Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by: Paul W.S Anderson, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon, Tommy Flanagan, Joseph Rye, Agathe de La Boulaye, Carsten Norgaard, Liz May Brice, Glenn Conroy, Karima Adebibe, Sam Troughton, Ian Whyte, Petr Jakl, Pavel Bezdek, Kieran Bew, Carsten Voigt, Jan Filipensky, Adrian Bouchet, Eoin McCarthy, Andy Lucas.
Notable universe developments: Charles Bishop Weyland unwittingly facilitates the discovery of an ancient rite of passage involving Xenomorphs and Predators.
The attention of industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland is drawn to the remote island of Bouvetoya, off the coast of Antarctica. A satellite has detected a strange heat emanating from beneath the frozen surface, and Weyland’s equipment has identified a large pyramid, buried at the site, beneath a disused whaling station.
Seeking to lay claim to the discovery for the benefit of his communications division, Weyland assembles a team to accompany him into its depths. The team includes guide Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan); archaeologist Sebastian De Rosa (Raoul Bova); chemical engineer Graeme Miller (Ewen Bremner); mercenaries Mark Verheiden (Tommy Flanagan), Adele Rousseau (Agathe de La Boulaye), and Rustin Quinn (Carsten Norgaard); and supervisor Selene (Liz May Brice).
Meanwhile, a Predator spaceship arrives in Earth’s orbit, also drawn by the odd heat source. It fires a beam toward the spot, creating access to the pyramid below – so when Weyland’s team arrives, they’re able to descend. Inside the pyramid, they discover a chamber filled with human skeletons whose rib cages are destroyed.
Three Predators arrive at the whaling station, killing everyone that has remained on the surface before descending into the pyramid. They enter just as the Weyland team unwittingly activates the structure – awakening an Alien Queen that is nesting in stasis inside. The alien reproduction cycle begins, as the humans are attacked by face-huggers, leading to chest-bursters, which result in fully grown Xenomorphs, which kill more humans. Two of the Predators are also killed, and the remaining alien hunter kills Weyland, a face-hugger, and a Xenomorph. Human survivors Alexa and Sebastian then watch as the Predator removes his mask and daubs his face with the alien blood. As the two human survivors make their exit from the pyramid, however, a face-hugger attaches to the Predator while his mask is removed.
Information collected by the human team inside the pyramid leads the two human survivors to conclude that the arrival of the Predators is something that happens once a century, and the event that follows inside the pyramid is a rite of passage for their warrior race. The heat source draws in humans, who are sacrificed to incubate Xenomorphs, to produce a worthy opponent for the Predators. They also deduce that there’s a fail-safe mechanism built into the structure, which allows the Predators to initiate a self-destruct sequence in the event that they find themselves overpowered by the aliens.
Planning to let the rite of passage run its course, Alexa and Sebastian continue their escape – only for Sebastian to be dragged away by a Xenomorph. Alexa then forms an uneasy alliance with the Predator in order to survive. They initiate the self-destruct sequence and drown the Alien Queen in the ocean – but the Predator is mortally wounded in the attempt. Before dying, he daubs the face of Alexa with the Alien Queen’s corrosive blood.
The dead Predator is collected by his comrades, who ceremonially present Alexa with a spear, in recognition of her status as a proven warrior. As they depart Earth, however, a chest-burster is unleashed from the dead Predator’s corpse.