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REVIEW: Predator: Killer of Killers
If you’ve watched a few of the Predator movies, you may have wondered, as I did recently when The Predator (2018) came on TV, why, given the size of Earth and all the people on it, do the predators only ever seem to land in the Americas? Predator: Killer of Killers goes some way to giving us a taste of how other peoples face off against the formidable sport-hunter alien in an animated anthology format.
Featuring three stories from across history, Predator: Killer of Killers introduces us to Ursa, Kenji and Torres who each manage to defeat a predator as it hunts among them. Ursa is a Viking shieldmaiden, leading a raiding party of warriors as she seeks revenge for the death of her father. Kenji has fashioned himself as an assassin in early Edo-era Japan and is seeking to prove a point to the brother who betrayed him long ago. Torres is an American pilot in World War II, trying to prove himself while also being pretty handy with a wrench.
Each of these characters’ stories treats the audience to some brutal and clever fight scenes, and the beauty of being animated is it offers the opportunity to explore the weaponry of each predator they face. In live-action, this can be limited by what the props department can build but with animation there’s greater scope to let the imagination off the leash.
These characters’ differing cultures and backgrounds lend them a unique perspective on the aliens they encounter; Kenji describes them as demons, whereas Ursa calls the Predator-in-Chief ‘Grendel King’. Torres is more engineer than hand-to-hand fighter, and uses his affinity for machinery to his advantage. The variety here is a real boon to the story and action in Predator: Killer of Killers.
Each backstory shows us how these characters’ used martial prowess and battle-smarts to defeat the far superior alien species. Every one of them loses a lot in their face-off with the predator and their ultimate reward comes in the final chapter, where they find themselves forced into a battle-royale/Highlander style fight against each other to become a Killer of Killers.
The film, thankfully, doesn’t throw in any magic macguffins to allow the three to understand each other’s languages, though there was certainly an opportunity to, so they have to muddle through speaking only violence in common. They must work together, or destroy each other, to face the Predator’s leader one-on-one. You will have to watch to see who comes out victorious. Available now on Hulu or Disney+, depending on your region, Predator: Killer of Killers is a great addition to the franchise and brings some much needed diversity to the mythos.
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