Predator is a science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite military rescue team on a mission to save hostages in guerrilla-held territory in an unspecified country in Central America. Kevin Peter Hall co-stars as the eponymous antagonist, a technologically advanced form of extra-terrestrial life secretly stalking and hunting the team. Predator was written in 1984, under the working title of Hunter. Filming ran from March-June 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston.