Dreadlocks

"You ought to tell your hair-dresser — that rasta crap has been out for years!"

―Schaefer, referring to a Yautja's dreadlocks (from Predator: Concrete Jungle)

A Predator, clearly showing its dreadlocks on its head.

Dreadlocks, or simply dreads (also called Braids and Tresses) are matted coils of hair, usually intentionally formed, on the head. They are typically associated with the Rastafarian movement. Many of the members of the Jamaican Voodoo Posse possessed dreadlocks, including King Willie.

Yautja Dreadlocks

"Dreadlocks"^{[citation needed]} is also the name given to the hair-like appendages found on the back and side of a Yautja's head. Despite their colloquial name, it is not clear if these dreadlocks are in fact hair; while some Predators possess "eyebrows" and other coarse facial and body hair, it seems possible from their appearance that the dreadlocks on their heads might be some form of fleshy growth. Several adult Yautja individuals have been seen with dreadlocks of notably different lengths, such as Hippie, although it is unclear if this variance is the result of some individuals 'trimming' their dreadlocks like hair, or simply natural deviation in growth. Some Ancient Predators have been seen to have gray dreadlocks, indicating the appendages lose color with age, similar to human hair. In Neonopolis, several Yautja being held by Borgia Industries for experimentation notably had their dreadlocks removed, although again it remains unclear if the appendages are hair or flesh-like in nature.

The purpose and function of Yautja dreadlocks is not known, but all Predators have been seen to possess them, including Super Predators. Notably, Predaliens typically inherit dreadlocks from their host, and they are a notable feature of the creatures.

In a Dark Horse comic a Predator is shown with his Dreadlocks partially shot off and they are bleeding, leading one to believe the Dreadlocks may indeed be fleshy.

Trivia

• Special effects supervisor Stan Winston (who designed the creatures in Predator and Predator 2) was known to refer to the Predator dreadlocks as "quills", apparently likening them to feathers, or porcupine quills.
• When creating the Yautja's cloaking effect in the films, the creatures' dreadlocks tend to be ignored and are simply removed from the image (quite noticeably in some cases). According to the team that worked on Predator, this was an intentional oversight, as it would have been far too difficult to render the individual dreadlocks in the cloaked shots using the technology of the day.

Gallery

A Bad Blood from Predator: Concrete Jungle whose dreadlocks have been removed.

The Falconer's light brown dreads.

Numerous dreadlocks for Alien vs. Predator.