Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 6, 2022 following the release of Prey. It has been updated to include the new movies Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands.
With the release of Predator: Badlands, it’s the perfect time to look back on one of Hollywood’s most iconic sci-fi horror franchises. There have been great Predator movies, there have been bad Predator movies, and there have been plenty of Predator movies somewhere in between. We’re going to go through all of them and rank ’em!
And before you ask: yes, we are including the Alien vs. Predator films in these rankings. More movies makes for more fun, and we have thoughts. That said, you can probably guess which film is going to land in the number seven spot…
9. Alien vs. Predator (2004)
The idea of mashing together two of science fiction’s most recognizable alien terrors dates back to an easter egg in Predator 2, when Lt. Harrigan catches a glimpse of a xenomorph skull trophy aboard a Predator’s ship. Fans latched onto this, and over the years it’s fueled numerous comics, toys, video games, and other tie-in merch.
In the early 2000’s, 20th Century Fox got it into its head to take the Alien and Predator franchises, both of which had been dormant for a number of years, and mash them together in hopes of capitalizing on that fan interest while simultaneously revitalizing both series. It didn’t go well. Up until Predator: Badlands, Alien vs. Predator was the only movie in either franchise to receive a PG-13 rating, and it shows. It’s a schlocky action movie with the barest hint of horror, helmed by Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson, and the choice to set it on Earth totally undermined the entire point of the Alien series, which was all about keeping the xenomorphs from ever reaching our planet.
For lack of a better word, AVP was just silly. It’s kind of like the film sought to combine Alien and Predator without truly understanding the tonal choices that made either of them special. It did, however, try pretty hard with its plot of an ancient Predator pyramid being discovered under the ice on Antarctica, and featured longtime Alien star Lance Henriksen. So there’s that, I guess.
Many fans of Predator would prefer to forget this movie ever happened, so let’s quickly move on:
8. The Predator (2018)
The Predator largely revolved around a crew of military misfits fighting against a coverup in their own government as well as a genetically altered super Predator. The movie was directed by Shane Black, who was one of the stars in the original 1987 Predator film…and honestly, if you want a perfect microcosm of The Predator’s issues, the fact that the guy whose character made all the p****y jokes in the first movie put this one together is a pretty good one.
Calling the plot of The Predator hair-brained is almost too kind. It tried to retcon in a more complicated reason for Predators taking skulls (they’re not trophies, they’re genetic research!), focused on a goose chase on Earth, and lacked all the tension of the better films in the franchise. There’s no sense of characters being stalked by the galaxy’s deadliest hunter, no examination of the relationship between predator and prey. Really, the only thing from the original movie that The Predator felt like it understood was the military bro banter, but it dials it up so far that it’s often cringeworthy and feels gross for the film’s few female characters to be subjected to.
That said, there is a certain brainlessly entertaining charm to the thing, and it does have its fans. There’s one set piece near the end where a group of characters try to stop a Predator ship from taking off, which is unique enough that it’s worth watching the movie at least once to see it. Just don’t go in expecting this to be in the same league as the franchise’s better films. The final fight against the enormous genetically altered Predator is the most underwhelming climactic showdown in the entire franchise.
The Predator’s issues are even stranger considering the great cast: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Jane, Yvonne Strahovski, Keegan Michael-Key, Trevante Rhodes, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey, and Sterling K. Brown all had substantial roles in the movie. Yet despite that, The Predator just doesn’t work.
7. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
After the critical flop of Alien vs. Predator, there was a hard course correct in 2007’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. The premise of Requiem is that after the catastrophic events of the first AVP, a xenomorph facehugger infects a Predator. This leads to a new hybrid (known by fans as the Predalien) getting loose in a rocky mountain town and spreading its xenomorph progeny about. To cover up the threat, a seasoned Predator Elite comes to Earth on a mission to eliminate them all for…reasons? Honestly, the motivations are pretty thin.
Unlike the first Alien vs. Predator, Requiem tried very hard to earn its R rating…too hard. The movie takes a cookie-cutter horror movie formula and slaps Aliens and Predators into it. The characters are two-dimensional, the plot non-existent, and the film itself is so dark it’s difficult to see what’s going on most of the time. But when you can see what’s going on, it’s pretty horrific. The Predalien’s attack on a maternity ward is just as disturbing as you’d imagine, almost as if some studio executive was upset about how family-friendly AVP was and wanted things to be as gruesome as possible.
For all that, Requiem is a marked improvement over the goofiness of AVP and the bombastic action of The Predator. The Predalien is an interesting idea, and unlike the first AVP, the Predator in this movie is a bonafide terror to any xenomorph caught in its way. Requiem also deserves a special nod for being the first movie to give us a real look at the Predator homeworld. We also meet Ms. Yutani, one of the founders of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation that’s so important in the Alien movies.
Despite having a decent return on physical DVD sales, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was a big enough failure that the studio decided not to make any more crossover movies, which I think we can all probably agree is for the best.
