Ever since the incarnation of film, there have been monsters: Frankenstein’s monster, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Wolf-man, the Creature of Black Lagoon, and the list goes ever on. In 1979 Ridley Scott brought to life a creature known only as Alien. All we knew was it had acid for blood and a penchant for destruction. We wanted to know nothing else. Then in 1987 John Mctiernan brought to the screen Jim & John Thomas’ creature known only as Predator. Armed with alien technology, and the desire to hunt down Earth’s most dangerous game, Mankind. As if these two creatures weren’t terrifying enough, someone had the idea of putting them onscreen together.
The first outing, Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2003 film AVP, was more of an action film rather than the horror most audiences were expecting. In AVP-R first-time director team The Brothers Krause intended to reinsert the horror that the fans have come to expect from these creatures. In this aspect, the goal was achieved. There is more blood, gore, goo, and innocent bystander collateral damage than in AVP, perhaps any film in the franchise. The body count is also considerably higher, as no one is exempt from the genocide of an Alien infestation.
As one would expect the story is merely the vehicle to carnage. AVP-R picks up right where AVP left off with the “birth” of the hybrid Predator/Alien that the filmmakers refer to as the Predalien. This creature is a fierce combination of the two creatures, with the reasoning and logic of the Predator and the insatiable taste for blood of the Alien. Strangely, the Predalien gets little screen time and the story focuses more on the characters. From the very beginning of the film, one can pick which characters will be fodder for our monsters, in standard thriller / horror fare.
Although the horror is back and blood flows like whiskey in an Irish pub, the lack of story has no redeeming quality and the final climax is quite predictable. In the end, this is a film for fans of the creatures only, not for movie aficionados.
Popularity: 18% [?]
Tue, Apr 15, 2008
DVD