Predator: Dark Ages – Alien Hunter Takes on Templar Knights in Crowd Sourced Fan Film

The interstellar alien hunter race known as Predators have taken on many adversaries. From fellow alien creatures like the Xenomorph, to commando leader Dutch and former Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover (AKA Lieutenant Mike Harrigan), they have covered the globe in their hunt for the perfect competition. Now we get to see how they fare in our past with this new fan funded short feature Predator: Dark Ages

Originally KickStarted in June 2014, this movie came to us through Simon Rowling campaign. He and the supporters of the project managed to collect together over £5,000 to help bring his dream of taking the Predator back to a more simplified time of combat. Throughout the campaign there was some pretty interesting art work that came out to give supporters a taste of what was in store. Below is a collection of some of these pieces.

But what exactly is Dark Ages about? The gallery gives you a pretty good idea, but here is a synopsis of the short’s plot by the director himself.

Our Predator fan film is set in the Dark Ages, it is a period in history where mankind was plagued by disease and famine, as well as having to live and die by the sword.

Our film follows a group of war-torn Templar knights who have returned from the Eastern lands, back to England, only to find that the enemy is now a lot closer and a lot more deadly than before.

Throughout time the Predator has always looked for the greatest warriors to fight in battle, and with this short film we will see him put to the test against the some of the best history has ever seen, the Templar Knights.

Their battle with the Predator is the thing Myths and Legends are made of.

The short was soon released onto the World Wide Web and here in all its glory is the finished film.

For a film that is just missing the 30 minute market Simon and his team certainly manage to cram in a lot of action and exposition. The plot is simple enough. Predator turns up to hunt the medieval town’s folk and it’s up to the church (or more correctly their Templar knights) to sort out the mess. The cast is a collection of semi familiar faces (like Joe Egan who played in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes) who all do a bang up job with the little roles they have been allocated. It’s all very reminiscent of the original film.

In fact there are a few throwbacks and nods to the first movie; the skinned bodies, the aimless running through the woods, chasing an unseen foe, and the preparation for battle near the film’s climax all pay homage to the 1987 movie. That said, it still feels fresh, particularly the score, which perfectly mixes medieval music with the Predator hunt theme.

The Predator costume by Sentient Creature is also spot on, and the film does a great job of teasing out the Predator’s appearance as well as the unleashing of his futuristic weaponry. Speaking of weaponry the film does a great job of making this an interesting concept, even though the Predator has the more advanced hardware. It would be great to see producer Simon, writer John Thomas and director James Bushe employ their skills in other historical periods so we could see how the Predator gets on there. Predator during the French Revolution or the U.S. Civil War era perhaps?

Overall a great little movie which should be watched by all Predator and medieval film fans alike. Afterall, who doesn’t want to see the Predator fight with a sword?

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Images: Big Sis Productions, Dark Age Productions,
Fascination Pictures, Sentient Creatures.