Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung
Written by Micho Robert Rutare, Dan Trachtenberg, and Jim Thomas
Predator: Killer of Killers is the second installment in the reinvigoration of the venerable action/sci-fi/horror franchise, following the 2023 release of Prey. Suffice it to say, the Predator franchise is in good hands. This animated feature picks up the baton from Prey, going back in history to epic battles between the Yautja (Predators, for the uninformed) and human warriors of ages past. The production is gloriously illustrated, packed with action, and is written according to the mantra of show, don’t tell.
20th Century Studios has been carrying two major fan-favorite franchises. They are in the process of rehabilitating what has been an era of mediocrity for both Alien and Predator. The two franchises have been paired together through various media, starting with comic books and later transitioning into movies, which have been regarded as mediocre. Now, fans are brimming with optimism following the success of Prey and Alien Romulus. With the announcements of the upcoming releases of Alien: Earth on FX/Hulu and Predator: Badlands on the big screen later this year, a definite Alien/Predator renaissance is brewing.
Think of Predator: Killer of Killers as a gateway to the expansion of this new universe. It provides a backstory of Earth as a popular proving ground for Yautja over the ages. We got a glimpse of this with Prey, as young Naru proved her hunter’s chops in the 17th Century wild west against a Yautja on safari.
Expanding on that theme, Predator: Killer of Killers visits 9th-century Viking Scandinavia, Shogun-era Feudal Japan, and World War II. Each visitation provides a story of how Earth warriors were able to fight back against the big game-hunting Predators.
The Voice Cast of Predator: Killer of Killers:
- Lindsay LaVanchy voices Ursa, a Viking warrior and clan matriarch sworn to avenge the death of her father. She is a shield maiden, equally adept at using her shields as weapons as well as armor.
- Damien C. Haas voices Anders, Ursa’s son, who has come of age to become a warrior by her side.
- Andrew Morgado voices Chief Zoran, the chieftan who forced Ursa to kill her father, and the target of Ursa’s rage.
- Louis Ozawa voices Kenji and Kyoshi, two brothers pitted against each other by their warlord father for the right to inherit his title.
- Rick Gonzalez voices Torres, a Florida kid with a desire to be a pilot, and is drafted into the U.S. Navy in World War II.
- Michael Biehn voices Commander “Vandy” Vandenberg, the fighter squadron commander on the ship that Torres serves on.
A Brief Synopsis of Predator: Killer of Killers
The Shield:
The first chapter presents Ursa’s Viking war band, sailing to shore to do what Vikings do best. They arrive ready to raid, pillage, and exact revenge for the death of the former clan leader, Einar. As a girl, the wicked Chief Zoran puts Ursa into a no-win situation. Zoran forces Ursa to kill her father in exchange for her life and future. She has come ashore for the head of Zoran, and has brought her son, Anders, with her to observe and understand the legacy of the clan. It is time for him to become a warrior.
Ursa and her band of savage warriors storm Zoran’s castle, overwhelming the castle guards and forcing their way into the keep’s throne room. As Ursa exacts her revenge, an enormous Yautja materializes in the keep. For the Vikings, this is Grendel, the monstrous creature of myth, here to destroy them.
The Sword:
Chapter two takes place in Feudal Japan, AD 1609. Two brothers, Kenji and Kyoshi, are summoned from a play by their warlord father while they are sparring together. He instructs them to switch to real swords in a test of worthiness for the Shogun armor and the right to become the future warlord. Kenji does not want to hurt his brother, and sheathes his katana. He suffered a cut on his cheek as Kyoshi embraced the contest. Kyoshi takes a place by their father’s side as Kenji flees the castle.
Twenty years have passed, and their father is now dead. Kenji has returned to sneak into the castle, this time as a ninja. He has come back to return the favor to Kyoshi. After eluding or dispatching the castle guards, Kenji finds Kyoshi and nicks him on the cheek as well. All the while, a Yautja has been observing from the castle rooftops. As Kyoshi and his men pursue Kenji, the predator descends to engage these worthy prey. Will the brothers overcome their rivalry to defeat this alien, or will they perish from their fractured feud?
