In the year 2007, The Alien vs. Predator franchise was in terrific form. With audiences entertained after the perilous adventure in the Antarctic, along with a successful video game and comic outings to its name. A sequel was needed to effectively up the ante and to push the franchise into a new frontier. That sequel came out three years later, that sequel battled it out in the Xmas box office, that sequel was Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem.

Following the immediate conclusion of the previous film, the Predator spacecraft is brought down crashing to earth after a covert Xenomorph invasion. On earth (the small town of Gunnison, Colorado to be precise) the two extra-terrestrial tourists, quickly get to work engaging in all-out war, and it’s up to the townsfolk to do their best. Not only to deal with their individual hardships but also to not end up as intergalactic prey.

Much like its predecessor, Requiem takes great pleasure in exploring the mythos of the eponymous characters. In particular, what happens if a Xenomorph Face-hugger, encounters a predator? The result is a really impressive looking hybrid known as a Predalien. A hideous creature that combines the visual cues from both and their tactics as well. It shows that barely three years after its first outing, the Alien vs. Predator franchise has seen significant advancements in visual design and ways that it plays with the rich world of both their parents many successes.

It is creative ideas like these that demonstrate how Requiem knows how to raise the stakes, while stock characters return to this film, the audience quickly learns the ones that are supposed to survive will die in their introduction, making who survives the opposite of a sure-fire certainty. In doing so, Requiem evokes the shock of the Hitchcock classic Psycho in the late 50s and takes certain chances that typical action, sci-fi, and even slasher films wouldn’t dare of.

While the original mainly focused on the barren wilderness of the Antarctic, Requiem focuses on the forests and the towns of civilisation, seeing a Xenomorph stalk a contemporary diner on earth is a novel and interesting idea to behold. As well as dealing with the concept that law enforcement officials, former military personnel, and everyday civilians having to deal with the fact not only extra-terrestrial life exists, but it wants their blood.

Aliens vs Predator Requiem is an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride, that’s not afraid of throwing the dice in order not to appear stale. It will keep you guessing right up to the end while keeping the audience enthralled. Bloodshed, drama, and action are aplenty in the sequel to Alien vs. Predator to ultimately provide an edgier flick that’s sharper than The Predators claws and deadlier than the blood of a Xenomorph.

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