For everyone waiting for the next live-action Predator movie this fall, Hulu has just released an animated anthology film called Predator: Killer of Killers, and the first reviews say it’s another must-see part of the franchise. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who delivered the previous installment, Prey, this streaming surprise has great gory action sequences plus more depth and character development than you’d expect from this sort of supplemental content.
Here’s what critics are saying about Predator: Killer of Killers:
Is it essential viewing for fans of the franchise?
Dan Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung’s new animated take on the Predator franchise is an absolute must-watch for fans.
— Amy West, Total Film
Killer of Killers is perhaps the best Predator installment since the 1987 original, as animation makes a winning match to the sci-fi/action needs of the premise.
— Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com
Killer of Killers doesn’t pretend to be a blockbuster-sized entry in a series that has always struggled to find the right scale for itself, but it even more adamantly refuses to be the sort of throwaway junk that we’ve been conditioned to expect from straight-to-streaming spinoffs, remakes, sequels, and the like.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
An absolutely stellar, thrilling tale that’s every Predator fan’s dream come true…it’s a rousing must-see.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
Predator fans will devour it.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
Are there a lot of nods to the other movies?
There are plenty of Easter eggs in the form of callbacks to previous films, as well as hints about future installments, that should generate the desired social media chatter.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
[It appeals] to diehard fans with Easter eggs (keeps your eyes peeled for a pistol in the final act and a franchise-first look at something fans have been dying to see realized since 1987).
— Amy West, Total Film
For a project that could have felt like nothing but fan service, I appreciated that Rutare and Trachtenberg save their movie’s only explicit allusion to the rest of the Predator franchise until the end credits.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Does it bring anything new to the franchise?
Full of fresh ideas you’ve never seen in a Predator movie before…[they’re] able to push the sci-fi envelope and offer up fresh images.
— Amy West, Total Film
It’s the ambition and reverence for the Predator world that prevents Killer of Killers from falling into repetitive stagnation.
— Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting
This movie stays true to the source material but gives us something we didn’t know we needed.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect
The animated film takes advantage of the format to explore aspects only hinted at in the live-action movies.
— Fred Topel, United Press International
It’s nice to see a franchise nearly 40 years old committed to constantly defying expectations.
— Catherine Bray, Guardian
Which of the three segments is the best?
Best of the three is “The Bullet,” depicting thrilling brain-over-brawn aerial battles with the beast.
— John Nugent, Empire Magazine
Redolent of Captain Ahab’s journey in Moby Dick, for the way she steadily descends into madness the closer she gets to the revenge she wants, Ursa’s story is the most fully fleshed out of the bunch.
— Justin Clark, Slant Magazine
Do they all come together well?
Screenwriter Micho Robert Rutare, working from a story devised with Trachtenberg, ties things together in an extremely clever, satisfying manner that won’t be disclosed here but that makes the film more than the sum of its parts.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
The final act serves as connective tissue between this standalone anthology and the greater universe, revealing new facets to the Yautja while dangling teases of what may lie ahead.
— Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting
The three sections do tie together, but we won’t spoil how.
— Amy West, Total Film
Is there more to the movie than just sci-fi horror mayhem?
Micho Robert Rutare’s script is just as concerned with exploring each character’s cultural rituals, the pressures of legacy, and how violence can be just as destructive mentally as it is physically. It makes it hard not to compare it to something like Godzilla Minus One, which hid similarly sophisticated themes inside of a big lizard monster movie.
— Amy West, Total Film
It’s very violent but is elevated by sharp dialogue and zippy pace.
— Russ Simmons, KKFI-FM (Kansas City).
They gift us with characters with well-executed arcs, whose oppressive internal conflicts and pressing, dire physical circumstances feel meaningful. We instantly care about them.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
How’s the animation?
It’s all handsomely rendered, the illustrated-but-in-3D approach to the animation clearly influenced by the likes of Arcane, though not always as coherent as you’d hope.
— John Nugent, Empire Magazine
Each installment looks equally great…its aesthetic can’t help but evoke the likes of Netflix’s Arcane and the Spider-Verse movies with its colorful, painterly style. Some sequences look like they’ve been lifted right out of a video game.
