Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Writer: Micho Rutare
Stars: Lindsay Lavanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez
Synopsis: An anthology following three of the fiercest warriors in human history becoming prey to the ultimate killer of killers.
Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) is a first for the now almost 40-year-old franchise as it delves into the world of animation and anthology storytelling. Director Dan Trachtenberg now helms his second film of the franchise following 2022’s Prey and yet again proves that he’s taking the franchise to astronomical heights. Killer of Killers provides the audience with all the bloody and violent carnage we’ve come to know and love from past entries, while also pushing beyond the boundaries of what the franchise is known for. It ties three different periods of stories and people together for one epic journey of persevering through sacrifice and loss. Whether you look at it from a perspective of doing something new or wanting what’s worked before, it delivers on both fronts with some insanely creative Predator kills and gadgets and splendid animation that adds to its flavor, Killer of Killers not only rules as a new clever Predator story but as a film that can be enjoyed on its own.
The anthology follows three stories, a Viking named Ursa (Lindsay Lavanchy) on a brutal quest to avenge her father with her young son; Kenji (Louis Ozawa), a ninja in 1620s Japan looking to challenge his brother for succession; and a WWII vet named Torres (Rick Gonzalez) who is trying to prove himself as a pilot. Like any good anthology, these three separate stories are not only intertwined thematically but the main characters of them converge in the film’s final 30 minutes, showing how they’re all the ultimate prey to the world’s ultimate killer. Through the themes, each story deals with proving one’s self through accomplishing a certain task and they’re all handled with grace and proper emotional weight during the 90–minute runtime, but that’s not the only aspect that separates Killer of Killers from previous films in the franchise.
In a similar vein to another film of animated bits in a long-spanning franchise (2003’s The Animatrix), Killer of Killers’ decision to go fully animated widens the scope of what the entire franchise can be. Fight sequences, even ones not including Predators, feel even more brutal and look incredible on the screen, Predator gadgets and the way they’re utilized here are unbelievable to watch, and the animation style complements action setpieces and new locations within the franchise quite nicely. One might be quick to call it a “pale imitation,” of what we’ve seen from how the Spider-Verse movies continue to break boundaries with the mix of 2D and 3D animation as a similar style is used here, but the flick manages to bring its own take to the style with more brush-stroke type backgrounds and character outlines rather than a flashy comic-book aesthetic.
This film also has the most creative designs for Predators that we have yet to see in the entire franchise. Each new character design we see in the segments of the film is unique to the different elements and periods of each story. The creatures have never felt more foreboding or threatening to our protagonist in the entire franchise. In Prey, Trachtenberg was wise to make the alien more quiet and sneaky in key sequences before it unleashes bloody chaotic carnage and he’s still able to bring those skills to animation with the use of camouflage and gadgets again. Simply put, key set pieces in Killer of Killers could only really be done through the scope and unlimited potential of an animated film, and Trachtenberg can use that to his advantage with The Predator quite impressively in one fight scene in the 3rd act where we see the planet of the Predators. It is a marvel when you realize this is Trachtenberg’s first venture into animation, but he nails it. Even the film’s more silly moments near the end where our three heroes have to work together despite the literal generational barriers they have with one another would feel more believable in animation than any other medium.
After Killer of Killers, it’s officially confirmed that we are in an incredibly exciting and fresh era for this long-spanning franchise. Trachtenberg and his team have crafted yet another grisly violent entry, yes, but one that has brought the franchise to an entirely new horizon of creativity. With incredible animation and a brisk runtime, Predator: Killer of Killers will sit high among the absolute best of the Predator series.
