Who would’ve thought that Disney buying out 20th Century Fox would be the best thing that happened to the Predator franchise? Before the release of Prey in 2022, many fans of the galaxy’s greatest hunter assumed that the family-friendly company’s acquisition sounded the death knell for the series (not at all helped by Shane Black’s disaster of an entry in 2018). Then along comes 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg to single-handedly dissuade everyone’s fears by making arguably the best Predator film since the original. While the direct-to-streaming release of Prey was controversial, the response to the film itself was overwhelmingly positive, and it was with great anticipation that rumors first started circulating that Trachtenberg was working on a follow-up film which would come to be known as Predator: Badlands.
However it was with even greater anticipation when it was revealed in October of last year that Badlands was NOT the only Predator film in development, that Trachtenberg was also developing an animated film alongside Badlands, with both films releasing in 2025. While Badlands won’t grace the silver screen until November, the animated entry, Predator: Killer of Killers has made its debut on Hulu, and once again to critical acclaim. And with good reason.
In the wake of Prey’s release, many fans speculated on what would be next for the series. “Put the Predator in feudal Japan! Pit a Predator against Prehistoric Man!” Dan Trachtenberg saw everyone’s cries for more and said “I gotchu.” Rather than go down that route for the next mainline entry with Badlands, Killer of Killers serves to tackle all the fans’ dream match-ups in one fell swoop; an anthology film, comprising three separate stories that end up crossing over into the larger frame narrative in the final act. And, in a first for the Predator franchise, this entry is also animated! An animated Predator anthology film sounds like a pretty strong idea on paper. Does it stick the landing in its execution?
Well, if the opening line to this review wasn’t enough for you; yes, a resounding, enthusiastic yes. If Prey was Trachtenberg breathing new life into the franchise, Predator: Killer of Killers is his victory lap, proving to audiences that he might just have the chops to keep the franchise going forever if given the right tools. Because of its anthology style, Trachtenberg and 20th Century Studios could keep pumping out follow-ups to this film for the foreseeable future and keep having hit after hit. The film is just that consistent. Not every segment is as strong as the other, but by no means are any of them bad.
The film opens with “The Shield,” taking place in 841 A.D., following Viking warrior Ursa as she leads her son Anders and the rest of their clan on a mission of revenge against the Krivichi leader Zoran for murdering her father. A long and bloody battle ensues, and it IS bloody! Just because Killer of Killers is animated, don’t expect the film to rein it in with the violence; there are decapitations, bisections and Lord knows what else. It’s actually one of the film’s strengths. The animated format leads the viewer into a false sense of security at first, so whenever someone is killed or otherwise maimed, it’s all the more shocking, and more visceral for that matter. The medium allows the film to have some really creative kills that have to be seen to be believed.
The battle leads Ursa to Zoran’s doorstep, where he taunts her for being too afraid to deliver the killing blow. Anders eventually takes his life for her, but before any celebrations can commence, an absolute hulk of a yautja (side-note, the film features the first time the Predators are referred to as yautja on-screen; it’s only in on-screen text rather than spoken aloud, but it’s still neat!) chooses this time to strike, cutting through most of the band of warriors in seconds, before facing off with Ursa. She ends up besting the creature, but not without losing Anders in the process. The segments are only about 20 minutes long, but they do such a good job of making you care about these characters in that short amount of time. In avenging one family member, and fulfilling her revenge, Ursa loses another, further perpetuating the cycle of death.
Judging by reactions online, the second segment, “The Sword,” seems to be everyone’s favorite, and with good reason. It’s quite simply the best out of all three segments. It follows Kenji and Kiyoshi, brothers living in Japan in 1609. Sons of a samurai warlord, they’re constantly tested to see if they have the strength of will to follow in their father’s footsteps. It all culminates in a very one-sided duel between the two, resulting in Kiyoshi becoming next in line for the throne, and Kenji leaving the castle as an outcast. 20 years later, Kenji returns. Now working as a shinobi, Kenji infiltrates the castle to confront his brother. Kenji triumphs this time, and succeeds in scarring his brother just like he was scarred in their fateful duel 20 years ago. His mission complete, Kenji starts to leave but is shocked when Kiyoshi then falls over the balcony, presumably to his death. It’s an interesting contrast to some of the themes in the previous short regarding revenge. Kenji achieved what he set out to do, but wasn’t emotionally prepared for it to go as far as it did.
Then, of course, a Predator shows up, and the film delivers some of the best fight choreography it has to offer, culminating with Kenji reuniting with his brother as they work together to kill the creature, though Kiyoshi ends up succumbing to his wounds. “The Sword” might not do anything new with the samurai genre, but in the film’s defense, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Yes, it’s a story that’s been told multiple times in the history of film, just with the addition of a deadly alien hunter thrown into the mix for shits and giggles, but it’s so good and effective at what it does that it’s not even a mark against the film for not bringing much to the table.
What is a mark against the film, however, is the third segment, “The Bullet.” The film skips ahead to World War II, following Ensign Torres, a fighter pilot in the United States Navy. The film introduces Torres before he’s shipped off to war, however, treating us to a scene with his father as they work together to fix their car. Torres is shown to be too overzealous and impatient to fix the car and would rather be flying a plane instead. This carries over to when he is drafted, as his plane has been grounded after a malfunction. Another unit is ripped to shreds by a Predator who has entered the playing field, and Torres has to rush to try and fix his plane, the Bullet, to try and warn the rest of his squad, before having to take on the Predator himself.
On paper, taking on a Predator in a dogfight sounds like a great concept. The issue is Torres is just nearly as interesting a character as Ursa or Kenji, which makes it hard to care for him. He’s also not nearly as skilled a warrior as the others. The film makes it feel like he might have a knack for mechanics or flying, but it never actually settles on one or the other, and he just ends up being not all that great at either, to the point where it feels like him actually beating the Predator is all through sheer, dumb luck. It’s a fun contrast later on when he gets to interact with Ursa and Kenji, but by himself when he’s the main character, it just doesn’t work quite as well as it should.
Thankfully, the film doesn’t leave off on a sour note, as the frame narrative comes full circle, revealing all three of the main characters have been taken captive by the yautja for their success in killing a Predator, and are then made to fight in a gladiatorial arena, with the winner getting the “privilege” of facing down the warlord leader of this particular alien world. The three characters have some back and forth trying to overcome the language barrier between them, before each realizes the others’ skill as warriors (what little there is in Torres’ case) and work together to try and escape. This epilogue is actually a lot of fun; there’s a ton of great action and it’s a treat to see these very different characters play off each other. Seeing characters from vastly different time periods interact in any media is always fun to watch, but getting to see them fight together against a hulking Predator wearing a bone cape is just icing on the cake. This final act may seem like empty spectacle on paper, but seeing the characters overcome their differences and work together, and even sacrifice for their survival makes it anything but. The film leaves out on an open note, and cuts to a title card at a pretty surprising point. It seems like there should be a lot more to see.
And really… there should be. Even despite the overt cliffhanger ending, Trachtenberg could make a bunch more of these anthology films and people would eat it up, with good reason. There’s a reason fans speculated for so long on what a follow-up to Prey could deliver; there’s a near-endless amount of ground Trachtenberg could feasibly cover. If he wants to keep making these anthology films alongside the more forward-thinking live action films like Badlands is shaping up to be, more power to him. Killer of Killers is good. Maybe even great. If another entry in this microcosm of Predator films tightens up some of the character writing, Trachtenberg might very well deliver the best Predator film since the original. Again.
