Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

You know those conversations you have with your mates where you're a few pints in and someone goes, "right, who would win: a Predator versus a samurai?" That's exactly what Predator: Killer of Killers is. These are the precise scenarios me and my friends have been cooking up for years, and somebody actually went and made them. Predator versus samurai. Predator versus Vikings. Predator versus World War Two soldiers. I'm grinning just typing that out.

So let me get the one complicated bit out of the way first, because it genuinely affects how much I can recommend this without a caveat: I don't love the art style. I appreciate it, I can see the craft in it, but it's not for me. It has that same look as a lot of the recent Star Wars animated output, that slightly stylised, almost painterly flatness. If that's your thing, brilliant, you're going to absolutely adore this. It's not quite my thing, and I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But here's the thing: even with that gripe sitting in the back of my mind, the animation itself, the movement, the choreography, the sheer technical ambition of what's on screen, is genuinely impressive. The art style and the animation quality are two separate conversations, and the latter is hard to argue with.

The film is structured episodically, which I think is the right call and one I really enjoy as a format. Each segment drops the Predator into a different historical setting and lets the carnage unfold. It keeps things fresh and stops any single idea from overstaying its welcome. Well, almost. The Viking section drags, and I mean drags. It's the weakest of the three by a significant margin, and if I'm being honest it's the one pulling my score down from where it might otherwise sit. The samurai section, on the other hand, is stunning. It's the best of the bunch by a mile, tense and brutal and genuinely exciting in a way that had me leaning forward. The WW2 segment sits comfortably in the middle.

And yes, it's gory. Properly, gleefully, unapologetically gory. Which is exactly right for this franchise. The Predator should feel dangerous and horrifying and cool all at once, and Killer of Killers understands that completely. It's not shy about showing you the consequences of going up against something that treats the universe's most formidable fighters like a sport.

One detail I loved: Michael Biehn is among the voice cast. Kyle Reese himself. That's a lovely little bit of genre history right there, and hearing that voice in something this unashamedly pulpy made me happy in a very specific, nerdy way.

Director Dan Trachtenberg is behind this, and after what he did with Prey (2022), one of the best entries in the whole Predator lineage, I feel like this franchise is in genuinely safe hands. He gets it. He understands that the Predator works best when the humans it's hunting are given real weight, real culture, real stakes. You're not just watching a monster kill nameless extras. You're watching warriors meet something they cannot comprehend, and that makes all the difference.

I'm not going to say anything about the ending except this: it's so freaking good. It's the kind of ending that makes you sit up and want to know where they're taking all of this next. And I very much want to know where they're taking all of this next. I'm already keeping an eye on Predator: Badlands (2025) to see where the wider universe heads from here.

Four stars. The Viking section costs it that little bit more, and the art style is a personal barrier I couldn't fully clear. But the samurai sequence alone is worth your time, the gore is spot on, and the whole thing feels like a love note to every daft, brilliant "who would win" argument you've ever had with your mates at closing time. More of this, please.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2025  | Watched: 2025-06-07

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Hulu
Physical: Amazon US

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More from Dan Trachtenberg: Predator: Badlands (2025) · Prey (2022)
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More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
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