Trailer Tuesday: Predators

The original Predator film, released in 1987, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, struck the perfect balance between horror, action and sci-fi. It was a gung-ho genre mash-up that worked; and yet Hollywood, in over 20 years, has been unable to duplicate the same winning formula. The studios have tried of course: Predator 2 was "meh" at best, crossover Alien Vs. Predator was toothless (or should that be mandible-free?) PG-13 guff, and, well, I haven't seen sequel Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem but my understanding is that it's also not very good.

However, we live in the age of the reboot, and Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez has accepted the challenge of revitalizing the gory man vs. alien franchise with Predators. For the record, Rodriguez isn't directing the film, but it's based on a story he developed in the mid 1990s, and he is acting as a hands-on producer. Vacancy director Nimród Antal is at the helm.


Predators is intended to be a direct sequel to the original Predator. Distancing itself from Predator 2 and the AVP crossovers, Predators is apparently a follow-up to Predator like Aliens was to Alien. In other words, the cast is bigger, there are a lot more aliens with a passion for human-hunting and the predators are considerably more badass.

For the record, Predators centres on a group of mercenaries, convicts and other killers who are mysteriously abducted and dumped together in a jungle. Only they aren't in just any jungle. They're actually stranded on an alien planet designed as a game reserve... for humans. Now this disparate group of men (and a woman), who are predators in their daily lives on Earth, are about to become the hunted.


Obviously there are some new things to look forward to in Predators - such as rival tribes of physically enhanced Predators, and alien creatures used for hunting - but honestly right now I'm most intrigued about the film's unconventional casting. Predators is a sci-fi horror action flick after all, so the appearance of Morpheus himself, Laurence Fishburne, isn't a surprise. Neither is the presence of I Am Legend and Blindness's Alice Braga, who radiates toughness. However, Predators is toplined by wiry Academy Award winner Adrien Brody and Topher (That 70's Show) Grace, both of whom aren't exactly known for their action hero credentials.

Their presence and the fact that the Predators trailer actually makes the film look appropriately intense and thrilling, have seriously helped boost my excitement levels.

Predators is released in the United States on 9 July. Unfortunately for locals though, at this point in time the South African release date is still unclear.