Predator: Killer of Killers Review – Top Prey

Predator: Killer of Killers unleashes brutal animated beauty in Viking, feudal Japan, and WWII eras, proving the franchise’s mythic power.

Created in near secrecy after the success of Prey and arriving before Trachtenberg’s live-action Predator: Badlands is released theatrically in November, this R-rated anthology follows three legendary warriors across time, each testing their might against a Predator, known as the Yautja, the galaxy’s ultimate hunters. In 841 A.D., Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy, Initiation) is a Viking mother on a blood-soaked quest to protect her son and avenge her family’s slaughter from a neighboring tyrant when a far deadlier evil descends from the skies. In feudal Japan 1629, a ninja (Louis Ozawa, who already faced off with a Predator in 2010’s Predators) and his samurai brother clash under the watchful eye of a silent, stalking alien. And in 1941, an American pilot (Rick Gonzalez, War of the Worlds) discovers that the skies over Europe during WWII hold something more ominous than any German aircraft.

Each story is its own savage dance with death. Ice-covered duels on top of a frozen lake, dialogue-free showdowns amidst cherry blossoms, and dogfights soaring high above the clouds, all tied together by a uniquely designed Predator’s cold, efficient violence. But what makes Killer of Killers more than a gory highlight reel is Trachtenberg and screenwriter Micho Robert Rutare’s understanding and respect for the human element. Great Predator stories aren’t about the alien; they are about us and how we face an extraterrestrial apex predator. In that sense, the film becomes a near meditation on violence and honor even before any encounter with the nemesis.

LaVanchy’s voice performance as Ursa is a standout in a small but impressive cast. Growling every line like it’s the last thing she’ll ever say, Ursa’s icy encounter with the hulking Predator becomes the film’s most gobsmacking sequence. This beginning chapter was already dripping with blood, thanks to an opening scene of Viking brutality, but the ingenuity of how the increasingly desperate confrontation is staged is yet another showcase for the unique storytelling potential of animation.

The Japanese segment taking the center section is the boldest creative swing in Predator: Killer of Killers, telling its story almost entirely without dialogue. Ozawa voices a ninja and his brother, both caught between family loyalty and survival instincts, realizing that honor means nothing when a Predator stalks them both from the shadows. Wassung’s animation team deserves enormous kudos for communicating complex emotions and intricate plot details purely through visual storytelling. Each shing of a sword strike, every glance over a shining blade, every moment of hesitation before attack carries a narrative weight that words simply couldn’t improve.

Gonzalez gives ample weight to the WWII section, playing a young man drafted into the war who hopes to be a pilot but is instead relegated to repairing them on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. On a routine mission, reports of a new enemy reach the ship, but with the communications system down he must get the other pilots already in the air to safety by flying out into the danger zone. It’s out there that they’ll encounter something more sinister than they’ve been trained to fight. This segment feels the most traditionally structured, allowing Gonzalez room to develop his character’s arc from confident flyboy to terrified survivor. However, it also suffers from occasional Polar Express-style animation quirks, particularly around the “uncanny valley” facial expressions, that can momentarily pull viewers out of the experience. Even so, the aerial combat sequences are genuinely breathtaking, presenting the Predator threat from an entirely fresh perspective.

Every era receives a distinct visual treatment from visual effects company The Third Floor, which makes its feature debut with Predator: Killer of Killers. The Viking segment is appropriately harsh, bleak, and windswept; the Japanese story flows with precise, elegant brushstrokes and crisp rivulets of blood, while the WWII chapter captures the mechanical menace of aerial warfare, bristling with the complexity of facing the unknown. Violence hits harder in this medium, allowing for creative gore on a gruesomely ghastly level. Severed limbs, separated heads, and countless bodies sliced in two have an overall impact of coloring far outside the lines but still stops short of crossing into gratuitous territory.

John Frizzell’s score serves as a perfect bridge across centuries, seamlessly weaving together period-appropriate musical elements with the franchise’s iconic themes. His work helps to unify three disparate stories while giving each segment its own aural identity. The production design, from creature work on a series of individualized Predators to meticulous historical details in each era, makes these worlds feel luminous and alive, even as the people who inhabit them are being ripped to shreds by something alien.

I’ll be honest; as someone who’s been watching these movies since Schwarzenegger first said, “Get to the choppa!,” I was more than a little skeptical about an animated Predator story. Would it be another cash-in, an experiment that forgot what made the franchise great? Animation can be a playground for ideas or a dumping ground for half-baked experiments, but Killer of Killers illustrates how often it’s the riskiest option that pays off the most. It’s incredibly violent, masterfully stylish, and packs more punch than many live-action summer tentpoles we’re looking forward to in 2025. There’s also a decent amount of Easter eggs that’ll send diehard fans back for a second watch.

Great genre filmmaking requires both spectacular action and genuine emotional stakes, and Predator: Killer of Killers is far from a nibble to tide fans over before Predator: Badlands later this year. With this second film, Trachtenberg has proven himself the franchise’s most thoughtful curator since John McTiernan, honoring the original’s raw action-terror while pushing the sci-fi mythology into new, savage extremes. The result is a vivid, clever entry that proves animation can handle mature themes with sophistication. Whether you’re a Viking shieldmaiden, a feudal assassin, or a pilot punching through the clouds, there’s always something bigger, badder, and bloodier waiting out there in the darkness.

Predator: Killer of Killers will be available to stream on Hulu from June 6, 2025.