The Demon Who Makes Trophies of Men

 In 1986 Arnold Schwarzenegger was fast becoming one of the hottest action stars on this planet. After a successful string of hits like Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando and Raw Deal, the former Mr. Universe and seven time Mr. Olympia was looking for new projects to curl his biceps around. Schwarzenegger had always wanted to make a Wild Bunch/Magnificent Seven style movie about a team on a mission. A script from two first-time writer brothers caught his eye. That script was Predator. Originally titled “Hunter”, screenwriters Jim and John Thomas had wanted to make a movie about a brotherhood of Alien Warriors who have come to Earth to hunt various prey. After failing to tie down a first draft, the idea was tweaked to give us a lone Alien on Earth hunting our planet’s most deadly creature…man. Not just any man though, but elite soldiers trained to kill. Apparently the idea for the script was conceived after the Thomas brothers heard a joke about “Rocky Balboa” running out of earthly opponents to face in the Rocky movie franchise and that the next movie, Rocky V, should see the champ taking on an alien.

As first time writers, the Thomases had found it difficult shopping their script around. Agents weren’t interested in reading the work of rookies. So, the brothers took it upon themselves to slip a copy under the door of studio executive Michael Levy at Fox. Levy liked the idea and began showing it around. Eventually the script was purchased by Lawrence Gordon (The Warriors, Event Horizon, Boogie Nights) at Fox in 1985 who brought on Joel Silver (Weird Science, Lethal Weapon) to act as producer. Silver brought in director John McTiernan on his first major studio movie, an unproven choice (he had directed one movie before Predator called Nomad), but one that would be essential in creating one of the greatest action movies of all time. Assembling the cast, Schwarzenegger was always top of the list of actors for the movie’s hero “Dutch”. Finding a supporting cast that could stand up to Schwarzenegger’s undeniable screen presence was a different matter. 

Carl Weathers (Rocky, Action Jackson) as “Dillon” had enough confidence and charisma to hold his own against the Austrian Oak. Sexual Tyrannosaurus Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura, ex-Navy Seal and star from WWF Wrestling was brought on board to play “Blain”. Ventura had to be asked to tone it down after he came on too “BIG” in the early stages of production. Bill Duke had previously worked with Arnold on Commando and had developed a good relationship with him so he was made part of the team as Sergeant and second in command, “Mac”. Fox was unable to hire Sonny Landham (48 Hours, Poltergeist) unless, for insurance reasons, Landham had a bodyguard with him at all times – not to protect him but to protect others from him. An intimidating presence, Landham plays the Native American tracker “Billy”. Richard Chaves (Witness, Babylon 5) plays “Poncho”. Chaves, also no stranger to combat, served three years on a tour of duty in Vietnam. Last but by no means least the elite team was capped off by Shane Black as “Hawkins”. Black was best known as a writer with movies like Lethal Weapon and Monster Squad to his credit. He was invited to join the cast by Joel Silver who had just worked with him on Lethal Weapon. The idea was that Black would become one of the cast but also be on hand to revise the script and make changes if needed. By his own admission, Black did very little script doctoring stating that studios always like to rewrite and change scripts but more often than not they go back to what was originally written anyway.

 Relatively new director McTiernan took a strong and confident approach to his material. He flew his cast out to the location in the jungles of Mexico a week early so that they could begin a training regimen and to build camaraderie. Military trainer Gary Goldman was hired to give the actors authentic poise with militaristic hand signals and maneuverability through the jungle terrain. The Navy Seal-trained Ventura sailed through training and went on record saying of his fellow actors, “I wouldn’t want to go in real with these guys but I’ll do a movie with them.” Ventura really enjoyed it, “I got to go back fifteen years and relive everything and have fun and not die.” It was not such a wonderful time for everyone else. Jungle conditions were hard. Much of the filming took place on uneven ground with actors and crew on their feet constantly. Even standing still was tough due to the angles, but these locations were picked intentionally to put the audience on edge. McTiernan almost broke his wrist when he fell out of a tree trying to find the perfect shot. A water purification problem at the cast and crew hotel led to a severe case of diarrhea for many on the shoot, which made conditions even more uncomfortable. After that episode, McTiernan avoided as much food as possible, dropping over twenty-five pounds. Arnold also made the choice to bulk down for his character. Actors began their day at 5AM with an hour long run over the hills of the jungle. Also ending their days with another hour long run to help them wind down. Weathers got up an hour early to get an extra pump on, so he looked extra good next to the other big boys. He worked out alone to keep  his body sculpting techniques a secret.

