Predator: Badlands Offers A Thrilling Addition to A Classic Franchise
The best way to describe the way I felt leaving Predator: Badlands, a new installment in the Predator franchise, was satisfaction. There is something so pleasurable in watching a movie do exactly what it needs to do, but without pandering or cutting corners. This is a smartly made film that respects the audience and rewards them with a thrilling, science fiction adventure, whether they’re fans of the franchise or a newcomer.
The film opens between a fight between two predator brothers: Dek and Kwei, portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Mike Homik in heavy suits and heavier makeup. Dek is the outcast of his clan, still wet behind the ears and hasn’t participated in a successful hunt, along with being much smaller than everyone else; a young boy in a society of men. Everything quickly turns tragic when the father Njohrr, also played by Schuster-Koloamatangi, arrives to kill Dek, but takes the life of Kwei instead as retaliation for protecting Dek.
The real story begins when Dek crash lands on planet Genna, a gorgeously photographed cross between King Kong’s Skull Island in its creepy crawlers and giant monsters, and Avatar’s pandora with the emphasis on flora and fauna. While Dek is dangerous, this is a place where you can’t go far without something trying to kill you. But Dek isn’t alone in his tale of survival, he comes across Thia (Elle Fanning), a delightfully chipper synthetic android who belongs to the Waylend-Yutani corporation (if you haven’t been paying attention, the Predator and Alien franchises take place in the same universe, and are now both owned under 20th Century Studios).
Director Dan Trachtenberg isn’t a newcomer to the franchise or science fiction. In 2016 he made the excellent 10 Cloverfield Lane, and in 2022 he released Prey, which gave the franchise a new life. But that film, centered on a Comanche tribe in the 1700s, was released straight to Hulu, which is a real shame because it’s a good film with a commanding leading performance from Amber Midthunder. Good thing the studio put all the chips behind Badlands, giving it a proper theatrical release. You will want to see this one on the big screen, as it might even be better than Prey.
The action scenes are sizzling with excitement and verve. Trachtenberg uses the action to compliment the world, incorporating as much of the environment as possible, down to the blade-like grass that will cut you. With these action showcases, we as an audience see Dek gain skill as a hunter, starting out sloppy and amateurish, to eventually being able to outwit his opponent, which really comes out in the action climax that prioritizes his learned inventiveness.
The New Zealand native Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi is really great as Drek, although most audience members won’t notice because his performance is hidden under make up and special effects. Not unlike the memorable performances of Doug Jones, who you’ll know as the Faun in Pan’s Labyrinth, Schuster-Koloamatangi is able to find character under the surface; an insecure young adult who is uncomfortable with making friends. Strip out the action and outer world concepts, Badlands is a story about finding yourself and connecting to those who aren’t blood related. And without speaking the same language, Schuster-Koloamatangi establishes a great rapport with Elle Fanning’s Thia, who could’ve so easily been a cloying addition, but Fanning finds the balance between comic relief and pathos.
A worry going in is that Predator is an historically R-rated franchise and Badlands is PG-13. Don’t fear the rating, the film is still a gnarly affair, filled with a few notable deaths (bodies melting and getting sliced apart), just it’s all monsters and androids this time, and important to the MPAA, no blood. Hopefully nobody is foolish enough to skip out on Badlands because of the rating. PG-13 or R, it doesn’t change the fact this is a damn good time at the multiplex.
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Hayden Claborn is a film writer based in Austin, TX. He began writing about cinema in high school and was the film critic for his college newspaper. He loves a variety of genres, but his main area of interest is horror films and can talk your ear off about the greatness of Judy Garland. Depending on what day you ask, he’d say his favorite movie is either The Exorcist or The Apartment, with his favorite filmmakers being James Cameron and David Lynch. He goes by He/They pronouns.