A masterclass in suspense and gory action

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2016)

John McTiernan really delivers the goods with this action flick which takes place in the deepest, darkest regions of a remote forest. The setting is perfect for a violent, claustrophobic game of cat and mouse, as Schwarzenegger and his muscle bound, meathead friends are slowly picked off one by one by something hunting them. The film remains a classic to this day due to the simplistic plot and yet the massive amount of suspense which is built up during the running time. McTiernan reverses the idea of DIE HARD (one location, a single guy takes on the baddies) to have one bad guy taking on a team of good guys, and it all works perfectly in a sweaty, '80s shoot-em-up kind of way. If you're female then I suggest you knock a couple of stars off the rating, as the testosterone level is high in this picture which is primarily designed to appeal to the male audience, with the adrenaline pumping jungle chase scenes.
The cast are all well suited for the film (basically, they don't need to be able to act well, they just need to provide brawn). Carl Weathers is good support in a solid role, while Bill Duke is excellent as the guy who loses his nerve in the midst of the action. Jesse Ventura lends some much needed comic relief, while Schwarzenegger fits his role like a glove, all he is required to do is look tough, shoot a lot and get beaten and blown up, while making quips and wisecracks ("if it bleeds...we can kill it") and being his usual engaging self. This is a guy who you really believe is the one person who can take on the predator, and who stands a chance of winning.
For action fans, there is a lot of shooting and a scene where about ten thousand people and buildings are blown up, almost like a mini version of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II. However this is not primarily an action film, as I said before it's more like a slow suspense picture punctuated by some gory deaths, offering up the same kind of "back to basics" horror as SOUTHERN COMFORT did so well. Which leads me on to the next point, there is a relatively high level of gore on offer for a mainstream picture, something which surprised me but it was more than welcome. Heads explode, a man's arm is shot off, another man's spine is ripped out, while there are horrible skinned corpses swinging from the trees galore.
While the cast all perform their roles well, the Predator is the real star of the show (this was proved when the Predator itself was the sole recurring character in the 1990 sequel, PREDATOR 2). Stan Winston really outdoes himself here in the special effects department. For 90% of the film the creature is cloaked in invisibility, an early computer effect which looks brilliant to this day, and also menacing too. The inevitable rubber suit is also very good and believable, and when the Predator removes the mask to reveal the crab like pincers of its mouth underneath, it's a classic piece of design which proved very popular with the merchandise crowd (Predator games, books and figures were soon on the way, mostly aimed at kids).
With lots of jungle deadfall traps (to be expected in these jungle flicks), gratuitous gore scenes, plenty of gung-ho shooting and gun battles in the forest (witness the show stopping scene where the team lay waste to an entire section of the jungle, with automatics, miniguns and even grenade launchers), PREDATOR is a sci-fi/horror/action classic, one of the best cross-genre productions in a long time. It also deserves a lot more respect than it currently has. If this sounds like your cup of tea, my advice is to go and buy a copy right away - and double-check that it's the uncut version!