Shane Black's The Predator was underwhelming, to say the least. Despite an all-star cast and credible director, it disappointed critics and fans in equal measures. Everything about it felt un-Predator-like, from its Predator dogs to the horrendous one-liners that bordered on the offensive. Even worse, the news of the alternate ending shows the franchise is fundamentally misunderstood, and little could have saved this revival from disaster.

Truth be told, the writing was on the wall when Fox hired Black to direct and co-write the script with Fred Dekker. While Black is a talented director and has delivered exceptional films, such as Lethal Weapon and The Nice Guys, he excels at blending comedy with action. Unfortunately, the Predator franchise doesn't need more humor (or crossovers with Alien); it needs horror.

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Looking back, the 1987 original worked so well because it knew exactly what it was. Like other action movies of the time, it had an element of comedy, yet it never bordered on the ridiculous nor did the humor extend to the antagonist. While the humans utilized humor to cope with their situation, the alien remained a monster. There was a genuine aura of fear.

The franchise's problem arose when every other director wanted to explore the creatures' moral code. Suddenly, there was a desire to humanize the alien race and explore the possibility of it helping humanity. Everyone completely missed the mark on what the creature was meant to be: a highly intelligent and skilled killer that thrived on collecting the scalps of other beings.

While the Alien franchise has had varied degrees of success, it's outperformed the Predator by nearly double at the box office, bringing in more than $1.5 billion, compared to $744 million. The reason for its success is because, at its core, its extraterrestrials will always be Machiavellian in nature. While Prometheus and Alien: Covenant introduced philosophical debates about their existence, make no mistake: They're not here to help us.

The solution for the Predator's future is simple: a hard reboot that goes back to basics. Give us an action-horror flick in the middle of the jungle, where the Predator holds the advantage over its prey. Yes, 2010's Predators mostly got it right, but it also over-complicated things with the humanization of the creature. That needs to stop. There's no sympathy for the devil; the less we know about these creatures, the better, because it lessens the sense of fear they're intended to instill.

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One of the fundamental flaws of the horror genre is the desire to explain the monster's motivation in detail. In the case of the Predator, it's unnecessary. Look at real-life hunters and poachers; they do it for enjoyment, or else for money. We don't need to see their compassionate side, or what they do at home.

After so many attempts to jumpstart this franchise, The Predator might be the last we see of these aliens for a considerate amount of time. If the filmmakers are serious about doing it right, however, they need to learn from the past and start fresh. As much as fans hate the word "reboot," it's exactly what this franchise needs.