Predator (1987)

 

Ostensibly, Predator is a movie about a commando mission to an unnamed Central American country that goes horribly wrong. The team, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch, was sent under false pretenses but wind up with bigger concerns than the fact that they’re being used. It’s all about some Cold War era concern about the Soviet’s invading the region. Of course, none of this truly matters because this is really a movie about how an extraterrestrial starts to stalk the members of the team, killing them one by one in some rather gruesome ways. I think I got the order of deaths correct: Hawkins (Shane Black), Blain (Jesse “The Body” Ventura), Mac (Bill Duke), Dillon (Carl Weathers), Billy (Sonny Landham), and Poncho (Richard Chaves). That leaves just Dutch to get rid of the Predator, and that’s no easy feat. The alien has cloaking technology, so it can easily disappear in the thick jungle, and it has the ability to see the humans through its infrared or thermal imaging vision (if that is the correct word for it). The onscreen rendering of these characteristics is, of course, what gained an Oscar nomination for the film’s visual effects, and special attention should also be granted to the costume and makeup for the creature itself and its glowing green blood. There’s a reason that we’ve had a series of sequels and prequels since this original film was released. It’s almost 67 minutes into the action before we see a full image of the predator (or a somewhat full image), and we don’t see its face until the last ten minutes or so of the film. Much like the shark in Jaws, I suppose, less is more when it comes to building tension? I guess that also gives us more time to enjoy Schwarzenegger’s performance and his delivery of such classic lines as “Get to the chopper” in that often-mimicked accent of his. If I have any complaints about the film, it’s that the camera locations and angles tend to signal too clearly where the Predator will appear next, and the fact that all it takes is mud to throw off its ability to find the humans makes it seem somewhat less threatening. Predator has always seemed like more of an action film than horror or science fiction to me, but the blend of genres and Schwarzenegger’s charisma work to great effect here.

Oscar Nomination: Best Visual Effects