8. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Without a doubt, the second movie in the Predator crossover series is definitely the worst of the Alien franchise. Not entirely surprisingly, the studios decided they wanted to mash together two super popular horror movie villains (similar to Freddy vs. Jason, plus, there were already comics) and pitted Xenomorphs against Predators in the 2004 movie and again with the crossover sequel in 2007. So let’s talk about the sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was directed by Greg and Colin Strause (a.k.a. The Brothers Strause) from a script written by Shane Salerno. Continuing the storyline from the first crossover movie, Requiem is set in a small town that’s terrorized by a creature called Predalien, a hybrid of a Predator and Alien. The humans of the town have no other choice but to band together to try and survive the deadly threat.
Though there’s no one as famous as Sigourney Weaver or Michael Fassbender in this one, the cast is made up of actors you’ll likely recognize, like Steven Pasquale, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Sam Trammell, and Reiko Aylesworth. While the performances aren’t bad, it’s really impossible to save such a bad script.
The storytelling in Requiem is very weak, with many people feeling like this one is just a rehashing of previous movies in the Alien and Predator franchises. There’s little-to-no character development, and a lot of the movie is just super dark. It’s difficult to make out some of the action sequences and visuals because of the poor lighting, which is something that really annoys me in movies and shows.
If you’ve seen all of the Alien movies, you might as well watch Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. It’s understandable why critics very outwardly disliked this sequel.