Remember the time Predator faced off against Santa’s reindeer – and lost?

The Predator | Holiday Special | 20th Century FOX – YouTube

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The holiday season evokes majestic memories of family, friends, gifts, and… the Predator?! Wait, that last one doesn’t sound right, but it’s true. Everyone’s favorite intergalactic trophy hunting species has a Christmas connection, as he battled Santa Claus’ reindeer in a forgotten animated short titled “The Predator Holiday Special.”

Directed by David Brooks and Alex Kamer from a script by Matthew Senreich (of “Robot Chicken” fame) and Matt Motschenbacher, the stop-motion actioner kicks off in an unassuming manner in the North Pole, as Santa’s elf Sprinkles (Xander Mobus) brushes the reindeer Blitzen (Dave B. Mitchell) and discusses their exciting plans for Christmas Eve.

Blitzen spots three red laser dots pointed in their direction, so he shoves the elf out of harm’s way, whips out a heavy-duty gun, and opens fire in the direction of the presumed threat. It doesn’t end well for Blitzen, though, as the Predator shows up and blasts a hole through the beloved reindeer. What? Did you expect the Yautja to offer it grass, or a bowl of water?

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(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

What follows is a pulsating hunting mission, as Sprinkles runs for the hills but appears to fall victim to the rabid Yautja’s sharp blades. Santa’s trusty reindeer – all kitted out like they have posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaefer above their beds – assemble in a coordinated military fashion, but their efforts prove to be futile, since the Predator savages and makes mincemeat out of them.

It’s glory kills galore, as the hunter recreates some of the franchise’s most brutal moments with the reindeer. All those weapons and training seemed to be lost on them, with the chances of “Reindeer vs. Predator” replacing “Alien vs. Predator” as the mega-money crossover evaporating with each dead reindeer.

Now, the heart-in-throat anxiety pounds faster and harder, as the Yautja approaches Santa’s house. This is it – Christmas is about to be cancelled, folks! The Grinch cheers from his home on Mount Crumpit. Or maybe not. Jolly ol’ Saint Nick (Keith Silverstein) steps out to face the enemy, and he has an ace up his sleeve: Larry the reindeer! Like a force of nature out of every single ’80s action movie and powered by the testosterone of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Van Damme, Larry unloads on the Predator, sending him to the great big trophy hunting museum in the sky.

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Of course, Santa and Larry celebrate accordingly by reenacting the iconic handshake between Dutch and Al Dillion (Carl Weathers) from 1987’s “Predator.”

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Then more Predators show up. Uh-oh! Actually, scratch that. They’re here to take away their deceased clan member, and one of them even leaves a basket of decorated eggs with Santa. Aw! The kind gesture does nothing to endear the gift givers to the North Pole residents, as Sprinkles returns and unleashes the fury of John Wick on the remaining Predators.

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(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Despite Santa and his crew having the Yautja’s number here, the creatures have the last laugh, thanks to a carefully placed Trojan horse: The basket of eggs. In the final scene of the film, one of the eggs opens up to reveal it’s an Ovomorph, indicating that a Facehugging Xenomorph is imminent here. Drats! And sadly, in the North Pole, no one can hear you scream…

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Where did this idea even come from? According to Senreich’s comments to Entertainment Weekly, it was born out of “a random hangout moment.” Then, the concept evolved into chucking the Predator into the world of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”-styled animation, because nothing screams Christmas quite like a Yautja hunt in the North Pole.

Ultimately, “The Predator Holiday Special” was created as a neat promo to drum up anticipation for the home release of Shane Black’s “The Predator,” which arrived in December 2018. Who could have guessed that this barely two-minute short was better than all 108 minutes of Black’s baffling blockbuster that almost sent the Yautja into extinction?

The special is still available to watch on YouTube, so make it a holiday tradition like watching the best Christmas movie of all time (Die Hard, obviously) every year. If you’d rather check out some more serious Predator movies, they’re all available to watch on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (UK).