When I first saw Robert Rodriguez’s 2010 film ‘Predators’, I knew that it had been mostly filmed on location around Austin. Robert is from San Antonio and his Troublemaker Studios have several movies in Texas, taking advantage of the diverse terrains around the Hill Country area. The scene early in the movie of the cast walking across a tilted, pitted, open rocky surface was memorable. I tracked it down to McKinney Falls State Park, just southeast of downtown Austin near the airport.
Here are some clips from the movie.
The river cuts through the limestone leaving seasonal puddles. The river has carved deep grooves through the rock. Seen from above it positively alien. I can clearly see why this was chosen to film the early exposition scene in the movie as a contrast to the jungle that we already saw with the original movie.
Later in the movie the cast fall down a slope and off the top of a waterfall. The scene seems to be cut from at least three places. The far shots of the waterfall are probably Hawaii. There is a second shot we see from the point of view of the Predator’s drone that looks like Canyon Lake, southwest of Austin. When the characters emerge from the water, they are in Hamilton Pool Preserve. This is a private pool west of Austin. It is sort of like an exposed sinkhole. The camera never gives you a wide enough shot to give away the beach or the cliff above. You can see the “waterfall” and the ceiling in a few shots.
Here are some clips from the movie.
Once again this is a unique location that is designed to feel alien.