by Tim Gordon
Since 1987, the Predator franchise has stalked its prey across jungles, cities, and even outer space, but never quite like this. Predator: Killers of Killers trades live action for blood-soaked animation and compresses centuries of human history into a relentless hunt across Viking battlefields, samurai strongholds, WWII dogfights, and alien arenas. It’s a bold, globe-spanning reimagining that feels at once fresh, ferocious, and fiercely faithful to the series’ primal core.
With Predator: Killers of Killers, director Dan Trachtenberg and co-director Joshua Wassung take the long-running sci-fi horror franchise in a bold, animated direction, and the result is an adrenaline-charged, genre-blending spectacle that feels both fresh and reverent to Predator lore.
Instead of centering on a single hunt, the film unfolds as four interconnected chapters spanning centuries and continents from Viking-era Scandinavia to feudal Japan, to the battlefields of World War II, and finally to an alien gladiatorial arena. This anthology approach not only gives us a buffet of fighting styles and historical backdrops, but it also reimagines the Predator mythos through the eyes of vastly different warriors.
The opening “Sword & Shield” chapter throws us into the cold, brutal world of Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy), a fierce Viking bent on avenging her father. Her fight with the Predator is raw and bloody, setting the tone for the film’s visceral combat. From there, the “Sword” chapter shifts to Kenji (Louis Ozawa), a disgraced samurai-turned-shinobi, in a tense and honor-bound clash that culminates in brotherhood and sacrifice. The “Bullet” chapter takes to the skies with WWII pilot Torres (Rick Gonzalez) in a thrilling dogfight against a Predator starship, one of the most inventive sequences in the franchise.
By the time all three warriors are abducted and thrown into the Grendel King’s alien coliseum for “The Battle,” the stakes have escalated to near-mythic proportions. The final act delivers in spectacle, creature design, and heart, as alliances form, betrayals sting, and heroism takes center stage.
Visually, Killers of Killers is stunning. The animation embraces hyper-stylized violence while also allowing for quieter, more dramatic beats. Each period gets its own texture and color palette, giving the film a unique rhythm that shifts with each story. The voice cast is top-tier, with standouts including Michael Biehn as the grizzled WWII commander Vandy and Louis Ozawa delivering dual performances as both Kenji and Kiyoshi.
What elevates this entry is its respect for Predator continuity. The film is packed with subtle nods and callbacks to past installments, rewarding longtime fans while teasing intriguing directions for future stories.
If there’s a knock, it’s that the anthology format means we don’t get to live with each protagonist long enough for deeper character development. But the trade-off is a relentless pace and creative variety that keeps the film surprising from start to finish.
In a franchise that has sometimes struggled to innovate without losing its identity, Predator: Killers of Killers lands its blows with precision and proves the hunt is far from over.
Grade: B+
