What do you get when you add a Viking, a Shinobi, and a WW2 pilot? A bloody good time. Following the success of Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg returns to The Predator franchise with the animated standalone anthology instalment Predator: Killer of Killers.
The anthology film is told through three interconnecting short stories. The first story titled The Shield takes place in Scandinavia in the year 841 which follows the Viking warrior Ursa leading her clan and son through the blizzards to find the man responsible for her father’s death. The next story titled The Sword takes us to Japan in the year 1609 and follows brothers Kenji and Kiyoshi, the sons of a samurai warlord who become estranged when the former chooses the way of the samurai under their father and Kenji, feeling betrayed by his brother and disappointed in his father’s eyes, retreats to exile. Years later, becoming a Shinobi. And the final story titled The Bullet taking place during the height of WWII in America 1942 which follows pilot Torres whose drive of piloting is tested when an unexpected attack occurs to his brothers in arms.
Instead of just one main Predator, Dan Trachtenberg makes each story have its own Predator antagonist that suits the era. It’s a clever idea that showcases the strengths and how advanced the Predators’ species are. It also makes for a lot of creative animation action sequences that make you scream “hell yeah!” The animation is one of the best looking coming from the talented artist of The Third Floor, Inc., which just so happens to be their first fully animated film. It reminds me a lot of the styles coming from the Spider-Verse films.
The standout story in Killer of Killers is The Sword. Not only is it samurai, Shinobi and a Predator, which to be honest is awesome, but it’s also the most compelling story told. It’s mostly told through wonderful visuals and barely any use of dialogue, and Trachtenberg and The Third Floor inc were able to make a great story that’s fitting for The Predator franchise. If there’s ever a Predator movie set in Japan, I am seated on day one.
The film, however, can’t avoid the same problem most anthology films have which is having a weaker anthology story which was The Bullet. On paper, The Predator in WWII sounds awesome. The execution, however, doesn’t pull through. The protagonist of the story, Torres, feels very underdeveloped and much of the plane fight sequences weren’t as engaging as the samurai and Viking fights in the previous stories. I do give them credit for at least attempting and the design of The Predator did look cool. I didn’t really feel as engaged as I was with the previous stories, especially coming right off of The Sword.
To quickly note, you don’t need to watch any of the previous Predator films (though, you can pretend the 2018 film doesn’t exist) as Killer of Killers is a standalone, but there are Easter eggs sprinkled around for die hard fans to notice. As long as you have a good basic understanding of the franchise, you should be good.
Predator: Killer of Killers succeeds at what it does best in any Predator movie, showcasing fun kills and a good time. The franchise is in good hands with Dan Trachtenberg and you can see his next film Badlands, the next instalment in the franchise this November.
Watch the trailer right here.
All images via 20th Century Studios.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
Screenplay by Micho Robert Rutare, from characters created by Jim Thomas and John Thomas
Produced by John Davis, Dan Trachtenberg, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt
Starring Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez, Michael Biehn
Premiere Date: June 6, 2025
Running Time: 85 minutes
Cinema from the Spectrum 
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