There’s no shortage of theories and questions concerning the incredibly
popular “Predator” films. From the alien's true nature to the future of the franchise,
here are facts about the “Predator” series that aren't really facts at all.
To begin with, one thing to know about Predators is that they're not really predators. It sounds
confusing, but it's true. It's even pointed out directly by the biologist Casey Bracket,
played by Olivia Munn, in "The Predator."
"It hunts people for sport."
"Technically, that's not a predator."
"Thank you."
After all, while "Predator" is a great name for a movie about an alien who comes to Earth
just to kill people, that doesn't mean it's technically accurate as a label for the creature.
In the natural world, a predator is a creature that kills another organism for food. That last
bit is important. Predators, as in actual Earth animals in nature, kill because they need to eat.
In contrast, the Predators who appear in the sci-fi franchise of the same name
kill for sport or to prove their own prowess as hunters, something that appears to be
highly valued in their culture. The Predators don't eat their kills — they just skin them,
hang them upside down, and sometimes remove their skulls and spines to wave around triumphantly.
They don't want meat; they want trophies. By definition, they're not predators.
That said, for the sake of clarity, we're still going to call them Predators.
If you haven't seen the "Predator"
movies — or if you just haven't paid that much attention — it makes sense to believe that there's
one primary Predator throughout the franchise. After all, the titles for every film except one,
2010's "Predators," are singular. There's a Predator. And in 2018, he was "The Predator."
Of course, none of that is true. The main Predator, when there is one,
dies in literally every movie. The title creature of 1987's "Predator" blows himself up with a
self-destruct device after being grievously wounded by Dutch Schaefer, played by Arnold
Schwarzenegger. The urban hunter of "Predator 2" is killed in battle with Mike Harrigan,
played by Danny Glover. All of the Predators in "Predators" are taken down by their intended prey.
And the oversized, genetically hybridized creature at the center of "The Predator"
is taken down by that movie's central characters as well.
The thing about Predators, of course, is that there are always more of them.
Furthermore, it's pretty clear at this point that hunting humans, presumably alongside
other sentient creatures from around the galaxy, is a cherished tradition on their planet,
so they're just going to keep doing it, no matter how many die trying.
Particularly with the first and most beloved film in the series,
some of the franchise's most iconic imagery comes from the Predator's point of view,
showing Schwarzenegger and other cast members in bright colors that represent the intensity
of their body heat as the creature hunts them through the dense jungle.
This has led some viewers to mistakenly think that the Predator species has actually evolved
to see with thermal imaging. If you pay attention, however, it becomes pretty clear
that this infrared imaging is technological and contained in the lenses of the Predators' masks.
In "Predator 2," the extraterrestrial hunter has multiple vision modes he can switch between.
And while we never see that happen in the original film,
it's hard to deny that the otherworldly villain here must have other forms of vision as well.
For example, how could he so easily avoid all the traps set for him by the commandos if all
he can see is heat. Plus, in the fantastic scene where he first takes his mask off,
we watch as his vision completely changes, with the infrared disappearing from sight.
It's not just the Predators who die and are
replaced for every movie. Of the six "Predator" films released to date, the two "AVP" movies,
not a single installment features a returning human character from a previous movie. After
more than three decades of that same formula, it starts to look like none of the movies are really
connected at all. The two most recent installments in particular seem to bear the hallmarks of
franchise reboots. "Predators" – spoiler alert — moves the action from Earth to an alien planet,
while "The Predator" has a new military-based
story and a title distinguished from the first movie only by the article "the."
Of course, this isn't the case for either sci-fi flick. Aside from the more complicated "AVP"
installments, each "Predator" movie establishes that the previous films did indeed happen,
even if the events have been classified so that most people don't know about them.
In "Predator 2," government agent Peter Keyes, played by Gary Busey, discusses the events of
the first movie. In "Predators," the character of Isabelle, played by Alice Braga, recognizes the
Predators from a description of the events of the original "Predator." In "The Predator," the events
of the first two movies are discussed and further confirmed as real by the presence of Sean Keyes,
the son of Peter Keyes from "Predator 2," who's played by Gary Busey's actual son, Jake.
Whatever character he's playing, Arnold Schwarzenegger tends to be regarded as the
ultimate badass – and not without reason. His godlike physique and apparent strength
have placed him on a level above other action heroes, especially in the 1980s.
It was a time when superhero physiques weren't as widespread in movies as they've become in the
era of cinema today. So it makes perfect sense when Schwarzenegger's Dutch survives the deaths
of his teammates in "Predator" and has a final showdown with the alien creature all on his own.
He's basically Earth's champion in that moment, and he's fighting for us all.
But contrary to what you might think, he's not the only human to defeat a Predator in single combat.
