Chiasmus cult cinema trailers - "Predator 2" (1990). *These will be ongoing posts, courtesy of the A.Glass DVD collection. As I offer via Chiasmus Cult trailers, my summarized overviews*

As the 1990s began in earnest, with Hollywood studios demanding more firepower, death rates and city wide destruction for their action blockbusters.  A sequel to the 1987 hit "Predator" was in demand, with Joel Silver, producer of the first movie pushed Jim and John Thomas, the two brothers who wrote the original script for Predator, accepted the offer from 20th Century fox, and began drafting the "Predator 2" screenplay and script.  Placing the hunter of the human species, the Predator within an urban setting, and of course where else would that have to be? A 1990s Los Angeles seven years into the future (1997), where crime and urban discord has run rampant.

The reins to direct the sequel to "Predator" where given to self professed "luckiest man alive", U.K born Stephen Hopkins, who only had two films under his belt, the independent Australian slasher film you have never heard of "Dangerous Game" (1987), and by a rare universal alignment, and this is also his quote on being lucky, "I don't know how it happened" landed him the directorial role for the 5th instalment in the iconic 80s horror/slasher franchise "Nightmare on Elm Street".  Which in 1989, his visual retelling of the Nightmare on Elm Street, gained the New Line Cinema $8 million in tickets sales on the weekend it was released, thus allowing Hopkins some leeway with his next project.  And that being, "Predator 2".

Production began in early 1990, with the 29 year old Stephen Hopkins already on board, and the inevitable script changes occuring, with roles offered to the top tier action stars at the time, and Arnold Schwarzenegger showing no interest returning to the character "Dutch", Danny Glover was then offered to play the protagonist "Lieutenant Mike Harrigan", the unstable, rogue and hot headed cop.  And Glover plays his character with a loveable charm, as his team is picked off one by one by the Predator, including a massive death count of gang members and civilians in the mix.

And this is no doubting that the 43 year old Glover at the time, commanded the role to be the match to the revamped Predator, who, as mentioned, systematically kills off the two drug cartels battling it out in L.A., "The Columbians" (who else?)  and "The Jamaicans" (truly a comic book style crime gang, a very stylish bunch indeed) and the great actor Gary Busey, playing special agent "Peter Keyes", who tries to track and capture the Predator with his government sponsored team, and, well, as you would expect, is also picked off and killed by this Alien 'urban' serial killer, who likes to taught Harrigan.  Which is how Predator 2 plays out, as a slasher flick, and Harrigan determine to serve out his brand of justice, by blowing the Predator away, but instead, 35 year old spoiler alert, ends up disemboweling the Predator with its own weapon.  

"Predator 2" is very much a cult classic, which assisted in setting up sequels that followed, more so the Predator versus "Alien" storyboards, note the Alien skull within the Alien ship at the end of the movie. 

Also Note:  Watch for the scene with Jamaican crime lord, "King Willie", when he recites from Psalm 87:1, in a voodoo esque forbearing when confronted by the Predator, "His foundation lies in the holy mountains..."  Screaming, "...Selah."  from his decapitated head.   "Predator 2" is filled with a lot of dark humour.

___

(A.Glass 2025)

All CHIAMUS Cult Cinema trailers/commentary to date: chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/search/label/Chiasmus%20cult%20cinema