Predator (1987)

Back in 1987, John McTiernan’s iconic Predator amazingly hit all cylinders for this young film buff. Its poster is a picture of its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Marine fatigues with something looking at him in heat vision. Now compare that to the sequels which solely feature the Predator. It was the start of a franchise disguised as a Schwarzenegger movie.

The setup is your standard story of our distrust of the military-industrial complex and the Iran/Contra debacle. Schwarzenegger plays Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, who, along with his team, is sent into an undisclosed jungle location to rescue a foreign cabinet minister from a guerilla camp. His squad includes Sergeant Mac Eliot (Bill Duke), Jorge “Poncho” Ramirez (Richard Chaves), Blain Cooper (Jesse Ventura), Billy Sole (Sonny Landham), Rick Hawkins (director Shane Black), and the uninvited Al Dillon (Carl Weathers).

“…they found three team members hung in the trees and skinned alive.”

When these soldiers hit the ground, they discover this is not a rescue mission. Instead, they are there to investigate the disappearance of the team that went in before them. In fact, they found three team members hung in the trees and skinned alive. Dutch now questions the intentions of his former buddy, Dillon, and the secrets he’s hiding.

Predator then shows the team locating the guerilla camp. After witnessing the execution of a hostage, they mount an attack killing most of the rebels and a few Soviet intelligence agents. The lone survivor is an insurgent, Anna (Elpidia Carrillo), who Dillon insists is essential to keep alive for her knowledge of the rebel’s future plans.

Unbeknownst to the team, an alien creature is following them. This “Predator” (Kevin Peter Hall) has thermal vision, advanced weapons, and a hunger for human flesh. As the team seeks to return to home base, this extraterrestrial hunter starts picking the team off one by one. For once, the Terminator is outmatched.