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Newest 'Alien vs. Predator' is poorly lit muck

By Linda Cook | Tuesday, January 08, 2008 | () comments

AVP2KS- 507 The Alien hive holds unimaginable terrors for the residents of a small Colorado town. Photo credit: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox TM and © 2007 Twentieth Century Fox. All rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication. Buy this Photo

Well, there’s not much to see here. And I mean that literally.

“Alien vs. Predator: Requiem” is a letdown, just like its predecessor, “Alien vs. Predator.”

Let’s recap, for a moment. But I’m betting that if you’ve read this far, you may not need a recap because you’ve seen all the other movies in what has become a franchise.

In 1979, “Alien” deservedly became a hit. With its incredibly intelligent script, wonderful heroine (Sigourney Weaver) and intricate plot, director Ridley Scott created a classic. Then came the second and third movies, all enjoyable.

And then came the “Predator” movies, the first of which arguably remains a classic. It wasn’t until a Dark Horse illustrated novel came out after the first “Predator” movie that we realized the Predators hunt the Aliens.

Then the lackluster “Alien vs. Predator” was released a few years back and now this. Geez, will this ever end?

The show begins with a dad and son out hunting in the Colorado woods when an spaceship crashes nearby. On board is an Alien/Predator hybrid (I’m not making this up), which goes on a killing rampage the moment it exits the ship. Elsewhere, a Predator is dispatched to take out the hybrid and the Aliens that have followed in its wake.

So now you’ve got all these killer creatures running around, which could have proved to be interesting. But no. … It turns into a generic stalk ‘n’ slash.

There’s an ex-con named Dallas (Steven Pasquale) and his kid brother Ricky (Johnny Lewis). Ricky, who is delivering pizzas, is set upon by a group of bullies at the home where he makes his delivery. The creeps throw his car keys down a sewer drain. Naturally, Dallas and Ricky end up down in the dark and then ... guess what?

Meanwhile, a soldier on leave from Iraq (Rieko Aylesworth, who looks a lot like Weaver in many scenes) comes home to her husband and daughter to find that her child has grown distant from her.

The movie doesn’t fall into the dregs of the horror-porn category, but it does contain several gross-out scenes — one of which, believe it or not, takes place in a maternity ward and involves a none-too-welcome appearance of offspring. Yuck.

Mostly, this is people being dispatched with lots of gore, pure and simple. There is very little Predator vs. Alien action, and when there is, you can’t see what’s going on because the scenes are so poorly lit.

It’s time these creatures were killed off the big screen.

movieguide

“Alien vs. Predator: Requiem”

* (out of four)

Running time: 95 minutes

Rated: R for violence, gore and foul language

Stars: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Ariel Gade and Kristen Hager

Directors: Colin Strause and Greg Strause

Screenwriter: Shane Salerno