Zanobard Reviews

The way the music itself seems to hunt the protagonists of Predator is the most intriguing part of Alan Silvestri’s impeccable score, with the various motifs for the titular Yautja and indeed the iconic main theme altogether establishing one of the more recognisable soundscapes in Sci-Fi film.

I love the soundscape of Alan Silvestri’s Predator. The atmosphere of it is just so interesting – the style of the music and the way the instrumentation is used is so distinct, even just hearing it without the presence of the actual theme is enough for it to be recognisably the music for the titular Yautja. And as a result it’s a musical style that goes on to evolve far past this original 1987 introduction as well, to every sequel in the franchise in fact. To hear it in action, we need look no further than the score’s “Main Title” for its first appearance; an instrumental rumbling opens the track before a sudden thunderous crash of brass and percussion immediately sets an unnerving tone. Eerie, unsettling strings then further establish the alien sound for Predator before tense percussion suddenly leaps dramatically into frame, and the main theme makes its first appearance. It’s a six-note, repeating and indeed rather unrelenting motif that sticks in your mind pretty damned quickly as a result, and the rising brass notes that soon accompany it give it a dramatic touch of malevolence too as the instrumentation continally builds through much of the rest of the track – until finally crashing out just as imposingly as it first arrived.

And that’s only the beginning of the themes for Silvestri’s score here; following the main title, “Something Else/Cut ‘Em Down/Payback Time” immediately introduces another new motif as it opens, this time an echoing, unnerving percussive piece for the Predator itself – played mostly to suggest its presence as it hunts the protagonists throughout the film. Light jungle-esque percussion, bursts of wary brass and leaping strings then establish a sense of movement for Dutch and his team through much of the rest of this mostly atmospheric seven minute setpiece, with further echoes of the Predator hunting motif and reprisals of the eerie strings from the main title’s opening minute (which for ease we can call the Predator mystery motif) also frequently reprising. The unsettling ambience then continues into the subsequent “The Truck” with further and increasingly tense percussive and brassy undercurrents playing alongside emphatic bursts of the six-note main theme. The standout “Jungle Trek” then really gets things going, with a propulsive instrumental combination of frenetic brass, strings and drums surging the music along in the first half before an enthusiastically bombastic rendition of the main theme closes out the cue.

A burst of brassy tension opens the six minute “Girl’s Escape/Blaine’s Death”, with imposing action briefly kicking off at the minute mark before the track then settles back into the wary ambience of earlier cues. At two minutes in though yet another new theme is introduced, this time a descending and rather unnerving piece for the horrific actions of the Predator throughout the film – which we’ll call the Predator action motif for ease. I have to say, it’s intriguing; Silvestri utilises a lot of different motivic ideas for the titular alien hunter in this first score, and all of them work. The stalking motif is fantastic at setting a sense of being hunted, of unseen dread in the trees above, the mystery motif is excellent at doing just that really, seeding the sheer alien-ness of the Predator itself, and the action motif – particularly in its more dramatic appearances later in the score – pretty perfectly represents the seemingly unstoppable destructive force of the creature as it hunts down and kills most of Dutch’s team. As a result the score here actually really makes the movie, elevating it and the titular alien hunter quite sizably – turning an already good movie into a truly great one, at least for me.

A sense of dramatic orchestral intensity occupies much of “What Happened?” as brass rises and falls alongside some rather dread-inducing strings hinting toward the Predator mystery motif in the first half before the eerily descending action motif closes out the track. One last new theme is then introduced for “He’s My Friend”; this time a rather militaristic and funeral-esque piece for Dutch’s fallen comrades. It plays quietly and regretfully on proud brass in its introduction here, and is the score’s most human element against the continually oppressive unnervingness of the music for the Predator. Some rather creepy high-pitched strings then occupy the first minute of “We’re Gonna Die” before the fallen comrades theme plays rather forlornly on its established brass. The human element then quickly vanishes however in favour of the ever-ominous Predator mystery motif, before a sudden crash of drums kicks off a section of incredibly tense brassy action. A frantic pace then continues the action for the back half of “Building The Trap” with the descending Predator action motif playing aggressively alongside imposing percussive excerpts of the main theme. The subsequent “The Waiting” then returns the score to its quieter, more ambient side with wary strings in centre stage reprising the ever-eerie Predator mystery motif.

Aggressive action leaps once again into the forefront for the beginning of “Can You See Him?” with brassy reprisals of the main theme, before the track then descends back into wary strings-heavy ambience for its remaining minutes. Further orchestral tension then hints toward the malevolent presence of the Predator at the start of “Dillon’s Death” with the Predator action theme then only cementing this dramatic tone until a final crescendo is reached. The aforementioned motif then continues its dread-inducing spree with “Billy And Predator”, with the track opening quietly with anxious brass playing until the theme then rapidly builds to a thunderously imposing rendition. The lengthy “Dutch Builds Trap” then simmers malevolently in its opening minute with the descending Predator action motif, before sinking into moody orchestral ambience for much of its remaining runtime alongside sporadic and rather anxious further renditions of the main and action themes. With tensions now firmly high, “Predator Injured/Hand To Hand Combat” continues with quietly eerie orchestration in its first half before aggressive brassy bursts, wary drums and increasingly imposing strings kick off nervous action in the second. “Predator’s Death” then concludes the orchestral drama with one last malevolent burst of the Predator action motif, before “The Pick-Up And End Credits” finishes up with final and indeed standout renditions of the fallen comrade and main themes.

Overall, Alan Silvestri’s score for the original Predator is an absolute masterclass in not only building orchestral tension, but also in musically tracking the movements of an unseen enemy via various motifs – the way it literally feels like the music itself is hunting the team of commandos in the film really makes it iconic, at least in my opinion. Specifically, the echoing Predator stalking motif (heard at the start of “Something Else”) really excels in seeding dread in this regard, with its accompaniment of continual camera pans up into the trees to cement the idea that something is watching being really intriguing. That alongside the ever-present Predator mystery (“Main Title”) and action (“Billy And Predator”) motifs also really helps to musically establish an entire soundscape for the titular alien hunter, with the intense main theme (“Jungle Trek”) also firmly cementing it as one of the more recognisable film music ideas around. I don’t know about you, but even just hearing a couple of tense notes play from this score is enough for me to identify it as Predator, that’s how unique Silvestri’s stylistic ideas here are. And indeed, they go on to be used in every sequel film to some degree as well, with my personal favourite being the score for immediate follow-up Predator 2 (but more on that in another review!) so there’s no denying their reach either.

All-in, an excellently styled start to an iconically eerie franchise.

Score: 8.5/10

Standout Cues: Jungle Trek, The Pick-Up And End Credits

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