The Predator film franchise gave audiences one of the coolest and most iconic monsters in sci-fi cinematic history, all thanks to the fascinating first installment way back in 1987. This lethal alien had one goal in mind – to visit different planets and hunt the deadliest of their respective species. On Earth, that meant the most highly trained and capable humans.
With advanced alien technology, superb physical strength and fitness, the Yautja race were well poised to execute their quarry with some of the most brutal kills imaginable. Here are the most punishing of the bunch, ranked in order of sheer mercilessness.
Blain (Predator)
One of the original grisly kills of the Predator franchise took place in the first movie, shortly after the death of Hawkins. Dutch’s team fanned out to try and flush out what they perceived was a guerrilla team initiating hit and run strikes under the cover of the jungle.
Blain readied “Ol’ Painless,” one of the franchise’s most iconic weapons, for what he perceived was a showdown with the mysterious killer. It turned out to be a harmless jungle critter, but it was enough to distract him from the Predator looming in the trees behind him, who promptly blew a hole through his chest with its plasma caster.
Mac (Predator)
Of all the members of Dutch’s team, Mac may have gotten it the worst. Not only did the Predator traumatize Mac to the point where he went over the edge of sanity, but it pushed him to get reckless in a quest for vengeance before he had enough intel to properly assess his opponent.
Mac and Dillon devised a quick on the spot plan to flush the Predator out and kill him, but the alien had infrared vision on his side and was quickly able to target Mac with his plasma caster. The resulting shot blew a hole through Mac’s skull with an explosive exit wound out the back, killing him instantly.
Dillon (Predator)
With Mac out of the picture, Dillon was left on his own to face down the Predator. He searched in vain for his partner until finally spotting Mac’s dead corpse in the distance. Seconds later, the Predator revealed himself in a challenging manner and left Dillon with no option but to spray and pray.
The Predator was one step ahead of him and fired a bolt from his plasma caster which severed Dillon’s arm. Before he had a chance to utilize his other arm, the Predator had closed the gap and gutted him with his wrist blades in horrific fashion.
Jerry (Predator 2)
Crazy cop Jerry had his faults, but he was a good cop who quickly realized the importance of working within a team and finding a family at the same time. Just as he was hitting his stride and banishing his bad personality traits, the Predator decided to strike a subway train full of armed passengers, which forced him to intervene.
This put him directly in the creature’s crosshairs, as Jerry represented a clear challenge, and worthy prey. Although much of his death happened offscreen, it’s what happened afterwards that was truly grisly. Mike Harrigan followed the bloody trail to the end of the subway line where he saw the Predator rip Jerry’s head and spine out of his corpse before fleeing in victory.
Peter Keyes (Predator 2)
Peter Keyes had a vested interest in capturing the Predator for the purposes of studying and acquiring its alien technology. He put together a painstaking operation involving many operatives and technology designed to mask their heat signatures so they could move in for the takedown.
Little did they anticipate that the Predator had a few tricks up his sleeve to detect the seemingly undetectable. Once it switched vision modes to pinpoint his foes, the Predator struck and killed them all. Keyes managed to survive the first encounter and confront the Predator a second time, only to meet his bloody demise at the end of the creature’s razor-sharp throwing disc.
Stans (Predators)
Stans allowed himself to get complacent and overconfident when the Super Predators descended on him and his fellow human survivors. He took a shot in the back from the creature’s plasma caster, but survived thanks to some durable alien armor plating that he hid underneath his prison overhauls.
This allowed him to get the drop on the fearsome Berserker Predator and get in a series of good stabs before being thrown to the ground. Enraged, the Berserker ripped his head and spine clear from his body in explicitly gory fashion, making it one of the most brutal kills of the entire franchise.
Classic Predator (Predators)
The Classic Predator was a direct nod to the O.G. creature from the iconic Schwarzenegger film that started the entire franchise, and was one of the highlights of this much-lauded sequel. This fan favorite creature design stood in direct opposition to the new breed of Super Predators who stood higher on the proverbial food chain. Apparently a blood feud had been going on between the two species for quite some time, and all bets were off between them.
After Royce released the Classic Predator from his bindings, it took on the Berserker Predator with a clear score to settle. Although the two managed to trade an equal amount of blows, the Berserker’s strength proved to be too much. In the end, the Classic Predator was beaten profusely before being cleanly decapitated.
Double-Tap (Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem)
This installment of the spinoff AVP franchise is one of the weirder films in terms of chronology. A lone Predator heads to Earth to clean up a xenomorph infestation in a small rural American town, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t willing to pick off a few humans along the way. The Predator’s hunting code was still in full effect, and any perceived threat could (and would) be met with lethal force.
Two stoned shop owners learned this the hard way when they stumbled upon the Predator who turned his twin plasma casters on them and blew both of their heads off with one clean pair of strikes.
Jesse (Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem)
Of all the characters to buy the farm in Requiem, Jesse undoubtedly got it the worst (and most unexpected). In their bid to make way to the rooftop of a hospital in order to escape via helicopter, they inadvertently crossed paths with the Wolf Predator who was busy fighting off several Xenormorphs.
In the midst of the chaos, the Wolf Predator hurled his deadly bladed discs down the hallway, which struck Jesse and pinned her to the wall. It was definitely the most shocking death of the entire film.
Head Bite (The Predator)
2018’s The Predator semi-reboot was a divisive love/hate installment both in terms of critical and commercial performance. However, it does boast one of the most brutal and gory deaths of the entire franchise, even if the shot was achieved through a copious and irresponsible over-use of CGI.
When the Uber Predator decides to take the fight to the leftover humans in the final act of the film, it pulls out all the stops to pull off an insane number of over-the-top kills, including grabbing one soldier and biting his head clear off of his shoulders. Undoubtedly silly, and unnecessarily gory.