In "Predator 2," Danny Glover's Mike Harrigan single-handedly takes down a Predator of his own,
and his win might have been even more impressive. The other Predators certainly seemed to think so.
"You don’t know what you’re dealing with!"
After the death of Peter Keyes, who thought he had the Predator's number and was quickly
proven wrong, Harrigan and the titular alien are left on their own. However,
Harrigan manages to sever one of the creature's arms, robbing it of its self-destruct mechanism.
He then follows the Predator into an underground spaceship and defeats it with its own blade.
Other Predators appear and carry off the dead body, and their leader then honors Harrigan's
prowess by giving him an antique gun that it had apparently taken on a previous hunt.
Few sequels are as commonly maligned as
"Predator 2." It came in fourth at the box office on its opening weekend, was critically panned,
and later installments in the franchise were celebrated for ignoring it. It's not a classic
like its predecessor, and there's a good chance you haven't even seen it. If that's the case,
go watch "Predator 2" and decide for yourself, because it actually has a lot going for it.
It's a clear and deliberate departure from the first movie, but that's a better choice than
trying to duplicate the original. "Predator" had jungle action pretty well-covered, so "Predator
2" brought its titular alien hunter to the streets of downtown Los Angeles. What's more,
it's a near-future Los Angeles, in which gangs rule the city, cops barely stand a chance,
and everybody's guns still shoot bullets but they're weirdly big and chunky-looking.
The aforementioned Danny Glover is the hero, as different from Arnold Schwarzenegger as an
action star could be. In fact, it's ultimately Glover's performance, as a detective who simply
won't quit no matter what he's up against, that makes "Predator 2" something of an underrated gem.
In "Predator," the captured rebel, Anna, played by Elpidia Carrillo, is the only survivor besides
Schwarzenegger's Dutch. In "Predator 2," the hunter corners Detective Leona Cantrell and then
decides not to kill her. It also spares an unnamed woman at the site of a massacre in a drug lord's
penthouse. In "Alien vs. Predator," the central Predator actually befriends Lex Woods, played
by Sanaa Lathan, and works with her to defeat the aliens. Isabelle survives "Predators," and
Casey Bracket survives "The Predator." So what's the deal? Do Predators not kill women? The truth
is that, in theory, they might, but these movies don't really have enough women for them to kill.
Predators — at least traditional Predators — don't necessarily care about gender.
They just don't kill unarmed people. It also seems that they don't kill pregnant people,
which is why Detective Cantrell is spared. The drug lord's girlfriend also falls under
the unarmed rule. There’s also very few female action heroes in these movies,
so it would've been a bummer for audiences to see them slaughtered.
Anna and Isabelle are literally the only female characters in their respective films,
and Cantrell is just about the only woman in "Predator 2" who's not a drug lord's unclothed
girlfriend. So killing them would've just seemed really dark. At the end of the day,
what also keeps the Predators from killing women is the narrative choices of these movies.
As part of the gadget-filled techno-armor they
prefer to wear when hunting humans, each Predator has a metal face mask that they generally don't
lose until the final showdown, when it's time to give the heroes and the audience a good look at
that creepy mandibled face. Because Predators show up to Earth wearing this mask and don't usually
take it off until shortly before they die, a lot of people assume that the mask is what enables
them to breathe in Earth's atmosphere. If you pay attention, however, that's clearly not the case.
The first Predator does without a mask for a long time while fighting Dutch in the jungle,
and he seems to breathe just fine. In "Predator 2," the creature is seen breathing through another
device after losing his mask, but we don't know exactly why. Maybe Los Angeles' famous smog is
too much for him. This same movie establishes that Predators breathe the same air as humans, however,
because Harrigan can breathe inside their spaceship, even when interacting with an
unmasked extraterrestrial. The same thing is true of the alien planet in
"Predators" — the humans can breathe there just fine, and so can the unmasked hunters.
There's no doubt the mask provides copious tools to aid a Predator's survival — starting
with that famous thermal vision — but a breathing apparatus is not one of them.
Released in 2018, "The Predator" was only a middling success at the box office, and it was
widely panned by critics. These days, however, it takes a lot more than a bad installment or two to
kill a sci-fi action franchise. Like the Predators themselves, the franchise just keeps getting up
and coming for its prey: in this case, moviegoers. In fact, the next movie is already in production.
It's currently being called "Skulls" but is likely to be retitled something with
the word "Predator" in it before release. The upcoming installment will star Amber Midthunder
of "Legion" as a Comanche woman who wants to be a warrior and eventually encounters a Predator
in the 19th century. "10 Cloverfield Lane" director Dan Trachtenberg is helming the movie,
so it should at least be interesting.
And if it doesn't work, that will be disappointing, but it will unlikely be the end.
Surely, the Predators will keep returning their favorite hunting grown: Earth's movie screens.
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