Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

Movie · 2025 · Animation, Action, Science Fiction, Thriller · 1h 25m · R · English

Curator score: 6.9/10 (268.1K ratings)

The hunt begins.

Overview

While three of the fiercest warriors in human history—a Viking raider, a ninja in feudal Japan, and a WWII pilot—are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent: the ultimate killer of killers.

Ratings

Director

Dan Trachtenberg

Production

20th Century Studios, Davis Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Toberoff Productions

Cast

Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez, Michael Biehn, Doug Cockle, Damien C. Haas, Lauren Holt, Jeff Leach, Cherami Leigh, Alessa Luz Martinez, Piotr Michael, Andrew Morgado, Brock Powell, Felix Solis, Britton Watkins, Alex Albrecht, James Bannon, Jeff Cannata, Jonathan Dixon, Mel Fair

Where to watch

Hulu

Curator Review

Verdict

A high-energy, bloody anthology of Predator encounters that uses animation to push the franchise into bigger, stranger, and more inventive action. It sounds especially rewarding if you like brutal creature-feature combat, stylized choreography, and pulpy sci-fi with a strong visual imagination.

Best for

  • Predator fans who want fresh franchise ideas
  • Viewers who enjoy animated action with extreme violence
  • Fans of historical warriors and time-spanning anthology setups
  • People who liked Prey and want more Dan Trachtenberg-style Predator storytelling

Skip if

  • You want a grounded, realistic war film
  • You dislike graphic gore or limb-losing violence
  • You prefer character-driven drama over high-concept action
  • You only want live-action spectacle

Overview

Predator: Killer of Killers takes one of modern action-horror’s most durable concepts and gives it a bold animated overhaul. The result is lean, vicious, and unusually playful about its premise: elite human warriors from different eras are dropped into a fight they can’t simply out-muscle or out-skill. That setup gives the film room for inventive set pieces and a real sense of escalation, while still keeping the Predator mythos intact.

Worth noting

What stands out most is how well animation serves the franchise. The format lets the filmmakers go harder on choreography, weapon design, and gore than a live-action entry usually could, and the action reportedly lands with real precision. It’s the kind of movie that understands the appeal of Predator as a pure hunt movie, then amplifies that appeal with visual freedom and a knowingly pulpy attitude.

Bottom line

The anthology structure also helps the film feel fresh rather than repetitive, even if the core idea is simple. If you’re already on board with the franchise’s mix of monster-movie tension and macho combat fantasy, this looks like a smart, energetic extension of that formula. If you need emotional depth or subtlety, it probably won’t be your prey of choice, but for sheer genre pleasure it sounds like a strong catch.

Top Letterboxd reviews

JoshuaCaine (3.5★) · 4125 likes

These Predators just be aura farming every chance they get 😭

Joe A (4★) · 3533 likes

There continues to be a complete undervaluing (arguably an active devaluing) of animation, but Trachtenberg & Company seems to understand its immense potential. Sequences and kills that simply could not exist in live-action exist within Killer of Killers. The gadgets are more twisted, the deaths more ferocious, and none of it coming at the expense of the storytelling. Add it to the long list of live-action franchises that are better animated, because for some reason, Hollywood thinks it’s the reverse.

Emma Tolkin (3.5★) · 3373 likes

Sometimes a family is a Viking mama, a samurai son, and his WWII pilot brother 🥹

davidehrlich (3.5★) · 2455 likes

An awesomely violent and artfully staged piece of animated pulp, “Predator: Killer of Killers” feels like a movie that was dreamed up by a couple of stoned teenage boys in a suburban basement one night during the summer of 1987, but this is the rare case where that feels like a good thing. A very good thing, even. Close your eyes and you can practically hear Dan Trachtenberg — whose impressive “Prey” made him the de facto thought leader of… more

Bardiya Mazda (4★) · 2143 likes

I just love the idea of the Predator as this elite interstellar trophy hunter obsessed with seeking the ultimate prey: vikings, ninjas, samurais, WW2 fighter pilots… the Yautja want the best of the best but here’s the irony, they show up with their invisible cloak, cool dreads, and an arsenal of high-tech alien weaponry just to consistently get their shit rocked by a single human armed with grit and the most basic weapon. It’s a simple premise but Killer of Killers delivers exactly what I want from my Predator stories: raw, bloody, and creative face-offs between humans and aliens across space and time.

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Topics

action horror, science fiction, animated action, anthology, gore, monster hunt, historical fantasy, survival thriller, stylized violence, franchise revival

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