Oomph! was released as a promo in January 2008, with the music video using clips from the film. The song appeared on the band's album Monster.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem had its premiere at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci Fi Convention in Los Angeles on November 4, 2007. The Brothers Strause attended the event, presenting the film to an audience for the first time. The film was later released in the United States and in other territories on December 25, 2007.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was released on DVD, Blu ray and PSP UMD Disc on April 15, 2008, in North America and May 12, 2008, in the United Kingdom by Fox 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 two audio commentary tracks: one by the directors and producer John 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 alien races; five behind the scenes featurettes: Prepare for War: Development & Production, Fight to the Finish, The Nightmare Returns: Creating the Aliens, Crossbreed: The Predalien and Building 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.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem opened in North America in 2,563 theaters along with The Bucket List and The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. It was rated R for violence, gore and language, unlike its predecessor, which was given a PG 13 rating. In the UK and Australia, the BBFC's classification decision for the film is the same as the original (Rated 15), whilst the Australian ACB rated the film MA15+, up from the original's M rating. 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. 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.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics. The website's consensus states: "The increased gore and violence over the first Alien vs. Predator can't excuse Requiems disorienting editing, excessively murky lighting, and lack of new ideas." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 29 out of 100, same as its predecessor, based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale. Chris Hewitt of Empire called it an "early but strong contender for worst movie of 2008". Stina Chyn of Film 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". Josh Rosenblatt of The 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." Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter contributor called it a "dull actioner that looks like a bad video game". Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment 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. 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". Ryan Stewart of Cinematical 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 last Alien vs. Predator film." Conversely, Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times stated: "It may not be classic sci fi like the original Alien, which it has in its DNA, but it's a perfectly respectable next step in the series."

Year Ceremony Category Result Recipient(s) Ref. (References) 2007 Golden Schmoes Awards Biggest Disappointment of the Year Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem 2008 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Prequel or Sequel Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie MTV Movie Awards Best Fight Sequence Alien vs. Predator

During the production of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the Brothers Strause expressed plans for a third Alien vs. Predator installment. However, the planned sequel was put on hold indefinitely. The Predator franchise continued with Nimród Antal's Predators, Shane Black's The Predator (the latter of which featured references to AVP such as shurikens and Lex's spear which Scar made out of an Alien tail), and Dan Trachtenberg's Prey, while the Alien franchise proceeded with Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, and Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus.

A tie in video game for the film was released on November 13, 2007, in North America, November 30 in Europe and December 6 in Australia. The game, developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Sierra Entertainment, was a third person action adventure game, allowing players to take the role of the Predator from the film. Much like the movie, the game received generally negative reviews from the press.