Film Review: Alien VS Predator (2004) Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Brief Plot Outline: A team of handpicked soldiers and scientists are sent to Antarctica to investigate a pyramid they believe to be built by the first civilisation; the only problem is that it’s several thousand feet under the ice with more than just stone and dust within.

 Which Two Scenes Impressed You The Most? Why? There is a scene mid-way through the film where a Predator fights an Alien for the first time in the film. I liked this scene because of the character design and the fight itself was fast paced and in the form of a quick montage. My second favourite scene from the film is where the last Predator and “final girl” team up and fight the Alien Queen; I liked this scene because the power between the two sides was constantly shifting making me wonder who would win.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of filmmaking? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How? Watching this film has helped me understand that if you’re going to make a fictional species it is a good idea to give them a good backstory because the backstory used in this film links in to things in the real world like why all ancient structures look so similar across the world. The other is that one of the best types of monster to include in your horror is one with no emotion which is why the Alien works so well, the Alien is also intertextual to the werewolf in some ways too because they are both fast moving monsters that just eat and kill everything. From the checklist I noticed; blood and gore this was shown near the beginning of the film where the aliens start bursting out of peoples chests and when the Predator from the fight scene is killed however that part could also be seen as restricted narration because the blood is green which for some reason doesn’t affect us as much. The creepy location used was the underground temple which was excellent because it is so secluded and puts the fear of being trapped. Most of the film used low key lighting; a quick montage was used in the Alien and Predator fight scene. Slow montage when the alien eggs appear, collision cutting was used in the final scene. Close ups were used on the Aliens several times. There was a canted angle used as an Alien POV shot which is also a quick moving monster. The film followed horror conventions and had a female survivor, male hero and female victim, the fear of death was got across through using certain characters such as ones with families the ending was an open ending and there was historical context in the Predator/ Alien backstory.

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why? If I had the money and time I would like to include several aspects of this film in my own such as the excellent latex effects or props in general. I would also love a good location to film although Antarctica is obviously out of the question.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why? There isn’t much I would avoid however I would like a smaller cast of characters to get the audience more intimately involved with the main characters so it matters more to the audience when one dies and causes an emotional effect. However in the sequel AVP 2: Requiem the lighting was too low key to the point where you couldn’t see anything throughout most of the film which is a problem because I found it hard to immerse myself in the film.

What were the best aspect/ more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How? I think that the build-up to the predators arrival was very exciting because of how they used quick montages of the predators putting on their gear but without showing their faces, these montages had a military feel to them too which was done through the use of props such as weapons and armour etc. The scene also used parallel music; I would use this technique in an action film or a hybrid of action and horror rather than just a horror.