David Farnor | On 22, Jun 2025

Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez
Certificate: 18

You wait long enough for a Predator movie and two/u of them come along at once. That was true in 2010, when Robert Rodriguez revived the sci-fi horror franchise with Predators, before exec-producing The Predator in 2018. After a much shorter gap, Dan Trachtenberg stepped into the series and transformed it entirely with 2022’s Prey. Now, as we wait for his follow-up, Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg has surprise-dropped another instalment – the animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers – that continues the franchise’s promising new direction.

The anthology dishes up three stories scattered across history. If you’ve ever asked who would win in a fight between a Predator and a Viking, or who would emerge alive out of a Predator and a samurai, this film is for you. Micho Robert Rutare’s script – from a story by Dan Trachtenberg and Micho Robert Rutare – is fuelled by such fan speculation, but is smart enough not to stretch out the hypotheticals beyond the strength of the initial scenario.

First up, we head to 841 AD, where Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) and her clan are in a fierce battle with the rival Krivich tribe – driven by avenging the death of her father. That vengeful streak makes a formidable fighter, enough to catch the eye of the Predators.

Similarly fierce is Kenji (Louis Ozawa), a 17th-century samurai who is forced to battle his brother – Kiyoshi – and ends up running away instead of fighting. He returns years later to face off against him, at which point at Predator enters the picture.

From Japan to 1940s USA, we’re then introduced to Torres (Rick Gonzalez), a young air fighter pilot who is desperate to prove his worth to his squadron. An engineering whizz, he realises an alien ship is taking down US aircraft, but only ends up warning them in time for himself to end up attempting to out-manoeuvre them in a beaten-up Wildcat. This third strand is the strongest of the bunch, with its emphasis on brains over braun that’s rooted in the thermal tech introduced way back in the first movie.

The trio are united by their determination and agility, as well as shared experience of loss. The film’s strength is in that mix of pain, anger and survival instinct, all things that can span human existence regardless of culture or language barrier. If Ursa knows how to have courage, Kenji knows how to work together as a team, and Torres knows to always look for an unexpected solution to a problem.

Killer of Killers brings them together explicitly by wondering whether a Predator is capable of beating them – or, even, which of them is the strongest opponent. The way is does that is through a surprising third act that blends alien world-building with a flurry of nicely edited set pieces. It’s a well-conceived construct that allows for lean, mean character work, without getting bogged down in melodrama or cheesy dialogue.

Trachtenberg balances that with slick action that doesn’t skimp on style or brutality (the 18 certificate is certainly earned). The animation is deliberately stylised in a way that won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s slickly assembled at a pace that keeps you hooked right up to the thrilling pay-off. All wrapped up in 85 minutes, if the aim is to show us just how diverse the Predator universe can be – including a cheeky nod to its predecessor, Prey – then this taut animated outing is more than enough to make you excited about the next film on the way, and even hope for another after that. The franchise hasn’t just had a second wind – it’s had a whole injection of fresh blood.

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