Movie News: The Predator Effect

The Predator series is one of the most visceral and exiting sci-fi franchises of the known multiverse and the impact of the franchise has been significant.  To celebrate the release of Predators on Blu-ray and DVD on November 1st, we take a look back at the films influenced by the Predator series.

Cyborg – 1989
Paying homage to Predator’s post-apocalyptic society, Cyborg (1989) is set in America in the near future where a mysterious plague has ravaged the world’s population. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Gibson Rickenbacker, a mercenary living in America. Rickenbacker meets a half-human, half-cyborg woman who needs to deliver crucial information about a cure to a group of scientists in Atlanta. She hires Rickenbacker as her bodyguard, but gets kidnapped by a murderous gang who want the cure for themselves.

Species – 1995
Predator reconstructed our idea of aliens as intelligent, barbaric warriors with mandibles. 1995’s Species revamped it completely, transforming an alien into an object of desire. Scientists receive an alien radio transmission detailing how to splice alien DNA with human DNA. A government team is quickly assembled to create the genetic experiment. Sil (Natasha Henstridge) is produced, a half-alien, half-human female who ages rapidly. However, her violent outbursts cause the team to deem her a threat. When they try to eliminate her, she escapes. The researchers discover she wants to breed offspring that will destroy the human race. Sil is the ultimate femme fatale, killing anything without pretense and irresistible to any potential mate.

Starship Troopers – 1997
With respect to the great action scenes of the Predator series, the 1997 movie Starship Troopers provides audiences with epic extraterrestrial battles. Set in the future, the film’s hero Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) is dating Carmen (Denise Richards). But once the couple graduates from high school, Carmen wants to join the military and Johnny begrudgingly follows her. Suddenly an outer space asteroid lands on Earth, killing Johnny’s family. His battalion goes to destroy the planet that the asteroid originated from, which is inhabited by vicious giant space bugs.

The Relic - 1997
Although the Predator movies are disturbing at times, The Relic triples their fright level. At the Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, a biologist (Penelope Ann Miller) receives a shipment of artifacts from a colleague who is performing fieldwork in Brazil. However, the ship’s crew has all been mysteriously murdered on the ship. A fungus within the cargo is to blame; it attracts a constantly mutating lizard monster that feeds off of brains.

Pandorum – 2009
In last year’s sci-fi thriller Pandorum, two astronauts awake from hyper-sleep in the year 2174, after Earth is reduced to an overpopulated wasteland. Initially experiencing memory loss, they believe they are the only humans left in the universe. However, Corporal Bower, played by Ben Foster, finds out they are not alone on the ship after being attacked by a nonhuman creature. Or is he suffering from Pandorum, a psychological condition that is brought upon by long periods in space?

Predators is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 1st November 2010.