Predator Badlands review (2025)

Predator Badlands continues the franchise’s encouraging resurgence following the spin-off, Prey.

Once a franchise that felt very much like it was best left as an 80s/90s action relic now seems like it’s got plenty of surprises and various directions to go. Predator Badlands very much seems like it could be the start of a full-on spin-off to the series.

Similar to Prey, Predator Badlands is a completely different entry in the saga — this time with a Yautja as the lead instead of the adversary.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), is a young Yautja warrior seeking to finally earn his father, Njohrr’s respect despite being the runt of his clan.

Respect won’t come easy as Njohrr (also played by Schuster-Koloamatangi) has ordered Dek’s older brother, Kwei (Michael Homick) to kill him for being the weak link of the clan.

Dek figures his best option is to travel to Genna to hunt down and defeat the powerful Kalisk, a creature so imposing and terrifying that even his father fears it. Seeking to do Kwei proud, Dek sets out to conquer the unconquerable.

Director Dan Trachtenberg, who also directed Prey, immediately establishes that Genna is no vacation resort to fully live up to the title of being a Predator Badlands. Before Dek can even land on the surface, he’s attacked by some of the inhabitants.

Upon landing and collecting himself and gathering his weapons, Dek has to face another life-threatening attack. This one proves more costly as the adversary manages to nab all of Dek’s weapons save his heated sword and bladed boomerang wrist device.

That was a savvy move from Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison (Prey) as it eliminates the technological edge Dek would otherwise have on a world with less advanced opposition. His unfamiliarity with the terrain nearly cost him his life if not for the helpful assistance provided by Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani synth.

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Thia can only provide so much assistance as her legs have been ripped off following an encounter with the Kalisk. Recognizing Yautja prefer to hunt alone, Thia suggests Dek view her as a tool to help him navigate Genna’s toughest challenges en route to the Kalisk. This makes for an intriguing dynamic as the overly chatty Thia keeps the conversation going while the focused Dek begrudgingly deals with her cheery disposition.

Along the way, they encounter various threats — some a result of Genna’s harsh treacherous terrain and others, Genna inhabitants who don’t like strangers impeding on their turf. Eventually they’re joined by another ally, Bud (Rohinal Nayaran), a smaller beast with a near invulnerable plated skin.

Some Predator fans might be disappointed at the humor worked into their precious franchise in conjunction with the PG-13 rating. The rating is more a consequence of no human characters being part of Predator Badlands. There’s plenty of dismemberments, squishing, erupting body parts and blood — it’s just synthetic humans and alien blood that’s being sprayed all over.

As for the humor? Predator Badlands is hardly a slapstick effort, and the lighthearted moments are generally very successful. It’s not overdone to the point of being silly and the sight gags don’t come at the expense of making Badlands a joke.

Aison balances the humor with more of an actual story beyond the killer action sequences. Dek actually has to process his emotional trauma and his viewpoint of caring about others being a weakness. Some of that mindset is the result of his father’s influence, but it’s interesting seeing a Yautja struggling to process their emotions. No, it’s not done in some cheesy, corny way as it gives Dek far more depth than most of his counterparts and makes for a better story.

Fanning is such a fun addition to the franchise as Thia makes for a really enjoyable character with her cheery demeanor and near child-like sense of amazement of the world around her. Schuster-Koloamatangi learned the Yautja dialect created for Predator Badlands and does a commendable job of making Dek so much more than the typical quiet Predator killer.

While Dek and his unlikely partners close in on the Kalisk, another threat is emerging as a Weyland-Yutani synth retrieval party arrives to fetch Thia. In another savvy move from Trachtenberg, all of the male synths are identical as Wey-Yu doesn’t need to send a diverse group of synths to accomplish the mission.

At an hour and 47 minutes, Predator Badlands is a quick watch and doesn’t get bogged down in any waste of time scenes just for the sake of extending the running time. Its efficient use of the run time helps give the film a greater sense of urgency.

Predator Badlands has a fantastic final act that delivers all of the over the top, intense action sequences franchise fans would expect with a richer story focus. Prey sparked the resurgence of the series and Predator Badlands suggests the future is only getting brighter for the brand.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios

After checking out Predator Badlands, grab Prey now available on 4K and Blu-Ray at Amazon.

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