 The film tells the story of a team of professional Soldiers headed by Schwarzenegger’s “Major Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaefer”, put together for a secret mission to rescue a Cabinet Minister who has been abducted by Guerilla forces. Once at their destination, the team quickly engages the enemy in an attempt to rescue survivors. But there is something else in the jungle. An unseen force which begins to pick the team off one by one. Mexican actress Elpidia Carrillo (the only female in the movie) plays “Anna”, a young hostage kidnapped after a dramatic and expertly choreographed action sequence. She tells of, “El Cazador trofeo de los hombres”, or, “The Demon that makes trophies of men”. The Predator” is not your typical screen Monster. He is a perfectly rendered killing machine whose hunting agenda is designed to be as much a challenge for him as it is a sport. The look of the Predator is the result of FX legend Stan Winston who, after being personally recommended to producers by Arnold for his work on The Terminator, was brought on board to refine the Predator design; originally, a giant red lizard played by none other than Jean Claude Van Damme (you can see concepts online). Producers thought Van Damme’s athletic ability would bring a ninja-like quality to the merciless beast. Resembling a “Gorn” from Star Trek, the original design was quickly canned and sent back to Fox with a note from McTiernan saying, “You don’t want us to continue using this do you?” Fox agreed. Van Damme was out after complaining that people wouldn’t be able to see his face and that, although highly skilled, he wasn’t as physically imposing as most of the main cast. 

Enter 7ft. tall actor Kevin Peter Hall who had just finished playing the title BigFoot character in Harry and The Hendersons. No stranger to the creature suit, Hall would wear Winston’s innovative new design.

Apparently while sketching the Predator’s face on a flight to Japan with James Cameron, Cameron mentioned he had always wanted to see a creature with mandibles. The Predator’s look also appeared to have a Rastafarian style to it with dreadlock-like tendrils flowing from its head. With the humongous and athletic Kevin Peter Hall in this suit, towering above Arnold, the threat of “The Predator”, would be complete. But filming wasn’t. The production ran out of money and a brief sabbatical was taken in shooting so that funds could be replenished and the movie could be finished. This break in the production was an enormous blessing to the filmmakers, enabling them to look at the nearly completed movie and decide exactly what was required to make it an unforgettable success.

What is it about Predator that makes it so special? First, the simplicity of the story. It’s easy to follow and has an excellent pace that keeps driving along scene to scene helped by the pulsating and exciting score from composer Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future, The Abyss and Van Helsing),  providing the Predator with his own theme music. Also, the skilled action direction, great production design, plus an extremely hardworking and dedicated cast and crew make Predator a cut above the regular monster-hunting-man movies. 

Finally, the Predator himself, though not on screen for most of the movie due to his ability to cloak himself, it is a constant threat to our heroes. As with most classic Monsters of cinema, it’s not what you see but what you are afraid of seeing that really puts you on the edge of your seat. Unique story elements like the Predator only visiting planets with intense heat to service effects like the Predator’s heat-sensing vision. Being able to view the action from the Alien’s perspective allows an audience to become the Predator and stand in his galactic sandals, which make him a monster you can root for. We’ll (luckily) never know what kind of movie this would have been if they’d stuck with Van Damme in a red Lizard suit. The late, great Kevin Peter Hall brought an actor’s approach to the Predator while extremely constrained in a massive and oppressive suit. Hall impressed McTiernan so much that the director gave him the role of “Helicopter pilot” in the movie so that audiences would get to see his face. 

Predator opened big and its legacy continues with sequels; Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010). The Predator frequently appears in comic books, video games and crossover movie franchises clashing more than once with H.R. Giger’s biomechanical alien in AVP (Aliens vs Predator), (2004) and Alien vs Predator Requiem (2007). The Predator even faced off against “Batman” in the short fan film by director Sandy Collora, Batman Dead End (2003) 

The Predator (2016) brought Shane Black back into the fold with writing and directing duties but failed to excite fans. It wasn’t until recently that Prey (2022) a back to basics prequel grabbed people’s attention and revitalized fans’ love of the heat loving hunter from outer space.