Near the end of Predator Dutch memorably uses mud to hide from the titular creature, but would that method actually work? For most of 1987's Predator, it appears quite likely the galaxy's ultimate hunter will find no truly worthy foe among the commando unit it encounters in the jungle. Jesse Ventura's Blain may not have had time to bleed, but he sure had time to die, as did the rest of his squad, save for Dutch.
Of course, the Predator seemingly didn't factor in one thing, and that's just how much ingenuity Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch can come up with when placed in a life or death situation. The Predator - or Yautja according to canon - may have Dutch outmatched in size, strength, and weapons technology, but Dutch has some tricks up his sleeve, most notably the use of mud to camouflage himself from the Predator's heat-based vision. While another species may have pulled something like that before against a Predator, clearly this particular one hadn't encountered the tactic previously.
When watching Predator for the first time, Dutch's method of hiding himself from his pursuer may well seem perfectly logical, especially when one is wrapped up in the story and hoping Arnold makes it out of another 1980s sci-fi/horror movie classic alive. Upon further viewings though, some may stop to wonder if that trick would really work, or whether Dutch would end up slaughtered in reality.
Thanks to an informative article by author/scientist Nina Nesseth over on Nightmare on Film Street, the answer to that question becomes clearer. While coating himself with mud may well provide Dutch a short time in which it becomes hard for the Predator to see him, that period isn't likely to last enough to ensure his survival. For one, even a thick coating of mud would be unlikely to drop Dutch's body temperature enough to match his surroundings. In addition, the Predator's heat vision is aided by its high-tech helmet, which means Dutch's mud application would need to be nearly perfect.
If Dutch didn't succeed in covering every inch of himself with the mud, the Predator may not see a person right away, but it would likely perceive an unusual shape it would be compelled to get a closer look at. Predator - the movie - is very clear about the fact that when evenly matched, Dutch wouldn't have a prayer against the Yautja. It's only through subterfuge and cunning that Dutch gets the upper hand long enough to prevail, and the mud camouflage is a huge part of that. While there's a small chance Dutch could still be disguised long enough to get the drop on the Predator, chances are he'd get caught before it could happen.
