In one of the bravura set pieces of the movie, they retaliate against the Predator-Shadow with the full power of their rational external personas. They bring all their professional expertise to bear upon the problem facing them, but the trouble is that it is merely more of the same behavior that got them into this psychotic stage to begin with. I refer of course to the extended firefight, where they shoot everything they have at the Predator in a literally unbelievable sequence. They rip the forest apart but only succeed in mildly wounding the Shadow. This behavior is denial at its peak. They refuse to admit that there is a situation that they cannot solve and they throw the entire weight of their skills and technology at it in the hope that they can bury it in bullets. To compulsively deny anything is wrong and aggressively carry on 'as usual' is one of the subtler forms of insanity.

(It is also rather delightful that the entire sequence can also be read only too obviously to mirror the modern invasive surgical practices that are practiced when disease is sought to be cut out, or burnt out in chemotherapy, rather than cured. The 'cancer' is only wounded and comes back with greater virulence after a mild regression-recuperation.)

This posturing and cranking up of normal behavioral patterns is to no avail. They continue to be killed and skinned one by one. There is even a delightful episode where they lay a trap for the Predator and a pig stumbles into it, which they kill. This too is psychologically astute. If you are in denial, you will perform some showy action that 'proves' to your entire satisfaction that you have 'solved the problem' and proceed in your usual unhealthy fashion. The Predator is inherently unkillable as long as they approach it in the standard manner. For every technological flourish in guns they wave about (phallic symbols of virility and power) the Predator has something infinitely more deadly. They have Painless but the Predator has a laser-shooting weapon and like all good Shadows is practically invisible. It comes into sight only at the moment it strikes you down.

Only the American-Indian tracker in the unit, Billy, knows that they are not facing up to a normal man and consequently he cannot be killed normally. Billy's insight however is no use for him as he is paralyzed with superstitious fear. He drops away the cocoon of technology that he is encased in and fights the predator with a knife. The combat is merely a gesture however for he is too fearful to win. In real terms his Shadow devours him. Only Major Dutch Schultz, the leader and soul of the Dantai remains. He is chased by the Predator who deliberately toys with him and it ends with his going over a cliff into a pool of crystal-clear water. This is the ritual purificatory bath that many mystery cults insist upon before they reveal the final mysteries. In the Shaman's Journey it is almost taken for granted that you will have to plunge into a body of water at some time or the other, but especially at moments of approaching crisis/significance.

Curiously after this bath, the major has to crawl through the mud on the banks of the pool. He is a filthy mess but he is too tired and grateful to be alive to resent it. This acceptance of filth, symbolic of his inner darkness or mess is the first step towards healing. This is what he is, no disguises, no external constructs of persona, no self-deluding images of strength and valor in shining uniforms. This embracing of the muck is a coming to terms with what you really are and always the most difficult stage of psychological maturity. All of us would like to think we are shining heroes and we do not like the swamp of unconscious motivations and desires and regrets and denials that fill up the psyche. Recognizing this, accepting this, and not being destroyed by it are vital processes in healing. This is the rejuvenation stage.

The mud saves the major's life, as he has become invisible to the Predator. As long as he thought of himself as separate from the Shadow it could wreak havoc. As soon as he accepts his reality, all the demons of the unconscious no longer have power over him. The major does not realize it at first. He thinks he is going to die and accepts that. This recognition of the possibility of death and an acceptance of it is a vital part of the Shaman's Journey. Without coming to terms with death you cannot go ahead. The rejuvenation is now complete. He could slink away and 'save' himself but he recognizes that will not help him. Each death in his unit was like his own and he owes it to all of them to overcome this inner foe.

Now he actually challenges the Predator to come after him. He is stripped down to the bare-bones essence of a human being now, and there is nothing more powerful and dangerous than that. Gone are the trappings of success and professionalism and artificiality. The major rediscovers the old warrior credo, "It's not the weapon, but the man". There is nothing here but what is inside, he has discovered the inner man, the real man, and everything operates from that incredible state of awareness. He literally becomes a part of his surroundings and his tools and weapons are those fashioned by the mind and ingenuity of a man functioning at this peak, not factory produced. Bows and arrows, slingshot and boulders and spears and fireballs replace the high tech. He moves into the realm of mythic combat, no longer functioning in the competition-game mode. He assaults the Shadow as a fully aware, totally integrated personality, not as somebody with a fractured psyche. The victory restores psychological equilibrium, though he well knows there will be devastation all round as a consequence. But that is temporary and worth the price. It is the Predator who now makes the mistakes, relying on technology instead of awareness and he is crushed by a boulder set up for that purpose by the major.

The dying Predator has a final nasty surprise (a mini nuke) up his sleeve, the last kick of a Shadow that is fighting for survival and resists integration. The major wisely runs from this, it is not good to stay too long in the realms of the unconscious, especially when you have done your job. In choosing so he shows his fresh maturity, there is no false macho posturing any more. Major Dutch Schultz has finally made the transition from being merely Andros - man as a physical being to becoming Anthropos - man in his wholeness. The experience, like all shamanistic transformations, has scarred and transformed him and he maintains an ominous silence even when the civilized world's helicopters finally pick him up. No Arnold Schwarzennager wisecracks punctuate this finale of the return to the real world. It is a fair guess that he will retire from 'rescue missions'. He is a new man now and the old ways do not apply. It seems to me that the fascination of the movie lies in the spectacle of watching this Shaman's Journey. We are all vicarious participants and at some deep level we feel the archetypal resonances too deeply not to be moved. This explains why the Predator does not seem dated either nor is there any real likelihood of it ever becoming irrelevant, unlike its sequel which was pretty bad.

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