By Joe O’Shansky
Fans of the Predator films found something to love again when director Dan Trachtenberg (of 2016’s underrated 10 Cloverfield Lane) made his indigenous prequel to the decade-spanning series, Prey, in 2022, which is objectively the best entry since the first film in ‘87. To say that it was well-received by fans would be an understatement, too. The only major complaint seemed to be that one couldn’t see that cinematic, beautifully shot, scenic as all hell, utterly badass reinvigoration of the franchise in a theater.
I guess Hulu got the memo, because now Trachtenberg’s November-slated sequel, Predator: Badlands, is getting an IMAX release. But in the meantime, there’s the animated, time-hopping, Predator: Killer of Killers to tide one over, premiering on Hulu this June 6th.
Killer of Killers gives you the Heavy Metal/Love Death+Robots sugar rush version the Predator, infused by lovely, kinetic animation in varied, eye-pleasing styles, across a series of ultraviolent vignettes ranging from the days of Vikings, to the samurai, to the Second World War where, in essence, the Predators are doing how the Predators do. Come on down to a planet and kill the shit out of its strongest warriors, or to be killed. For fun and career stats. Obviously.
And that is most definitely what you get here. It’s all about the aesthetics and visceral nature of the animation within a series of interlocking stories, that on the whole aren’t particularly deep, and are only connected by the antagonist (as well as perhaps the notions of bravery among the protagonists as they come to grips with what they’re up against). But they are all extremely well-executed. Co-directed by Trachtenberg with Micho Robert Rutare (who penned the scripts), the imagery and cut to the bone stories are like a B-12 shot of straight dope for any fan of this series. Is it simplistic? Sure, but doing simple things well is an art form all its own.
At the end of the day, take Predator: Killer of Killers for what it is, because it’s not trying to be anything other than what it is, a bloody aperitif, a salivating appetizer before the main course of Badlands.