‘Alien vs. Predator’: The Overlooked Alien Movie That Feels Like an H.P. Lovecraft Adaptation
After years of arguing about whose franchise is better, ‘Alien’ or ‘Predator’, viewers finally got to see these famous beasts battle it out in ‘Alien vs. Predator’ in 2004. The goal of Paul W.S. Anderson’s film, which was based on the well-known comic book series, was to reconcile the Xenomorphs and Predators’ long-standing conflict. ‘Alien vs. Predator’ concentrated more on action scenes, many of which mirrored cutscenes from video games, yet the original ‘Alien’ and ‘Predator’ movies are praised for advancing the science fiction horror genre. According to Anderson’s DVD commentary, the movie was somewhat influenced by H.P. Lovecraft’s 1931 novella ‘At the Mountains of Madness’, despite its emphasis on spectacle.
In Lovecraft’s tale, adventurers unearth the ruins of a long-gone civilization in Antarctica, ultimately learning of the presence of a formidable extraterrestrial race known as the “Elder Things,” who had held the shoggoths as slaves. Later, the shoggoths rebelled, almost destroying both races.
mage Courtesy: Collider
This scenario is mirrored in ‘Alien vs. Predator’, where it is revealed that the Xenomorphs had enslaved the Predators long before humans were created. The plot of the movie centres on a group of scientists who explore a buried pyramid in Antarctica, including Lex Woods (Sanaa Lathan) and Sebastian De Rosa (Raoul Bova). Their discovery awakens a Xenomorph Queen and starts a deadly struggle, reigniting the ancient alien-species clash.
‘Alien vs. Predator’ creates a thrilling, Lovecraftian atmosphere, but it prioritizes action above the growth of human characters. The movie also touches on Lovecraft’s recurring themes of humanity’s insignificance in the universe’s larger design. Despite its lack of success, the movie provided significant ideas that impacted ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Prey’, two later instalments in the franchise.
–Farheen Ali
