Predator

"Soon the hunt will begin."

1987 1h 47m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 9,572

Science FictionActionAdventureThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

“Soon the hunt will begin.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

YouTube TVSubscription

FXNowSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Major Alan 'Dutch' Schaefer
Carl Weathers
Al Dillon
Kevin Peter Hall
The Predator / Helicopter Pilot
Elpidia Carrillo
Anna Gonsalves
Bill Duke
Mac Eliot
Jesse Ventura
Blain Cooper
Sonny Landham
Billy Sole
Richard Chaves
Jorge 'Poncho' Ramirez

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John McTiernan
Writers: Jim Thomas, John Thomas, Donald Meyers
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.6× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Predator Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mark Helfrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers and Kevin Peter Hall carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John McTiernan directs. Donald McAlpine behind the camera. Alan Silvestri scores. Mark Helfrich cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.6× over at the box office.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Part of the "Predator Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Alan Silvestri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Mark Helfrich shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers and Kevin Peter Hall carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Soon the hunt will begin.".
10IMDB entry: tt0093773 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "guerrilla warfare", "central and south america", "predator", "trap".
12Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original score: Alan Silvestri
Editing: Mark Helfrich
Production design: John Vallone
Costume design: Marilyn Vance
Makeup / hair: Jeff Dawn
VFX supervisor: Michael Bigelow
Stunt coordinator: Craig R. Baxley
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $98,267,558
Return: 655% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Predator (1987)

Part of

Predator Collection

A science fiction action film series centered on a warrior class extraterrestrial species with technologically advanced weaponry that travel to Earth to trophy hunt human beings.

Also by

John McTiernan

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2018-03-19
★ 10/10
From about 1996 to about 2009 (roughly ages 4 til 17 for those playing at home), this was my all-time favourite movie. It was the first non-pirated VHS I ever owned, and it probably informed more of my youth than I'm comfortable with admitting. Predator is the sort of movie that somehow both encapsulates and transcends the 1980s, I implore anybody who unlucky enough to never have seen Predator to watch it, just to fulfil the life experience. One of only five movies that I've ever given a 5/5 star rating to. Final rating:★★★★★ – Transcendent entertainment! An all time great.
John Chard2020-06-15
★ 10/10
Ball busting Vietnam allegory McTiernan style delivers wholesale. I will start this by giving my ratings, yes plural because to me as a sci-fi/action film fan the film has few peers, it is 100% pure suspense testo explosive fun that along side John McTiernan's other action template Die Hard, stands the test of time to the point that it will be thrilling viewers long after we have left this earth. So with that I give it a personal rating of 10/10, it's faultless for my needs in a genre I indulge and lose myself in on a frequent roster. For any other movie fan aware of the genre's traits and peccadilloes without being a fan of sorts, then I rate the film easily at 7 or 8 out of 10, what's not to like here? The film is without a shadow of a doubt another allegory of Vietnam, a crack unit of soldiers are stuck in a central American jungle being killed off by an invisible enemy, the soldiers are there after being lied to by the powers that be, tactics are paramount but the enemy that stalks them holds all the aces. This crack special rescue team are a testosterone fuelled band of beef, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Sonny Landham, Bill Duke & Jesse Ventura, these five alone have a combined muscle weight heavy enough to have sunk the Titanic, and McTiernan uses the beefcakes to the max in a series of joyous ball busting sequences. The dialogue is sharp and funny with Schwarzenegger quipping his way thru the first reel, and the score from Alan Silvestri pumps the blood at just the right time, whilst the effects crew have done sterling work to bring this "hardest man in the world versus bad ass alien predator" to life, none more so than when viewing POV heat seeking infa-red shots as our deadly alien killer. The end throws up some interesting thoughts, that have for better or worse? Been fleshed out with further films involving the predator of the title, but one should judge this film as a single entry because it sits at the top of the tree as one of the best of it's kind; so truly this is a benchmark for the genre that will take some beating as far as I'm concerned. Enjoy 10/10
Wuchak2020-08-04
★ 6/10
Schwarzenegger vs. "the demon who makes trophies of man" in the Latin American jungles An elite squad of commandos is enlisted for a mission to the jungles of Central America to rescue some VIPs after their helicopter is downed. They soon discover that they are hunted by some kind of predator… not of this world. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers star. “Predator” (1987) mixes jungle action with otherworldly sci-fi for satisfying adventure/horror. The macho cast is superb, counterbalanced by Elpidia Carrillo as Anna. The flick’s iconic and uber-“cool” with exceptional jungle locations and cinematography, as well as F/X that hold up. Unfortunately, there’s little depth. It’s enjoyable as a popcorn movie, but also forgettable. Catch “Apocalypse Now” (1979) for the real deal in jungle adventure/horror. The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes and was shot in southern Mexico. GRADE: B-/B