How did Dutch hide from the Predator’s thermal vision in "Predator"?

The Predator was such a terrifying monster that even Arnold Schwarzenegger was pissing his pants. And this was in 1987 when he was in his prime! Seeing the two square up made Schwarzenegger’s Dutch look like a child. He couldn’t match him with brawn, so he had to use his brain, which started with finding a way to hide from the alien's thermal vision. What simple trick was enough to appear invisible to the cloaked Predator?

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The answer is: Being covered in mud

The concept of fighting the Predator might sound like a piece of cake for a bunch of commandos with big guns - but good luck using those muscles when you're being hunted by an invisible alien who can see your body heat and track your every move.

Dutch had to learn that one the hard way, watching his elite team get picked off one by one like it was nothing. All those bulging biceps meant squat if the Predator could spot you from a mile away through your own body heat. It wasn't until Dutch took a lucky tumble into a muddy riverbank that he figured out how to get the drop on the galaxy's deadliest hunter.

Coating himself in mud became Dutch's equalizer, hiding his body heat and making him invisible to the creature's thermal sensors. This gave Dutch the jump on the alien and let him lure it into a trap. The Predator takes the coward's way out and tries to blow them both up, but our hero gets away in the nick of time and finally gets to the "choppa."

An alien all about being the best hunter in the galaxy needs to look and feel as dangerous as that reputation suggests. The thermal vision and invisibility are cool, but it obviously needed to be more physically intimidating than an entire squad of bodybuilders with giant guns. The original Predator suit was...not that. It was more bug-like and sleek instead of a hulking monster like it would later be. The new design was a clear winner, especially with seven-foot-four-inch actor Kevin Peter Hall, who could make even Schwarzenegger look like a child.

We don't see the Predator itself for most of the film, but mainly see things through its eyes - or visor. The crew intended to shoot these shots with real thermal vision, which makes sense, except for the fact that it was so hot in Mexico that the actor's body heat matched the ambient temperature around them and made them invisible. Turns out Dutch didn't need to come up with any tricks after all!