Film feature
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The sequel to the long awaited face off between two of the fiercest and feared species returns to the small screen on Monday 12th May as Alien vs Predator 2: Requiem is released on DVD courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment - but this time they have upped the ante as hell is unleashed…on earth!
Released in a hardcore extended edition, this new DVD (also out on Blu-ray) delivers even more relentless carnage than ever before and boasts over seven minutes of additional unseen footage including large helpings of violence and gore.
When a Predator ship crash-lands outside a little town in Colorado, one of most formidable creatures ever spawned is released onto human soil - the Predalien! This advanced specimen immediately sets out on a slaughter mission, but is soon pursued by a sole Predator who has been sent to clean up the mess.
One by one the town’s inhabitants become targets of the Aliens and the Predator and the town becomes absorbed in relentless carnage between these two deadly extra-terrestrial lifeforms - with the humans caught in the middle!!
Directed by The Brothers Strause, Colin and Greg, whose visual effects house, Hydraulx, is renowned for it’s computer-generated wizardry on films such as 300, X-Men: The Last Stand and Fantastic Four, and featuring a worthy cast including Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me), Reiko Aylesworth (24, ER) and John Ortiz (American Gangster, Miami Vice, El Cantante), this action packed blood bath is an unmissable spectacle that truly delivers on DVD
Predator Culture and Homeworld
Little is known about the mysterious extraterrestrial creatures known to us as “Predators.” Human contact with the aliens (sometimes referred to as the “Yautja” by scientists and star gazers) has been brief, and almost every encounter with them has been violent. However, the mere existence of a race capable of traversing the stars makes them worthy of our scientific curiosity and a subject for study. While information on the species is slim, more is known as time goes by, and we’ve finally uncovered a glimpse at the Yautja home world.
Like the Predators that it spawned, the home world is a rugged place, with mountainous terrain and a multitude of volcanoes, many of them still active. The Yutja have built many structures in this harsh environment, many with markings and architectural elements similar to known pyramids in Mayan, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian cultures. This corresponds to the temple found in Antarctica, later destroyed in an explosion of indeterminate origin, which featured designs and facades reminiscent of the pyramids built by each of those ancient cultures. The Yutja appear to have incorporated technology directly into the buildings themselves, giving them access to the devices they need in a quick and accessible fashion.
We have gained this information from imagery beamed to us from long range satellites designed to scour the far corners of the universe. It was shot down almost immediately after these transmissions, but a few of the long range scans suggest that perhaps the few close up and detailed shots we received were not in fact indicative of the entire ecological system on the Yautja planet. While the methane that the Predators breathe is found in ample supply from the hot magma pouring forth from the planet’s active volcano systems, area of denser vegetation suggest that the species may get the gas it synthesizes for air from another source: swampy marshland areas.
Indeed, it would make sense that any planet capable of supporting life forms as complex and intelligent as Predators would feature a variety of ecological habitats, just as Earth supports all kinds of insects, animals, and humans in all different parts of the planet, from the frozen poles to the depths of the ocean to lush tropical rainforest. It stands to reason that the Yutja planet would be similarly diverse, although to a very different set of extraterrestrial beings. Unfortunately, we were not able to get any evidence or information about the other species that populate the Predator home world, but it is almost certain that in order to play host to a group of beings as complex as the Yutja, with highly developed skills of language, decorum, honor, and other seemingly human behaviors, the planet would have to support a series of thriving and fully functional ecosystems.
The edifices mentioned earlier in this article are of special note to historians and archaeologists alike. Their presence on an alien world, to which we humans have sent no emissaries, can only suggest one thing: That the cultural evolution of our species has been influenced or engineered by visitors from beyond the stars. The implications of this realization are massive and far-reaching. To what point and purpose have Predators affected the course of our civilizations? Are we to receive knowledge from them at some indeterminate point in the future, when they feel we are advanced enough to benefit from the applications? Were we intended as servants, the humble slaves of superior masters? Or are we simply cattle to be used in the strange and violent rituals in which the Yutja engage?
The few previous recorded encounters with Predators suggests that their intentions towards humanity are not friendly. The first incident, in which a United States commando team were hunted by a Predator in a South American jungle, led to only a single survivor. Over a mile of jungle was destroyed by the Yutja, who preferred death to capture. The second known visitation by a Predator was in Los Angeles, and from the account of a Los Angeles police officer, the creature in question was most vicious in dispatching all kinds of members of the criminal fraternity. However, the tail end of that exchange did harbor some small glimmer of hope for the human race. After a harrowing and bitter fight, the police officer found himself aboard the craft which brought the Predator to Earth. There he was granted clemency by the crew of the ship, and even awarded with an antique Civil War pistol for his bravery. Perhaps it is then possible for the Yutja to acknowledge our acts. If this is true, then one day in the future we might be able to have some kind of communication with them, learn from them, and grow even further.
However, there are some aspects of Predator culture that will probably always remain a mystery to homo sapiens. For example, the species has been known to hunt a dangerous creature classified as a “Xenomorph.” This deadly killing machine is insectoid in appearance, with a hive structure based around a dominant queen. They’re highly adaptable parasitic organisms, and perhaps the deadliest being in the known universe. The Yutja have a highly developed sense of honor, based around their skill at hunting prey that is capable of hunting them back. For them, the Xenomorph is the ultimate prey, both a proving ground for young bucks and a challenge for hardened veterans. The Predators don’t just hunt the aliens, we’ve learned that at times they also keep them captive. The most common method is to keep a Queen confined in one of the temples the Yutja use for their rituals. She is then able to lay eggs which can be used on sacrifices, such as pliable humans.
This habit of storing captive Xenomorphs does have its downsides. The Xenomorph is an astonishingly intelligent creature, capable of incredible feats of innovation when it comes to its own self-preservation. Recent reports suggest that an outbreak of this creature occurred right here on Earth, leading to haphazard and uncertain stories of battles between Xenomorph and Predator, along with the appearance of a heretofore unseen hybrid of the two species.
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: www.combat-evolved.com
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