The Predator Holiday Special (2018)

Santa Claus, his elves and his reindeer encounter a Predator at the North Pole. It's a two-minute stop-motion film included in the Blu-Ray special features for The Predator designed to promote the home release, which probably takes less time to watch than to nut. It's a fun, festive, bloody treat to fit the holiday.

3 forearm clasps out of 5

Note: Can be viewed here in its entirety for free.

Predator: Badlands (2025)

Predator goes full sci-fi, in a page ripped right out of Star Wars. In a complete departure from the rest of the franchise, it now has us rooting for the Yautja, who is on a mission to capture his latest trophy in the distant future. Despite not having any legs, Elle Fanning does a lot of the heavy lifting as half of a synthetic android who becomes an unlikely ally. Since there are no humans in this movie, the violence is minimal and has been downgraded to a PG-13 rating. It's a sci-fi adventure with very little horror elements, but somehow it works.

3 dynamic tree-os out of 5

Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

An animated anthology of three films set in the Predator universe at different points in human history, including Viking times, feudal Japan and World War II. In short, the Animatrix of the Predator franchise. There's been a recent push to build up the backstory to Predator, mostly due to director Dan Trachtenberg, but I find these efforts rather boring. They're just intergalactic headhunters looking for trophies. It doesn't have to be that deep. No matter what point in history it is, it always feels like the same old story told over and over again...

1½ collars out of 5

Prey (2022)

A young Comanche hunter must prove herself as a warrior. She finds herself stalked by a cloaked dreadlocks-wearing headhunter. Yeah, it's a Predator prequel. Taking place in 1719, it basically trades the jungle scenery for the woodlands of the Great Plains. I enjoyed the new direction at first, although once it settles into its formulaic plot, my interest gradually began to dwindle, especially the overreliance on glaring CGI, which took me out of the moment.

Amber Midthunder is strikingly beautiful; that was my biggest takeaway.

2½ bog pits out of 5

The Predator (2018)

Shane Black (who had a small role in the original film) writes and directs this sequel to the franchise, which marks a bit of a return to form after Predators. 

After an alien ship crash-lands on Earth, a captured Predator escapes from a lab and wreaks havoc on the city, while a biologist and motley crew of rejects attempt to contain the threat. It's...fine. I struggle to get excited about these movies because it always seems to go down about the same. I'm being fairly generous with my rating here because I enjoy looking at Olivia Munn's face.

2 hounds out of 5

Predator: Dark Ages (2015)

An unofficial short film which I'm only reviewing because it's a skilled effort. Set during the Crusades, a group of Templar Knights are visited by a Predator. It's a simple premise and execution, although the Predator looks a bit beefy, like a latter-day Jason. The acting is decent even though the lack of budget shows. It's very low tech, but no worse than some of the official entries.

1½ swordpoints out of 5

Note: This fan film can be viewed here in its entirety.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Set immediately after the events of AVP, they apparently didn't learn anything the first time around. This was tough to get through. Only diehards need apply.

½ a Predalien crossover out of 5

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

AKA: AVP

Riffing off an Easter egg featured in Predator 2, the monsters do battle with one another. Paul 'Wack Shit' Anderson picks up the slack. Here's a tip: if the title of your movie is AVP, don't revolve half the screen time around humans. Unfortunately, this venture wasn't as fun as the other legendary villain battle, although it succeeds in inextricably linking these two franchises forever.

1 ugly motherfucker out of 5

Predator (1987)

Deep in the Central American jungles, the hunters realize they're being hunted by invisible creatures using thermal imaging vision to track their every move. 

I've never been the biggest fan of the Predator franchise, yet there must be something about it that keeps audiences coming back. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers head this sci-fi/horror fest, which lend to its lasting appeal. There's no denying the creature designs are cool, but it's a shallow action flick that was not able to be matched by its lesser sequel. The whole thing feels so clearly inspired by Aliens, they would eventually do battle together one day.

3 CHOPPAS out of 5

Predator 2 (1990)

It had been over twenty years since I last watched Pred 2. It'll be at least another twenty before I can ever be talked into doing it again. It's an embarrassment to its 80s actioner parent. The real jungle is replaced by the concrete jungle. The anticipation is replaced by disappointment.
It’s a sci-fi action movie, so hoping that a change in locale will be used to highlight parallels about the nature of mankind's proclivities is perhaps too much to ask, but the subject is indeed touched upon. Bravo. But it's handled poorly and the film rarely manages to adequately tick even the boxes associated with its chosen genres. It succeeds mostly in being uglier.

1½ boned fish out of 5

Predators (2010)

Using a plot device that every sci-fi TV series in the history of ever has used, sometimes more than once, means Predators feels like it’s been made hundreds of times before. Swap crab-face out for some other alien and it would play out exactly the same.
Adrien Brody was miscast. The remainder of the team were stock types, especially token female. Michelle Rodríguez must've been busy elsewhere.

2 nobody ever needs to piss out of 5