This week on the B movie docket is Predators

B movies are the glue stuck in between all the other genres, oftentimes refusing to conform to any particular genre presets. Some but not all of the hallmarks of a B movie include scripts that read like they were written by a room full of eighth-graders, poor visual effects, cringe-inducing dialogue, low budget production design, and zany plot contrivances. You’re aware of the hallmarks, right? B-movies often reek of amateur flair. Thought you were about to watch a great white shark hunted in dramatic fashion like only Steven Spielberg can deliver? Nope, this is Sharknado.

Why do we love B movies? I think B movies are comforting. You know what you’re about to watch is bad. If you’re fortunate it may be so bad that it’s good. You’ll often scratch your head trying to work out the plot. Out of the many good films you’ve seen, I bet you can talk with more vigor about the worst ones you’ve seen. They’re unforgettable. There’s something comforting about that I think. Besides they’ve been around just as long as the movie industry.

Believe it or not, chances are there’s a B movie for you. So I compiled a list of 50 B movies you must see before you die. No decade is off-limits. No rating is too taboo. For the next 49 weeks, I will introduce and recommend a B movie for your viewing pleasure. Yes, these are exciting times indeed my fanatical friends.

WEEK 37 – Predators  

This week’s B movie is Predators. Not Predator. Predator is a great action movie. Period. Predators is on this list because it has aged into an entertaining B movie over the years.

For fans of the Predator franchise, there was a lot of hype surrounding Predators. Back when it was released in 2010. Fans of the franchise were finally going to see the dreadlocked space hunter return to a jungle. Even if the jungle was not earth.

It was going to be a return to the recipe that made the original 1987 film so memorable. Take a hot jungle. Add some hot-headed soldiers. Pour gallons of machismo, and one alien hunter. It was the perfect blend for an action movie. And it has aged well even today.

But Predators is another matter. While it may not have been the return to franchise heights. It does double down on the B movie heart at the center of the original. Gone are a squad of soldiers with ties, chemistry, and enough history for them to take casual verbal jabs at one another.

RELATED: Bubba Ho Tep | 50 B Movies To See Before You Die

Predators introduces a concept in which a squad of unconnected people are being hunted on an alien game preserve. The game reserve is fully stocked with wildlife. It even has its own local madman, Nolan played by Laurence Fishburne. And the Predators chosen prey is diverse. These dudes have taste. This is a cat and mouse game played by alien hunters called Predators. But this time they are called Super Predators. A concept I love. It’s almost as great as Shredder becoming Super Shredder.

The Prey

The people on the run from the Predators in this film are a varied bunch. Instead of the squad of American GI’s. We get a new squad compromised of one mercenary, one drug lord, one Yakuza gangster, one Cartel hitman, one Russian soldier, one female sniper, one African soldier, and a serial killer.

One of those sound out of place? I mean how did the Predators know to choose a serial killer? The logic is right at home in a B movie. I mean for one, did the Predators see him kill one person and then deduce he was a serial killer? Not likely. If that were the case, then why not grab any killer off the streets? It’s more likely the Predators were surveilling him for some time, just watching him kill. But that’s just a theory. One thing is certain. The Predators decided to hunt a serial killer.

The Predators

Like every entry in this franchise, there is action. Lots of it. Remember how in the first film we got to see the Predator mercilessly and calculatingly slaughter a bunch of GI’s? Predators injects a wallop of B movie flavor by revealing a unique form of Predator. These Predators have no code or honor. They hunt with GPS. One of them has a drone. This is also the first-time fans of the franchise meet Predator pooches. Because what good hunter doesn’t love a four-legged companion?

There are several types of Predators on display in this film. We get a flashback with the inclusion of the Predator sporting the original design. But the new guys are radical. There is a samurai Predator. There is the Predator that likes to use surveillance on his prey. And finally, there is a Berzerker Predator. This guy wears the jaw of something he killed on the outside of his own helmet. He is a bada**.

World Class Talent

Predators is no slouch in the acting talent department. Laurence Fishburne plays a wacked out survivor of a previous hunt named Nolan. And that is not all. Oscar winning actor Adrien Brody plays the leader of the bunch. He gets the Dutch like showdown with the big bad Berzerker Predator at the end. He shows these Predators not to mess with earth people.

Did I mention Spiderman 3’s Topher Grace is in it too? No. Well, then I sure did not mention Walter Goggins. I missed him completely. My bad. He has the best part and some of the best lines. He plays a death row inmate chosen by the Predators for the hunt. How they whisked him from Death Row, I would like to see. I feel like there is a lost movie in there somewhere. That would be a great new entry into this franchise: Predators Vs San Quentin.

Watch this B movie.

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