You remember the hype, right? It’s 2007. The first AVP was a bit of a PG-13 letdown for the hardcore fans, but the sequel promised to bring back the R-rated gore we actually craved. Alien vs Depredador 2, officially titled Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, was supposed to be the "fix." It promised blood, a Predalien, and a return to the gritty roots of both franchises.
Instead, we got a movie so dark you literally couldn't see the monsters half the time. Honestly, it’s became a bit of a legend in sci-fi circles—not necessarily for being good, but for being one of the most baffling production jobs in Hollywood history.
Why the Lighting in Alien vs Depredador 2 is a Meme
If you’ve ever tried to watch this movie on a standard TV, you probably spent forty minutes squinting. You’re not alone. The biggest controversy surrounding the film isn't the plot or the acting; it's the fact that directors Colin and Greg Strause (the Strause Brothers) decided to "backlight" almost everything.
They wanted to hide the creature suits to make them look more realistic. They thought that by keeping things in the shadows, they’d build tension like Ridley Scott did in 1979. But there’s a massive difference between "atmospheric shadow" and "I can't tell if that’s a tree or a Xenomorph."
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Reports from the set even suggest the Director of Photography, Daniel Pearl, was frustrated by how dark the footage looked on the monitors. Fans later found that the home releases—DVD and Blu-ray—seemed even darker than the theatrical version. It’s a shame, too, because the actual creature effects by ADI were pretty stellar. You just needed a flashlight to appreciate them.
The Plot: Small Town Carnage
Unlike the first movie which took place in an ancient pyramid under Antarctica, Alien vs Depredador 2 brings the fight to Gunnison, Colorado. It’s a classic "slasher in a small town" setup, but the slashers are seven-foot-tall space hunters and acid-blooded aliens.
Basically, the story kicks off right where the first one ended. A Predalien—a hybrid born from the corpse of the Predator "Scar"—wreaks havoc on a scout ship, causing it to crash in the woods. From there, it’s a total infestation.
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- The Wolf Predator: This is arguably the best part of the movie. Wolf is an "Elite" Predator who comes to Earth to clean up the mess. He’s scarred, he’s got a ton of gadgets (including two plasma casters!), and he doesn't care about collateral damage.
- The Human Fodder: We follow a group of locals, including an ex-con named Dallas and his brother Ricky. To be blunt, the humans in this movie are mostly there to die in creative, gruesome ways.
- The Hospital Scene: This is the most infamous sequence in the film. The Predalien enters a maternity ward. It’s brutal, it’s dark (literally and figuratively), and it pushed the R-rating to its absolute limit. Many fans felt this was "too much," even for an Alien movie.
Is it Canon?
This is where things get messy. Most fans of the standalone Alien and Predator movies tend to ignore the AVP films. Ridley Scott certainly did when he made Prometheus.
However, Alien vs Depredador 2 tries really hard to link back to the lore. It features a "Ms. Yutani" at the very end, implying that the technology recovered from Wolf’s plasma pistol is what eventually builds the Weyland-Yutani empire.
In 2026, as we look back on the franchise with new entries like Predator: Badlands and the success of Alien: Romulus, Requiem stands as a weird relic. It’s a B-movie with a blockbuster budget. It’s mean, it’s fast-paced, and it’s unapologetically violent.
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The Verdict: Should You Re-watch It?
Look, if you can find a version of the film where the brightness is cranked up (there are fan edits online that fix the color grading), it’s actually a fun, mindless monster flick.
Wolf is a fantastic character. Watching him methodically track down the Xenomorphs using blue "cleaner" acid to dissolve evidence is peak Predator lore. Just don't expect a deep, philosophical masterpiece. It’s a movie about monsters punching each other in a rain-soaked forest.
Actionable Insight for Fans:
If you're planning a marathon, watch this one on the highest-quality OLED screen you can find with the lights completely off. It’s the only way to actually see the Predalien vs. Wolf showdown at the end. Also, keep an eye out for the subtle cameos of weapons from previous films—the Strause brothers were huge fans, even if their lighting choices were... questionable.
Check out the "unrated" version if you want the full experience; it adds about seven minutes of extra footage that makes the transition between scenes feel a little less jarring. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the maternity ward scene.