Honestly, if you tried to watch Alien vs. Predator: Requiem on a standard TV back in 2007, you probably thought your screen was broken. You weren't alone. It is arguably the most "invisible" blockbuster ever made. People joke that the movie was filmed in a cave with the lens cap on, but there is actually a lot of weird, dark, and genuinely mean-spirited history behind this sequel that most fans forget.
What Actually Happened with Alien vs. Predator: Requiem?
After the first AVP came out in 2004, fans were pretty annoyed. It was PG-13, it felt like a "monsters in a shopping mall" movie, and it lacked the grime of the original franchises. So, 20th Century Fox decided to go in the complete opposite direction for the sequel. They hired the Strause Brothers—Greg and Colin—who were basically visual effects wizards. They wanted blood. They wanted an R-rating. They wanted to bring the "Requiem" to the franchise.
The plot picks up exactly where the last one left off. A "Predalien" (a Xenomorph born from a Predator) hatches on a scout ship, causes a crash in Gunnison, Colorado, and starts turning a small American town into a buffet.
Enter "Wolf."
Wolf is easily the best part of the movie. He’s a veteran Predator "cleaner" sent from the home world to scrub the evidence. He doesn't care about the humans; he just wants to melt bodies with blue acid and kill the Predalien.
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The Lighting Controversy: Why Can't We See Anything?
The biggest complaint—by far—is the lighting. If you’ve ever tried to follow the sewer fight or the final roof battle, you’ve probably spent most of the time squinting at murky shapes.
Why did they do this?
Directors Greg and Colin Strause actually had a philosophy behind it. They believed that showing the creatures in too much light would make them look like "guys in rubber suits." They wanted to keep the mystery alive.
The Director of Photography, Daniel Pearl, has famously expressed frustration over this. Behind-the-scenes reports suggest the crew warned the directors that the footage was looking too dark during filming, but they were told to keep going. To make matters worse, the post-production process apparently darkened the film even further for the DVD and Blu-ray releases. It’s a tragedy, really, because the practical suits made by ADI (Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc.) were actually incredible. You just can’t see them.
The "Mean-Spirited" Factor
Most Alien or Predator movies have a certain "hero" vibe, even if everyone dies. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem is different. It’s famously mean.
- It kills a child in the first ten minutes.
- It features a Predalien "impregnating" pregnant women in a hospital.
- The town basically gets nuked at the end, killing almost everyone we spent 90 minutes following.
It feels more like a 1980s slasher movie than a sci-fi epic. For some, this was the "hard R" return they wanted. For others, it felt like shock value for the sake of being nasty.
Wolf: The Predator Who Carried the Movie
If you strip away the bad lighting and the cardboard-thin human characters (shoutout to "Pizza Boy" and "Military Mom"), you're left with Wolf. He is a legend in Predator lore.
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Unlike the young, inexperienced Predators in the first film, Wolf is a pro. He has one mandible missing and an eye clouded by acid burns. He uses dual shoulder cannons, a whip made from a Xenomorph tail, and laser traps. He represents the "Elite" class of Yautja that fans had only read about in comics.
Watching him work is the only reason to sit through the film. He isn't there for a "fair hunt." He's there to delete the mess. He’s the Winston Wolfe of the Predator universe.
Unrated vs. Theatrical: Is There a Difference?
If you're going to watch it today, you'll likely find the "Unrated" version. It adds about 7 or 8 minutes of footage. Most of it is just more CGI blood or slightly extended deaths.
One interesting change is the opening. The Unrated version shows the Predator home world for a split second, giving us a glimpse of their architecture and multiple moons. It also clarifies a few "goofs," like how the ship looks compared to the end of the previous movie. Does it fix the lighting? No. You’re still going to be squinting at your 4K OLED like it's an old Game Boy Color.
The Legacy of the "Townie" Horror
Setting the movie in a modern-day Colorado town was a huge gamble. The Alien franchise usually thrives in claustrophobic, futuristic spaceships. Moving them to a forest and a sporting goods store made the movie feel... cheap? Sorta like a Syfy channel original movie with a $40 million budget.
It was a box office success, though. It made about $130 million worldwide. But the critical lashing was so severe that it basically killed the AVP crossover franchise for nearly two decades. Studios realized that fans didn't want "Aliens in my backyard." They wanted the scale of the original classics.
How to Actually Enjoy AVP: Requiem Today
If you’re planning a rewatch, don't go in expecting Aliens (1986). It's not that movie.
- Turn off all the lights. Seriously, any glare on your screen will make the movie unwatchable.
- Crank the brightness. If your TV has a "Vivid" or "Cinema" mode, play around with the black levels.
- Focus on Wolf. Ignore the drama with the teenagers and the sheriff. Just watch the Predator do his job.
- Check out the "Wolf" lore. Look up the concept art from ADI. Seeing the detail on the suits in high-res photos makes you appreciate the craft that the lighting unfortunately hid.
Whether you love it as a "so bad it's good" creature feature or hate it for "ruining" the icons, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem remains a fascinating piece of mid-2000s cinema history. It’s the ultimate example of why "dark and gritty" doesn't literally mean "turn the lights off."
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To see the creatures more clearly, your best bet is to find the "Behind the Scenes" featurettes on the Blu-ray. The practical effects work by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. is genuinely top-tier, and seeing the Predalien suit in a well-lit studio is the only way to truly appreciate the design.