Director - Dan Trachtenberg

Three fighters in different ages find themselves facing an advanced alien hunter, but what happens after it's defeated?

While I may have been lukewarm on it, there's no denying that with 2022's Prey director Dan Trachtenberg brought new life into the Predator franchise. The prequel, focusing on a Comanche warrior, and upcoming future-set Predator: Badlands explore newer territory for the franchise in their settings and the opportunities they create. Seemingly inspired by these and Dark Horse comics which did much the same, animated Predator: Killer Of Killers has been quietly released on Disney+.

Following Viking (Lindsay LaVanchy) and samurai (Louis Ozawa) warriors, and a World War II fighter pilot (Rick Gonzalez), the animation allows for the film's segments to explore bloodier territory than they perhaps would in live-action; and indeed develop ideas they perhaps couldn't with this budget in that form. The fates and consequences that certain characters face fit right in with the animation style, which feels like an upgraded continuation of classic adult animation fantasy styles.

It's the second of these stories which truly brought me into the unfolding events. Almost entirely dialogue free the central fight grows into battle as samurai warriors face an invisible enemy, in slightly more advanced form since the previous Viking-era segment. The action spreads through different locations, effectively tracked and paced so that the characters' desperation to survive against the mysterious force, and the ways in which they fight, match the growth of the location and environment.

This is something which is caught in each segment, which eventually come together for an exciting finale involving the three central weapons the film bases itself around (shield, sword and bullet). The more the short run-time moves along the more thrilling it becomes, especially in the directions it takes the action. Using the animation the propel that without ever allowing for a sense of disbelief or ridiculousness to override the tension.

While dropping onto Disney+, intended as a largely secret film, there's hope that Killer Of Killers will allow for further exploration into the worlds of the Predator and those who face it. Such ideas have fuelled multiple fan films and comics over the years, and now finally being embraced on screen; so far under the watchful eye of Dan Trachtenberg who clearly has a knack for bringing something new to franchises while keeping key elements in place so they feel at home - see 10 Cloverfield Lane. And perhaps it could show a want for more dramatic adult animation; as Arcane on Netflix has apparently been doing recently.

There's certainly something brought out by it in the action. The style that the film carries itself with in a bright yet deadly world which feels layered and detailed while still largely based around the central fights faced against a threatening, in skills and design, evolving Predator. I didn't know what to expect going in, but was more than pleasantly surprised by the level of tense and bloody thrills throughout.

Four stars.