Certificate: 18+

Running Time: 85 mins

UK Distributor: Disney+

UK Release Date: 6 June 2025

WHO’S IN PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS?

Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Rick Gonzalez, Michael Biehn, Damien Haas, Doug Cockle, Lauren Holt, Jeff Leach, Cherami Leigh, Alessa Luz Martinez, Piotr Michael, Andrew Morgado, Brock Powell, Felix Solis, Britton Watkins

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Dan Trachtenberg (director, producer), Micho Rutare (writer), John Davis, Ben Rosenblatt and Marc Toberoff (producers), Benjamin Wallfisch (composer), Stefan Grube (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Across numerous time periods, the alien Predator goes up against various humans…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS?

The Predator movies are already kind of an anthology, with each entry offering their own standalone heroes and stories, all while keeping to the same basic premise of alien hunters facing off against their slightly less advanced human prey. With that in mind, the fact that Predator: Killer of Killers is the first true anthology of this franchise is not so surprising, but what isn’t so expected is how much the film itself offers some of the strongest Predator action to date – all within the realm of animation.

Director Dan Trachtenberg, previously of 2022’s franchise revitaliser Prey and the upcoming live-action entry Predator: Badlands, is behind this until-recently secret project which, for the first time in the history of this series, utilises hyper-stylised animation to deliver the gnarly alien carnage we’ve come to expect from the Predator franchise. But much like he did with Prey, Trachtenberg also lends credible humanity to the film, giving us heroes across three separate segments spanning across different points in human history, all of whom we can feel wholly comfortable with rooting for as they face off against the ugly mother-fathers themselves, which even in animated form makes it all feel as real as it can get.

The first segment, titled The Shield, is set in the 9th century as ruthless Viking warrior Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) sets sail with her young son Anders (Damien Haas) to avenge the death of her father at the hands of a merciless enemy… only for the Predator to show up, its slick camouflage and heat-seeking armoury intact, and proving to be more than a match for Ursa. This opening section really sets the mood for the remaining film, with its utterly brutal display of violence as enemies are sliced in half, heads are chopped off with shields and the like, and even when the Predator properly arrives it shares its own relentless animalistic nature, all of it set to some striking animation that opts for slower frame rates like the Spider-Verse films, but utilises it in its own unique way such as character designs that feel like something out of a God of War video game. But beyond all that, you’re engaged with the personal arc of its lead character, as Ursa shows herself as a force of nature whose hardened exterior creates an interesting divide between her savagery and her humanity, something that is tested in moments against the alien creature that are genuinely effective since the direction and writing (the latter by Micho Rutare) give enough attention to her growth and backstory to make you care.

That last attribute is especially expanded upon in the film’s second segment The Sword, which is perhaps the most fully realised of the triptych and also the best. This one is set in 17th century Japan, and focuses on the plight of two brothers (voiced by Louis Ozawa Changchien), both samurais forced against each other as children and similarly forced apart, until adulthood when one ousted brother sets out on a personal mission to take down his sibling. Told almost entirely without dialogue, you understand and feel every single plot beat, character trait and emotional moment from the purely visual storytelling, which once again the striking animation delivers with poetic force, to where you could almost envision this segment being its own self-contained short with its own satisfying structure. It’s such a well told mini-story that even the Predator is seen invisibly lurking as though it too was watching it all play out, itself fully invested in these characters and their emotional arcs before eventually stepping in to make its own mark. When it does, Trachtenberg does a lot of clever things with the creature and its various iconic add-ons, such as its green blood which forms one of the coolest scenes in the entire franchise, but even without its presence this is a stand-out segment that almost makes you wish this was the whole film.

Which makes it a little disheartening that the third segment, The Bullet, is where Predator: Killer of Killers begins to nosedive. There’s nothing overly wrong with the overall segment, which takes place in 1942 as World War II pilot Torres (Rick Gonzalez) takes to the skies to take out a Predator ship, as it features enough airborne action and some particularly gruesome death scenes, not to mention the welcome inclusion of Michael Biehn as one of the pilots. However, compared to the previous sections, there’s less of an emotional connection as Torres, though likeable enough, isn’t quite as formidable or even as interesting as the other heroes, with much of his success coming largely from blind luck than pure brawn, making him nowhere near as engaging to follow. It’s definitely the weakest of the initial three strands, mostly because this is a character who feels more at home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe than he does in a Predator movie.

Unfortunately, Torres also plays a vital role in a bookending sequence that ties all segments together but oddly enough, possibly due to the animation or even the more quippy dialogue given to characters who don’t even go with said one-liners, gives it the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon. Him being paired opposite far more interesting and arc-driven characters makes him stand out in a bad way, for you really wish he had something just as weighty to contribute rather than just seeming like the unnecessary comic relief most of the time, but there is still some good stuff in this climactic segment that just about makes it worth it, even if it ultimately goes for an open-ended conclusion that suggests either more is coming with these particular characters, or whatever happens next is best left to our imaginations.

Throughout it all, even its weaker moments, Predator: Killer of Killers is a formidable exercise in expanding the franchise mythology without denying audiences the kind of visceral and brutal violence that has made it so popular, all under a style of animation that’s easy on the eyes and rather beautiful to watch in motion. But as in Prey, Trachtenberg’s keen eye for character dynamics over full-on spectacle is on much more prominent display, for while some characters are stronger than others, they all still have their own ways of being memorably badass, enough to possibly compete with past heroes like Schwarzenegger’s Dutch or Amber Midthunder’s Naru.

All this and more about Predator: Killer of Killers – and hopefully Predator: Badlands later this year – proves even further that the franchise really is in good hands at long last, and could even do things that no Predator fan could have imagined before.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Predator: Killer of Killers is a formidable anthology that dabbles in the usual gruesome violence amidst some striking animation, though it is the mostly compelling characters and the often-striking visual storytelling that makes this a truly engaging entry in the franchise.

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