— Amy West, Total Film
The animation takes a bit of getting used to, with its exaggerated, video game-style visuals, but it serves the material well.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
The animation is all perfectly competent but it’s lacking a little something – that spark of life and ingenuity that can make even flawed animation so fascinating.
— Catherine Bray, Guardian
I will admit I’m not a huge fan of the “watercolor”-like technique used in the animation, as it blurs the lines, making the picture perhaps not as sharp and clean as it could be.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Is it only for adults?
It may be animated, but the Hulu sci-fi action thriller Predator: Killer of Killers ain’t for the kiddies.
— Russ Simmons, KKFI-FM (Kansas City)
The film easily earns its R rating with copious amounts of gruesome violence and bloody gore that should well sate viewers’ bloodthirsty tendencies.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
Each unique set of circumstances opens breathtaking animated action sequences that make full use of the R-rating and then some; it’s a lot easier to get away with decapitations, maiming, and viscera in animated form, after all.
— Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting
How’s the action?
Predator: Killer of Killers provides the non-stop action that the diehard fans crave.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
The dynamic action shows the steadiness of a long take is as effective in animation as live action, letting the viewer absorb extended, unedited combat.
— Fred Topel, United Press International
The CG animation allows them to stage action that would be impossible to sell (or afford) in live-action.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
[It features] one of the most memorable action sequences in the entire series.
— Mark Dujsik, Mark Reviews Movies
Many of the action sequences inspire comparisons to 2023’s Blue Eye Samurai for their frenetic violence and novel cinematography.
— Toussaint Egan, AV Club
Are there any major problems with the movie?
The only problem with this stuff is that you can’t help picturing how much more spectacular it would look in live action.
— Catherine Bray, Guardian
The only downside…perhaps, is that each of the setups here could have served as the foundation for a standalone, feature-length entry in this franchise.
— Mark Dujsik, Mark Reviews Movies
“The Sword”…is largely dialogue-free, a disappointing trope for ancient-Asia-set stories, leaving it feeling a bit thin.
— John Nugent, Empire Magazine
Does Predator: Killer of Killers open up the franchise?
It demonstrates that the Predators can effectively be plunked into any era. The crossover possibilities seem endless — get ready for Predator vs. the Karate Kid.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
[There are] cheeky teases of a connected universe and potential sequel, too.
— Amy West, Total Film
Trachtenberg hints at future plans for the franchise with a provocative final image guaranteed to get fans buzzing.
— Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting
Is it proof that the franchise is headed in the right direction?
After Prey, we had faith the series was in good hands. After Predator: Killer of Killers, we don’t want anyone else getting their mitts on it.
— Amy West, Total Film
Writer/director Dan Trachtenberg wowed audiences with his new take on the Predator franchise with Prey. He continues to take the franchise to new heights with the animated film Predator: Killer of Killers.
— Paul McGuire Grimes, Paul’s Trip to the Movies
Few creatives understand the core pillars of the Predator series like Dan Trachtenberg, and he’s thankfully just getting started.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
It’s a new frontier for the franchise, and a welcome one, helping to bring fresh visions to the routine of the saga, and Tractenberg’s passion for the whole brand remains fun to watch.
— Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com
Will it make viewers excited for Predator: Badlands?
Predator: Killer of Killers is the right thing to get everyone excited for this franchise and ready for the next live-action film later this year.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
It is a nice intermezzo between Prey and Predator: Badlands and whets our appetites for more.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Predator: Killer of Killers serves as a fan-pleasing amuse-bouche between the last film in the series, 2022’s critically acclaimed Prey (also directed by Trachtenberg), and the upcoming Predator: Badlands, opening in theaters this November.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
All this secret film really amounts to: an amuse-bouche, for a Badlands-shaped main meal yet to come.
— John Nugent, Empire Magazine
Killer of Killers is so mission-driven and self-possessed that it never feels the least bit like an elaborate teaser for Trachtenberg’s forthcoming Badlands, even if it does a phenomenal job of convincing people to give a sh*t about the “Yautja” again — or for the first time.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Predator: Killer of Killers premieres on Hulu on June 6, 2025.
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