Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Starring: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 107 mins

Predator: Badlands is the latest instalment in the sci-fi series and the second this year after the animated Predator: Killer of Killers. It’s once again directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who breathed new life into the series with Prey, and he shakes the formula up here yet again. Considering we’re now seven films in, this is the first time a film has a Predator as the protagonist, with the film completely devoid of humans. Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a runt Predator who takes a vow to hunt a mythical creature called the Kalisk on the lethal planet Genna to earn his father’s approval. In a double role, Elle Fanning plays Thia and Tessa, two Weyland-Yutani (yes, that megacorporation from the Alien series) synthetics who Dek meets on Genna – Thia a damaged synthetic with severed legs who teams up with him, whereas Tessa is an evil droid who opposes the two.

Dan Trachtenberg delivers another above-average instalment and although Predator: Badlands descends into a bit of a CGI-fest in its final act, there’s lots of promise here. The first half is particularly strong, with Dek oddly likeable as the uncommonly sensitive Predator and the relationship between him and Thia is well-developed. It says a lot about the quality of Trachtenberg’s direction and Patrick Aison’s tight script that we root for Dek when he speaks in his native Yautja language throughout the film, translated via subtitles.

There’s lots of good world-building too, both of Dek’s home planet and the hostile environment of Gonna. The film’s well-paced and rolls along at a brisk pace and it’s vividly shot by Jeff Cutter, even if there’s an overreliance on visual effects at times. There’s an interesting score by Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch that blends a dark mood with chants in Dek’s native Yakutia language into some memorable themes.

Predator: Badlands is the first in the series to have a 12A / PG-13 rating and I was worried this film would feel watered down. Although it’s true it could certainly be nastier, there’s stil plenty of satisfying violence and bloodshed, and the film’s received this lower rating because there’s no human characters so the blood isn’t red.

It may lack the simplicity of Prey and veer into a bit of a CGI-fest in its final act before an excellent closing set piece, but Predator: Badlands is a very solid entry in the enduring series. Trachtenberg once again manages to find an exciting new direction to take the Predator series in by making the horror icon a likeable protagonist. Based on the promise of its cliffhanger ending, I’m excited to see what’s in store next.