Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the height of his action star persona, went toe-to-toe with an advanced, trophy-hunting alien species and won. As Dutch in John McTiernan’s Predator, Schwarzenegger embodied the muscled-up masculinity of 80s action cinema. For decades, the franchise existed as an exercise in machismo, featuring strong-minded, big-biceped men in combat against the physically superior species of hunter. That all shifted with Dan Trachtenberg’s (10 Cloverfield Lane) Prey. The sequel was released straight to streaming, debuting on Hulu in August 2022, and revived the tired franchise with its fresh perspective and skilled execution. Suddenly, fans were clambering for more, taking to social media to pitch their ideas for the next entry. One frequently discussed possibility was pitting a samurai against a predator in feudal Japan. That concept, along with others, comes to life in Trachtenberg’s animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers, which serves as a unique, yet flawed, entry in the Predator franchise.
Predator: Killer of Killers expands upon the franchise’s lore
Telling the stories of three warriors from various times and locations throughout human history, Predator: Killer of Killers explores the vast history of the alien species’ experiences on Earth. A Viking raider hellbent on revenge, a skilled ninja in feudal Japan, and a World War II fighter pilot each have a deadly run-in with the advanced hunters and must use their brains, as well as their brawn, to survive.
Trachtenberg seems set on growing the mythos of the Stan Winston (Terminator, Jurassic Park) designed creature and its ritualistic experiences on our planet. Killer of Killers makes him the first director to return to the franchise for a second film, with a third film, Predator: Badlands, set to release in November of this year.
As the sixth film in the franchise (eighth if you count the regrettable crossover films from the early 2000s), Predator: Killer of Killers takes what worked best about Prey and attempts to replicate it across three short stories. One of the biggest flaws of the film is how short those stories actually are. Individually titled “The Shield,” “The Sword,” and “The Bullet,” audiences are given brief looks into exciting worlds and moments of combat that are each worthy of feature-length treatments.
The concept would have been better suited as a series, with each episode taking viewers to a different time and place. As a film, it feels incomplete and pieced together. It’s never bad, but it never feels fully accomplished or relevant either. It teases audiences with moments of greatness, then pulls the rug out from beneath them and moves on to the next idea.
Still, the animated film expands upon the lore and mythos of the Predator species in ways that no other entry has. Just as we see changes in our human warriors dependent upon the era they exist in, we see significant differences between the Predators that hunt them. The third act, which is when the film is at its best, delves even deeper into the ritualistic practices of the species. There is so much about these characters that we’ve yet to learn, and with each movie, we gain slightly more insight.
A look at gore and violence throughout history
Utilizing bladed and plasma-based weaponry, Predators have been dispatching their prey in incredibly gory and violent fashion for decades. Killer of Killers uses the creative freedom that accompanies animation to its blood-soaked benefit. Characters are sliced, diced, and mutilated in gruesome detail. Despite its departure from live action, the film maintains the franchise’s R-rating (Alien vs. Predator is its only foray into PG-13 territory) and delivers on the carnage that fans have come to expect.
One distinct trait of the deadly species is its rule of only targeting a worthy adversary. The hunter has no interest in dispatching of defenseless prey, and instead chooses to hunt only those they deem as worthy. It’s this code, along with their high level of intelligence and thinking capabilities, that set them apart from other on-screen creatures like the Xenomorph.
Final thoughts on Predator: Killer of Killers
Each of our three warriors are given ample opportunity to display their skills on screen, but we’re deprived of the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the character, the way we did with Amber Midthunder’s Naru in Prey. As individual stories, they’re each interesting and left me wanting a more thorough exploration of their worlds, but as a joint movie, they feel unnecessarily disconnected and underdeveloped.
Are you excited to check out Predator: Killer of Killers soon? Let us know on social media @MyCosmicCircus!
Also check out: Considerations For A Hulu’s Prey Movie Sequel
