Director Dan Trachtenberg unleashed a world of terror with the animated action-horror film “Predator: Killer of Killers.” The follow-up to his 2022 hit “Prey,” “Predator: Killer of Killers” would be the eighth film in the “Predator” franchise, which chronicles humanity’s encounters with a race of deadly aliens happy to hunt us for sport. More importantly, “Killer of Killers” sits easily in our top three films that feature these unworldly hunters. The first animated “Predator” film, “Killer of Killers,” also breaks ground with its anthological format, which follows three different Predator hunts that take place across human history.
In “The Shield,” the Viking queen Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) pursues her father’s killer when a Predator attacks. In “The Sword,” a Predator interrupts a quarrel between two samurai brothers during the Edo period, leaving only one, Kenji (Louis Ozawa Changchien), alive. Finally, in “The Bullet,” World War II pilot John Torres (Rick Gonzales) takes to the skies against a Predator spaceship. A fourth segment, “The Battle,” ties it all together. Each “winning” human from the prior segments must fight each other in combat to determine who is the apex predator, and who will have the right to almost certainly die at the hands of a terrifying Predator warlord — the titular killer of killers. There are surprises in store at the end of the film, too, as a special cameo takes the franchise-changing ending of “Prey” and releases it into a future of delicious possibility.
Trachtenberg revealed he had multiple inspirations for the film, including the Netflix series “Arcane” and the cyberpunk anime classic “Akira,” but the most surprising –- and perhaps, most insightful -– influence is “Best in Show.” Released in 2000, “Best in Show” is director Christopher Guest’s mockumentary about eccentric canine trainers vying for titles at a prestigious dog show. With a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is also high on our list of the best comedy movies of all time. Its connection to “Predator: Killer of Killers” is no laughing matter, though: The competition in “Best in Show” is just as cutthroat as a battle with a Predator.
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Predator: Killer of Killers borrows its structure from Best in Show
Cookie and Gerry confer at a grooming table in Best in Show (2000) – Warner Bros.
While promoting “Predator: Killer of Killers,” Dan Trachtenberg explained why “Best in Show” was crucial to his film, telling Polygon, “In that movie, being a comedy, you bond with the characters in a very unique way … It’s not like any other sports movie, where you have your protagonist, and you’re rooting for them to win.”
Called “wickedly funny” by film critic Roger Ebert, “Best in Show” is an ensemble film that follows multiple competitors in the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. They include Florida couple Gerry and Cookie Fleckman (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara), neurotic yuppies Hamilton and Meg Swan (Michael Hitchcock and Parker Posey), and aspiring ventriloquist Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest). In the tradition of “This is Spinal Tap,” which also starred Guest, “Best in Show” relies on the improvisational talents of its cast, allowing them to play off of each other as they undergo the trials (and indignities) of the dog show.
The lack of a single protagonist driving the plot forward ratchets up a humorous version of suspense — because any of these endearing oddballs could become top dog. While the hyperviolent “Predator: Killer of Killers” is a very different film, it also, as Trachtenberg says, wants the viewer to “bond” with its various besieged heroes instead of baying for anyone’s blood. This leads to a surprising, action-packed finale that sets the stage for the next battle in the “Predator” franchise — and leaves the Predators possibly wondering if they have enough strength to lead the pack to victory over the underdogs.
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Read the original article on Looper.
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