Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

Holy Colorado, the bloody devastation brought upon this poor ol’ small town with its sheriff and diner and high school pool.. two-thirds in, the power’s out and everyone we’ve met is getting ripped apart. “See? No monsters.” Damn. Say what you want about the rest of the film (the character writing is pretty weak and cheesy; that butt shot was definitely unnecessary), but the horror (not just from the monsters–see the climax), in its bold, unrelenting, and impartial nature, is quite effective.

5

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

For a mid-2000s movie based on the idea of pitting villains from two different sci-fi franchises against each other, it’s not actually that cheesy. The sets look cheap and bland and the dialogue is mostly unmemorable, but the simple main plot is quite suspenseful (humans exploring an ancient underground pyramid in Antarctica while being hunted by two different alien species) and with its refreshing woman-of-colour lead it comes to an almost inspiring team-up climax that you don’t see coming.

5