Thanks to Dan Trachtenberg, the Predator franchise is having a game-changing resurgence kicked off by 2022’s Prey. Predator: Killer of Killers follows three of Earth’s fiercest warriors who become prey to the Yautja’s own killer of killers.
This animated film follows an anthology-like structure, introducing us to three characters in isolated stories before bringing them together for a thrilling conclusion. The risk of most anthology-like narratives is that some arcs might overshadow others, but thankfully that doesn’t happen here. They each have good characters and a story simple yet exciting enough to remain engaging while not being boring. Sitting at roughly 20 minutes per narrative, they’re short, sweet and very to-the-point, moving from A to B without wasting a second. While that works great for keeping things moving, the main issue is the lack of depth associated with each arc. Each story serves its purpose in the greater narrative, but when you look at each arc they’re pretty hollow. Again, telling the overarching narrative (prominent in the final act) is the real focus of the film, and it does that very well, so these earlier sequences are good in that they provide backstory for the main characters, but beyond that they’re not incredible standalone narratives.
Focusing on the final act though, it’s the main reason to watch Killer of Killers not only for how awesome it is action-wise, but for how it greatly and unexpectedly expands the lore of the franchise. Dan Trachtenberg is quickly making this franchise his own, film by film. Prey seemed like a largely isolated narrative that took the franchise back to its roots, but Killer of Killers presents an idea that proves he has a much grander plan for the franchise. This film gives us insight into the history, culture and planet of the Yautja, something we’ve not gotten to see or explore on screen. It’s a stepping stone to getting the Prometheus of the Predator franchise, introducing a new concept which opens up the possibility for more new Predator ideas. The human characters are solid, but it’s the Yautja that had me more engaged in each narrative, particularly the last.
The lore building is my favourite element of the film, but the violent, blood-fuelled action is insanely entertaining. Each arc being set in a different era with a different attacking Yautja leads to a wide variety of action across the film. Getting to see Yautja of various builds, designs and specialties works in differentiating the action from what we’ve seen in past films. Each arc makes full use of the Yautja’s skills as well as the weapons of our heroes, combining for action that doesn’t once hit the same beats. One thing that is consistent across every arc is that there are limbs flying, decapitations and blood galore. The violence is on par with what you’d expect to see in a live-action entry, only maybe even more graphic thanks to the possibilities of animation. It’s also not gruesome for the sake of being gruesome – the violence is used to showcase the strength and brutality of the Yautja hunters, and it does so effectively.
Admittedly, the animation style takes a minute to get used to as it’s presented with a slightly lower frame rate. It’s stunning nonetheless, especially when it comes to the more fast-paced action moments, but the lack of smoothness did catch me off-guard.
In the end, Predator: Killer of Killers is a great entry in the Predator franchise, one that not only expands the lore of the universe but complements the story Dan Trachtenberg is telling through Prey and presumably Predator: Badlands. The anthology-like structure works a treat despite the individual arcs lacking depth. The focus is on the action, which is a bloody delight, and the lore-building, which only builds excitement for the franchise’s future.
7.1/10
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