What is the River Ghost from Predators?
221The River Ghosts from Predators were a species of alien creatures, which, just like the Humans, were captured by the Super Predators and dropped onto the Game Preserve Planet to be hunted as worthy prey.
Unlike the Humans however, they were kept inside cages, which were parachuted down to the planet’s surface, suggesting they are more animalistic and pose more of a physical threat than a Human would.
Only one is actually seen, but the number of cages suggests that multiple were unleashed by Berserker and his clan.
The River Ghosts possess a humanoid silhouette, but are shrouded in an insect-like exoskeleton that covers almost all of the body, composed of a number of segmented plates.
While they have recesses on their face which on first glance look like eye sockets, they do not possess any visible eyes, and instead have a sensory organ covered by a moveable flap of bone in the centre of their forehead.
Their teeth extend forwards from their mouth, leaving a considerable gap. They have greatly elongated talons on their hands, and strange, bony, almost wing-like protrusions on their back.
Their legs are in a digitigrade configuration, giving them superior running-speed.
River Ghosts appear to have some form of symbiotic relationship with small, cockroach-like creatures that live on their skin. The exact purpose of them is unknown, although they probably help to keep the River Ghosts' skin clean from bacteria and parasites, similar to many Earth-based symbiotes.
A popular fan theory is that the signature skull of the Feral Predators biomask is from a River Ghost. And with the bottom jaw removed, does bear a striking resemblance, complete with a hole where the bone flap would go.
Although most likely a coincidence, as the Prey filmmakers hadn’t even heard of the Predator 1718 comic story when writing their version of the backstory to Adolini’s Flintlock; the theory does make sense, and in my own interpretation, I choose to believe Feral’s mask *is* made from a Riverghosts hollowed-out skull.
The River Ghost's role was reduced in the final film compared to earlier drafts of the script: it was originally supposed to play a more substantial part in the film, stalking the characters for longer and leading them to believe *it* was the one responsible for their being on the planet.
In another draft of the script, the creature was originally to have been found near a river and was barely seen, behaving almost like a ghost or apparition (it was from this draft that the creature earned its moniker)
The River Ghost was initially conceived as a means to display the original, unused Predator design created for Predator by Boss Film Studios, although it was later decided to the creature its own original design.
Like humans, River Ghosts were 'dropped' on the Game Preserve Planet to be hunted by the Super Predators for sport.
One such creature was encountered by Royce and the other humans dropped with him.
The creature attacked the group and pursued Edwin, who’d been used as bait by the other members.
It was presumably intending to kill him, due to thinking the Humans were what had abducted it, but was shot dead by Noland.
I thought having non-human creatures that the Predators were hunting as well as Humans was a cool concept, that was tragically underutilised in the movie, and I thought it was a missed opportunity where they could have given us a scene with a Predator fighting a riverghost to demonstrate to us, the audience, how powerful the Yautja are, like we would see later in Prey, where the Predator fights other animals.
It would have been a cool reveal, if we see the Riverghost attacking the heroes, and then a Predator appears and battles it, and defeats it, so it would be like “you thought that alien was dangerous, but here’s this Predator which is even deadlier”, again, like in Prey.
Let me know your thoughts on the RiverGhost, and leave a like on this video for the time it took me to make. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time.
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