The Bullet:
In Chapter Three, we find Torres, a skinny young Florida man, delightedly following airplanes in his engine-challenged jalopy. He longs for a life as a pilot, but his father worries that Torres lacks the discipline and insight to understand the inner workings of machinery. After getting a stern lesson from his Dad, he receives his draft notice for WWII.
In the North Atlantic, he plies his mechanic’s skills on the fighter planes on the aircraft carrier. He insists that he is not a mechanic, but a pilot, but his wing commander, Vandenberg, doesn’t trust him as a pilot. When one of the squadrons returns claiming “Hooks in the Skies!”, Torres discovers an alien weapon in one of the downed planes. He realizes that the Texas Aces, who are on patrol, are in big trouble. He rushes out in a wonky plane to inform the Aces. A massive Yatuja ship is hunting them. The creature is pulling the pilots from their cockpits as prizes, and Torres has put himself in the crossfire.
The Killer of Killers
For the finale, we find our three protagonists from each of the preceding chapters imprisoned on an alien ship, with collars around their necks. They are the survivors. Each of them has slain a Yautja. The aliens escort the prisoners out from their ship into an arena. They have been brought off-world to fight each other for the entertainment of the Yautja captors. The proud Ursa, the noble Kenji, and the clever Torres… will they fight themselves or their captors? You probably can guess the answer.
Evaluation of Predator: Killer of Killers
Well, that was fun!
It is unfortunate that this won’t be seen on a big screen, but it deserves to be. The visuals are glorious, reminiscent of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. The animations are painterly, and each chapter has slightly different textures. I particularly liked the Feudal Japan renderings, with ginkgo leaves drifting in and out of focus. The film immediately lets you know that this is not kids’ stuff either. The movie is about as gory as animation has ever been. But the movie isn’t exactly what you would call scary.
This is primarily an action film. The humans have a fighting chance, and though there is a lot of action tension built up, these characters have considerable plot armor. They are bad asses, in the personas of Ursa and Kenji. Torres is plucky, lucky, brave, and creative. This makes for a potent brew that makes the protagonists instantly likeable and worthy of a rooting interest.
The stories don’t have much dialogue for exposition, but it isn’t needed. Predator: Killer of Killers is a” Show it, don’t tell it” type of story. The movie is probably 60% action sequences, and it tells its story through bloody violence. The themes still ring true through the limited talking bits. That’s fine, for this movie. It speaks to the power of the characters that not much speaking is required. The film performs a bit like a railroad, though. It leans so heavily into the classic action tropes that you can feel the action beats coming.
Concluding Thoughts:
Despite the predictability of the movie, it provided plenty of jaw-dropping moments. The fantasticism allowed within a beautifully rendered animated medium provided moments of amazement. No longer are animated films static environments. Pixar helped usher in the revolution of dynamic animated features, but horror hasn’t taken great advantage of it until this movie. Many animated horror movie budgets are limited, and as a result, those films often feel comparably flat.
What really shines through, though, in all three of the stories is an optimistic beating heart. Each of the chapters has death and sadness mixed in, but watching these warriors battle for survival was invigorating. 20th Century Studios is also allowing for the Yautja to have different looks. Every Predator now feels unique. There are a few wonderful easter eggs for fans of the franchise as well. Given the roaring success that this has had so far with critics and fans alike, I’m nearly certain that we will get a sequel. The conclusion of this movie more than suggests a sequel… it requires it.
Predator: Killer of Killers is now streaming exclusively on Hulu. It is rated R for frequent gory violence and language. Teenagers, particularly those who play violent video games, won’t be phased by the gore, as it doesn’t carry the emotional cost of some visceral horror movies. I am betting that this movie will do very well with teenage boys. I was a teenage boy when the first Predator movie was in theaters, and my friends and I went to the drive-in to see a double feature of Predator and Cobra. Cobra sucked. Predator was awesome. Predator: Killer of Killers is a golden link in the chain of what will hopefully be more quality Predator outings for Dan Trachtenberg.