6. Predators (2010)
There was a 20-year gap between Predator 2 and this third movie in the series, which sought to reboot the Predator franchise for modern audiences. Predators didn’t quite succeed at that; no direct sequels were ever made for the movie, despite the fact that it ended on a cliffhanger.
Yet for what it was, Predators actually holds up surprisingly well. The premise is that a bunch of dangerous human killers (or predators…geddit?) are dropped onto an alien game preserve planet, where Predators hunt various creatures for sport. Unlike the first two films, Predators pretty much does away with any pretense at there being a subplot beyond the titular alien creature stalking our human protagonists. They do their best to escape gruesome deaths and gradually learn more about the jungle world they’ve been dropped onto.
Predators introduced a few interesting concepts into the franchise that have stuck around, such as there being multiple types of visually distinct Predators and the idea of trained alien dogs the Predators can use to track their prey. And while the film might be a bit different, its rumination on the nature of different predatory beings — from Adrien Brody’s mercenary to Topher Grace’s serial killer to the alien creatures who hunt them — feels more thematically sound than many other movies in the franchise.
So what’s the downside to Predators? While the core story of a group of trained killers being hunted by Predators is pretty good (and an obvious nod to the original), there’s not much tension because we know that just about all of the humans are going to die by the end. It’s rarely a surprise when it happens, and often the movie skews more toward chaotic action set pieces than creeping dread. The emotional stakes are also somewhat low since so many of the characters aren’t particularly likable. Brody does a decent job, as does the film’s female lead Alicia Braga, but overall Predators doesn’t hook you with its characters the way the best movies in the series do.
5. Predator 2 (1990)
We’re into classic Predator territory now. After the huge success of the the first film, 20th Century Fox was eager for a sequel but didn’t want to retread the same ground. 1990’s Predator 2 made a lot of bold choices and might be the most underrated movie in the franchise. It traded the dense Central American rainforest for the urban jungle of Los Angeles and starred Danny Glover as rogue cop Lt. Mike Harrigan. Glover does a great job in the role as he and his squad gradually unravel the mystery behind a cloaked monster that’s slaughtering local gang members.
Predator 2 was made right as CGI was starting to get more popular in movies, so some of the film’s computer-generated effects don’t slap quite as hard as in other Predator movies. That said, the practical effects are excellent, the script is sharp (if a bit dated) and conveys lots of information very naturally, and the premise of multiple forces converging on L.A. is unique in the franchise. It’s not just the Predator who’s on the hunt; there’s also a shady government task force led by Gary Busey, who’s out to capture the alien for its advanced technology.
One place where Predator 2 really sets itself apart is in its climactic sequence. After a long, bloody chase, Lt. Harrigan pursues the Predator down an elevator shaft and finds its ship is parked in the subterranean tunnels beneath the city. That sequence is one of the most important in the entire series; the entire Alien vs. Predator spinoff brand would never have happened if not for the inclusion of that xenomorph skull on the ship’s trophy wall. It's also been referenced in both of director Dan Trachtenberg's recent movies.
The only reason Predator 2 isn’t higher on this is because the last four movies we have to discuss are near perfect.
4. Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
Predator: Killer of Killers is the first animated Predator movie, as well as the second movie in the franchise from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg. Believe it or not, that makes Trachtenberg the most prolific director the franchise has ever had; no other has ever returned to helm more than one movie. This lends Killer of Killers a level of consistency with Prey and the other movies which feels very fresh.
Killer of Killers isn't just unique for its animated format; this movie also has one of the wildest stories of any Predator film. It's primarily told across three different time periods, where we see how Predators came to Earth and clashed with humans during the Viking age, feudal Japan, and World War II. But eventually it becomes clear that those powerful human stories of survival aren't the entire film. We find out that the Predators have been freezing humans who defeat them and whisking them away to a planet where they're kept in cold storage, waiting for the right time to wake them up as a way to test their skills. This is a major addition to Predator lore, which makes them even more terrifying. Even if a human wins against one, they still lose in the long run.
The climax of Predator: Killer of Killers is mind-blowing, as World War II pilot Torres, ninja Kenji, and Viking warrior Ursa have to find a way to work together to survive in the Predator arena and escape. This is the sort of ambitious, inventive plotline I'd always hoped to one day see from a Predator movie, and it's a testament to the team behind Killer of Killers that they not only pulled it off, but kept it quiet in the marketing for the movie so that it could still come as a huge surprise.
Predator: Killer of Killers is an absolute banger of an animated movie which re-contextualizes the ending of Prey and set the stage for Trachtenberg's forthcoming live-action sequel Predator: Badlands. And on top of that, it also features gorgeous animation with thrilling action sequences, a great soundtrack, and excellent voice acting. The new animated movie has it all.
3. Predator: Badlands (2025)
Trachtenberg's newly released live-action sequel Predator: Badlands took some absolutely insane swings, and somehow, it pulled pretty much all of them off. For the first time ever, the Yautja is not just the villain of the film, but the main protagonist. Setting the film in the distant future on entirely alien worlds and expecting audiences to go along with Dek of the Yautja on his first hunt could easily have turned into a giant mess in the hands of a less skilled director, but with Trachtenberg at the helm, the result is pure magic.
