Although 2007’s 2018’s The Predator or 1990’s Alien 3 still have moments of merit, it is hard to see what the Alien Vs Predator movies bring to the table.

2004’s Alien Vs Predator infamously sapped the two franchises of their gory appeal with an inexplicable PG-13 rating. Although Event Horizon director Paul WS Anderson's movie had an atmospheric setting and effects that aged a lot better than many 2004 movies, Alien Vs Predator’s bizarrely sanitized age rating meant that it never felt like a legitimate addition to either firmly R-rated franchise. 2007’s sequel Alien vs. Predator: Requiem promised to rectify this with a darker, gorier story that was undoubtedly R-rated. Unfortunately, more gratuitous violence and mean-spirited kills weren’t enough to save the deeply flawed Alien vs. Predator sequel.

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem Was Supposed To Be Dark And Hide The Creatures

The Alien vs Predator Sequel Tried To Mask Its Budget Shortcomings

From its opening moments, it was clear that Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was not going to repeat Alien vs. Predator’s biggest mistake. The Strause Brothers movie began as it meant to go on, with a gruesome scene wherein a father and son were attacked by Facehuggers while hunting in the woods. Unfortunately, this was one of few scenes where viewers would have an easy time discerning what was happening on-screen. Alien Vs Predator: Requiem is ridculously dark throughout its action, to the extent that it is often hard to see what is happening on-screen. Shockingly, this was an intentional choice.

Using darkness to hide the creatures and make the effects easier on the sequel’s relatively low budget seems reasonable in the abstract.

In a 2007 article for the Alien and Predator franchises took this approach too far and ended up becoming an unwatchable mess.

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem’s Lighting Choices Turned Out To Be A Problem

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem’s Darkness Made The Sequel’s Problems Much Worse

Since this was the first feature film by the Strause Brothers, the directors had little experience and their ambitious approach to hiding the creature went way too far. The result was a film where viewers could barely tell what was happening, dulling the edge of the sequel’s nasty attitude. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem’s plentiful deaths would have hit a lot harder if the audience could see what was happening, but the movie’s murky lighting style made this impossible. As such, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem soon earned a reputation as one of the worst movies in the Alien and Predator franchises combined.

Source: Collider