Predator: Killer of Killers Review – An Animated Rebirth

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Concept & Setting

The Predator franchise goes animated — and ancient — in Predator: Killer of Killers, a bloody, brooding anthology that trades bullets for blades and drops us into three distinct warzones across history. Think of it as Love, Death & Predators by way of Ghost of Tsushima and Love, Death & Robots. The result? Sharp. Stylish. Surprisingly weighty. With Hulu footing the bill and Prey director Dan Trachtenberg back in the producer’s, director’s, and writer’s chairs — this anthology isn’t just a side quest — it’s a vital pulse-check before Predator: Badlands lands this November.

The Three Chapters

Each chapter plays like its own legend, but they hum with the same pulse: war as a ritual, and the Predator as a divine executioner. “The Shield” kicks things off in the Viking era, where Queen Ursa — battle-hardened, brilliant, and bold — leads a doomed defense against an invisible terror. Her story anchors the entire anthology with raw emotion and some of the franchise’s most brutal hand-to-hand carnage. The Sword shifts to Feudal Japan, where a ninja crosses paths with a cloaked intruder amid his own feud with his brother, who has ascended to become ruler of the kingdom. It’s moody, meditative, and staged like a death poem written in blood. Then comes “The Bullet”, a WWII nightmare set deep in the Atlantic, where an American pilot finds himself caught between soldiers and something far worse. While each segment stands on its own, they converge in the final moments, revealing a thread that binds these hunts across time — and teasing a mythology that’s only just beginning to unfold.

Visual Style

Visually, the film pulls from a variety of influences. There’s rotoscoped texture in the Viking segment, a scratchy, ink-wash look to the Japan sequence, and a pulpy, comic-book grit for WWII. It never feels like a budget workaround — the animation is dynamic and moody, built for close-ups and carnage. And the Predators? They’re back to being terrifying. No over-designed suits, no unnecessary exposition. Just alien hunters locked in mythic battles where survival is the only goal.

Voice & Sound

Voice acting stays mostly understated — this isn’t a quippy Marvel affair. Each segment leans into mood over monologue, with long stretches of silence and ambient tension. But the sound design — that’s the real star. Every uncloaking shimmer, every wrist blade-click, every skull torn free — it hits with purpose. The score adapts to each era too, layering tribal drums over war chants and minimalistic strings. You feel the hunt, even when no one’s speaking.

Final Verdict

Predator: Killer of Killers doesn’t just reheat old kills — it reframes the Predator mythos as a generational curse. It’s violent, but poetic. Brutal, but reverent. And most importantly — it earns its place. It proves that this franchise doesn’t need modern guns or jungle terrain to thrive. Give the Predator warriors. Give it stakes. And it’ll always find a way to raise hell.

Predator: Killer of Killers is streaming now on Hulu

Details

• Rating Certificate: R (for strong bloody violence, some gore and language.)
• Studios & Distributors: 20th Century Studios | Lawrence Gordon Productions | Davis Entertainment | Toberoff Entertainment | | The Third Floor | Twentieth Century Animation | Hulu
• Directors: Dan Trachtenberg | Josh Wassung
• Written By: Dan Trachtenberg (story) | Micho Robert Rutare (story) | Micho Robert Rutare (screenplay)
• Country: USA
• Language: English
• Run Time: 85 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Release Date: 6 June 2025