Not only is Predator: Badlands a great Predator film, it's also a secret Alien vs. Predator crossover event thanks to the inclusion of the Weyland-Yutani corporation and its legion of synthetics who have come to the death planet Genna in search of the very same prey as Dek, the regenerative behemoth known as the Kalisk. Elle Fanning plays twin synths Thia and Tessa, delivering one of the most standout performances of the entire franchise.
If Alien vs. Predator destroyed my hope that we could ever see a good crossover film for the two sci-fi horror franchises, Predator: Badlands handily restored it with its careful storytelling. Even the music reflects the clashing of cultures as the eerie synthetics created by humanity come into contact with the Yautja and the creatures of Genna. This movie is just a rip-roaring good time from start to finish, and has a surprisingly good emotional core thanks to Dek's journey to becoming not just a fearsome Predator, but also a good pack leader for his found family. It flips the usual Predator formula on its head to great result, and deserves a place near the front of the list.
But the competition at the top of the food chain is fierce, and it's hard to deny the power of where it all started.
2. Predator (1987)
The original 1987 Predator movie is one of the most iconic sci-fi horror films of all time. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch and Carl Weathers as CIA agent George Dillon. Together they led a team of commandos on a rescue mission into the jungles of Central America, only to find something even more dangerous than drug cartels stalking them from the trees.
There are so many things that make Predator the enduring film that it is. The absolutely legendary score by Alan Silvestri, which remains as good today as it was almost 40 years ago. The smart fake-out structure of the story which spends almost a half-hour convincing us that it’s one kind of movie before shifting gears and having us realize along with Dutch and his team that they’re being hunted. It’s one of Schwarzenegger’s best roles of all time, yet despite how good he and the rest of the cast are, the real star is the Predator itself. The prosthetics used for the alien creature have stood the test of time. While the CGI for the hunter’s invisibility cloaking has come a long way since this movie, the actual alien itself remains one of the most visually stunning in the series.
Predator also has one of the best climaxes of any sci-fi horror movie. After escaping by the skin of his teeth and discovering that mud can hide him from the Predator’s heat vision, Dutch sets a bunch of traps and screams his challenge into the jungle. The Predator comes for him, and the ensuing showdown is tense, long, and makes the alien feel totally unstoppable. Part of the reason many of the other Predator movie climaxes don’t work as well (most just have the humans beat the Predator in a fight) is because this first film gave it an almost Terminator-like ability to keep going. And that makes the sense of terror palpable, because no matter how competent Dutch is, no matter what he throws at it, the Predator just refuses to die.
But as absolutely iconic as the first Predator movie is, in my opinion it has been dethroned as the best in the franchise.
1. Prey (2022)
I know what you’re thinking: Am I crazy to be ranking Prey above the original, incredibly influential Predator movie? Honestly, part of me feels like even typing these words is akin to blasphemy. The first Predator movie was one of my formative moviegoing experiences as a teenager, and remains one of my favorite films of all time. I tell you this so you understand that this ranking is not something I do lightly, or because I was swept up in the hype.
To be as objective as possible, I watched Prey and the 1987 Predator back-to-back. It was the only way to be sure. And as iconic as Predator is…I think Prey is the better movie. And I genuinely believe there’s a good chance that in a few decades, it will be considered just as iconic in its own right.
Prey takes the franchise back to its roots, telling a story that examines the relationship between predator and prey in a way that no movie in the franchise ever has. It’s set 300 years before Predator at the height of the Comanche Nation on the American Great Plains. The film makes an obvious effort to have Native American talent both in front of and behind the camera, and it turns Prey into not just an excellent Predator movie, but an excellent film overall.
There’s commendable attention to detail, best-in-the-series sound design, a minimalistic score from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla composer Sarah Schachner, and a thoughtful exploration of what tools a Predator from an earlier era might have at its disposal. Prey is just a pitch-perfect movie from start to finish. It follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), an aspiring Comanche hunter who seeks to prove herself by taking part in a ritual hunt known as a kühtaamia, where she hunts some creature dangerous enough to hunt her back. However, Naru soon realizes that she’s bit off more than she can chew as she finds various signs of the Predator’s existence. Eventually, she’s caught up in a fraught struggle for survival.
The Predator has never been as brutal and terrifying as it is in Prey, slicing people to bits and displaying a tenacity that no Predator has had since the early days of the franchise. The fight choreography is insane, the exploration of the 18th Century setting is top notch, and Midthunder’s performance is riveting. This is the first Predator movie with a female lead, and man does Naru prove that she’s a serious badass again and again in the movie’s 90+ minutes.
So despite how iconic the 1987 Predator film is…for my money, Prey takes the trophy for the best. But don’t take my word for it. Both Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers are available to stream now on Hulu, and Predator: Badlands is currently playing in theaters. Watch them all for yourself, and see what the hype is about.