Benjamin Wallfisch’s Predator: Killer Of Killers is a bit of a mixed bag; the composer does an excellent job of stylistically showcasing the film’s three time periods – with the Japanese era being the highlight – and Alan Silvestri’s Predator theme appears in part, but a general lack of interesting themes and continual use of those irritating distorted electronics make this a fairly unmemorable album overall, sadly.
The score begins with “Earth, 841 A.D.”, and after a few quietly eerie string murmurs a repeating six-note and darkly ominous theme starts to play, stylistically recalling but notably not fully reprising Alan Silvestri’s original Predator theme. It’s interesting that despite the composer change from Prey, this reference to the well-known theme plays in a similar manner here to that of “Predator Instinct” from that score, to the point where you wonder whether or not it was actually a request by director Dan Trachtenberg (as he directed both films). As much as I enjoy that Silvestri is referenced though, I do still wish they’d reprise his themes a bit more fully. It feels a bit of a shame to just use them in a shortened, altered, “is that the Predator theme or am I hearing things?” kind-of-way. Themes shouldn’t be a secret, or an Easter egg. Just use them, loud and proud. But anyway, I won’t delve too much into that rant again as I already covered it pretty well in my review for Prey back in 2022 (which is a genuinely fantastic score by Sarah Schachner by the way, just irritatingly light on the Silvestri themes). So, with the darkly ominous mood set, the murky six-note Predator theme builds in intensity with imposing brass and strings until hitting a tense crescendo to close out the cue.
The way this score – and the film – are structured is in several time periods, telling distinct stories of humanity’s encounters with the Yautja. The first begins in 841 A.D. – hence the title of the prior cue – and “Flaming Arrows” continues its course; wary strings open the piece, with moody vocal murmurs, eerie electronics and echoing percussion then cementing an increasingly sinister tone for the remainder of the track’s three minute runtime. This chilling atmosphere continues into the subsequent “Avenge Me” until action thunders into centre stage with “Knock On The Front Door”; here the six-note pseudo-Predator theme returns and pounds malevolently alongside crashing drums and chanting vocals until reaching a sudden rapid finish at just past the two minute mark. Sinister ambience then returns in “Sweet Revenge”, though those irritatingly distorted electronics that plagued some of the score for Alien: Romulus start to appear in the back half alongside deafeningly in-your-face percussion, shrill vocals and frantic strings. To close out the 841 A.D. story, “Through The Mist” then reprises the distorted electronics together with increasingly eerie vocals for the first half of the cue until the tense pace gives way to solemn strings for the finale.
“Japan, 1609” opens the second story, and immediately the previously moody and almost tribal instrumentation fades in favour of a much more tranquil, string and woodwind-heavy style that’s very clearly influenced by traditional Japanese music – and it sounds absolutely sublime as a result. This echoing nobility continues for much of the rest of the track before eerie hints toward Silvestri’s Predator start to re-emerge. The gentle woodwinds continue into “20 Years Later” in more forlorn form before the back half and subsequent “Duel” thunder action back into the fray with now tenser woodwinds, imposing drums and blasting brass. With tensions at boiling point the six-note Predator theme then reprises towards the end of the latter cue, with frantic percussive action also taking point in “Predator V.s. Kenji” afterward until reaching an almost deafening crescendo finish. Final two tracks – of this time period, anyway – “United” and “Fallen Leaf” then wrap up the action, with the former thundering the imposing percussion along together with the distorted electronics from earlier and tense interspersions of the six-note Predator theme, and the latter slowing things down for a quietly mournful return to the string and woodwind-based tranquility from earlier.
The third story – set in 1941 – opens with “Dreams Are Fuel”, with the Japanese-esque style giving way to bright, hopeful orchestra with a dash of heroism mixed in, and soaring brass takes the stage wondrously for this first track. The subsequent “What Does Flying Mean To You?” then continues in a similarly optimistic vein at first before tensions start to rise again with the six-note Predator theme moodily in tow. Seven minute action setpiece “Heat” then dials up the tension dramatically with frenetic strings, bursts of in-your-face brass & electronics and aggressive vocals that feel like they’re almost hunting you in their ferocity. A little surge of orchestral hope does then break through towards the end of the track, which comes to full fruition in “Flare” as heroic brass finally beats down the Predator theme to end the 1941 story. The final four tracks of the album then focus on the “crossover” finale as each of the time period protagonists join forces, with “Arena” setting the stage with moody atmospheric hints toward the Predator theme before “Weapon of Their Tribe” and “Fight To The Death” restore the action. The former focuses on deafening vocals, brass and fast-paced strings, with the latter re-introducing strings-based hope at its halfway mark. “Remember Me” then closes the action – and the album – on a thunderous crescendo.
Overall, Benjamin Wallfisch’s score for Predator: Killer Of Killers is enjoyable in part, but it sadly focuses far too heavily on anonymous action and irritatingly distorted electronics to be really entertaining or standout as a whole. The album also has a very similar issue to that of Sarah Schachner’s Prey in regard to Alan Silvestri’s iconic Predator themes in that it barely uses them, and even when it does it reprises them in an annoyingly altered, barely recognisable manner. Interestingly too, Killer Of Killers utilises the same six-note hint toward Silvestri’s main theme that Prey does, so you do wonder whether it’s a director mandate at this point rather than a composer choice thematically. But on a more positive note, the six-note approach does work in terms of setting a dark, malevolent tone for the Predators themselves – see “Earth, 841 A.D.” – and it is nice to see at least some thematic cohesion here. Wallfisch also does an excellent job in stylistically showcasing the film’s three main time periods, with the woodwind work on the Japanese era being the absolute highlight. All-in, it’s just a bit of a shame that unlike Prey which had a fantastic main theme of its own in “Naru’s Way”, Killer Of Killers doesn’t really, resulting in some rather anonymous action music and a score that outside of the warped Predator theme, doesn’t really have much to give in terms of memorability.
Stick around for the Silvestri references and the wondrous Japanese elements, but that’s about it.
Score: 6.5/10
Standout Cues: Earth 841 A.D./Japan, 1609
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