Predator: Killer of Killers premieres on Hulu Friday, June 6.
What took so long for Predator to try its scaly, clawed hand at an animated anthology? Predator: Killer of Killers proves that both the technique and format are a natural fit for this long-running action series, letting us see several different types of Predators in several different types of settings – a perfectly vivid arena for these characters to brutally do what they best. Killer of Killers’ story-jumping and time-jumping setups further expand upon and revitalize the concept of an alien species that loves hunting humans for sport – which should come as no surprise considering the film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who took the reins of the Predator franchise beginning with 2022’s terrific Prey.
If seeing Predators battling Vikings, ninja, samurai, and World War II fighter pilots sounds cool to you, rest assured: it’s cool on screen as well. As underlined by Killer of Killers’ title (and the entire history of the franchise) Predators generally like a worthy adversary, and the targets here – voiced by the likes of Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, and Rick Gonzalez – are all pretty badass in their own right. Gonzalez’s flyboy is a little greener than the seasoned warriors played by LaVanchy and Ozawa, but all three characters engage in some awesome and appropriately intense action, showing the extensive, bloody range of damage both the Predators and their quarries are capable of inflicting.
Rank the Predator franchise
Rank the Predator franchise
To me, the second segment – the one that offers the tantalizing premise of feudal Japan’s deadliest soldiers squaring off against a Predator – is the highlight. Almost entirely dialogue free, it kicks into gear with a wonderfully crafted nighttime attack. It’s engrossing and fun on its own even before a Yautja (the official name for the Predator species, by the way) shows up. From that point on, the ninja and samurai have a very different and even more dangerous problem to deal with beyond their own rivalry, which Trachtenberg, co-director Josh Wassung, and screenwriter Micho Robert Rutare depict with a ton of atmosphere and evocative visuals.
The animation, from Wassung’s studio The Third Floor, takes some getting used to. The Predator is technically a Disney character now, but that doesn’t mean Killer of Killers had a Pixar-like budget and resources at its disposal, and there’s some low-frame-rate, herky jerkiness to the onscreen motion. Strong character designs and clever and impactful action choreography make those shortcomings easy to overlook, though. Once each hunt was underway, I was able to set aside any hesitation about the animation and instead marvel at how much mayhem was unfolding in front of me.
I have mixed feelings about the glimpses Killer of Killers gives us of Predators relating to one another, too. There’s more specific information about how the species operates here than in any previous canon installment of the franchise, and it feels a little goofy at times. There’s some enjoyment to be found in that goofiness, but still: Sometimes it’s just better to keep things more mysterious.
The segments’ stories are all relatively simple by design, giving us blunt but effective character arcs for each hero we meet. In a relatively short amount of time, we get a sense of the goals and obstacles in their pre-Predator lives. In terms of rooting interests and levels of investment, none of them can match Prey’s heroine, Naru. But this is an anthology, after all; we get just enough of a look at their capabilities and what makes them tick to forge a momentary connection. The one time Killer of Killers feels more clunky in its storytelling is near its conclusion, when we get some connective tissue between the stories, and a desire for a couple of emotional payoffs leads to some overly cutesy dialogue and turns of events.
With Predator: Killer of Killers, Trachtenberg proves that Prey was no fluke. He knows the crowd-pleasing formula for this franchise: Let a Predator show off how dangerous they are and then put them head-to-head with a human character who’s clever enough to potentially outwit the galaxy’s greatest hunters. There are some jaw-dropping moments of Predators mercilessly eviscerating their prey, which ramp up as the species’ technology and weapons evolve with each successive time jump. (The humans’ do, too, though their opponents are obviously starting out way ahead of them in that regard). From the massive, Hulk-sized Predator in the Viking story, to the more elegant and lean one who takes on the ninja, to the one who prefers stalking the combatants of World War II from the cockpit of his ship, this is a rather excellent central trio. They’re another sign of life from a franchise that looked to be dead and buried following the disappointments of 2010’s Predators and 2018’s The Predator.
It’s gratifying to see Predator under the control of someone so attuned to what makes these films work – and all the more reason to look forward to Trachtenberg’s next live-action Predator effort, this fall’s Predator: Badlands.
