A Brief History
On November 7, 2025, American science fiction action film Predator: Badlands was released in theaters in the United States by 20th Century Studios.
Digging Deeper
If you can believe it, this is the seventh film in the Predator franchise, and one that takes a serious turn from the others! Unlike the more serious, general horror film genre of the other films, Badlands has a decidedly different mood for the film, something evident from the first time the title killer alien meets the femme fatale of the film, a cyborg (or synthetic as the movie calls “her”), a character named Thia played by the fetching Elle Fanning.
This unlikely duo embarks on a quest ostensibly to help Dek, an outcast Yautja (the species of alien that the Predators are) achieve redemption by slaying an allegedly unkillable monster. Dek is played by the much longer named actor, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi who is a much more serious character than the wise cracking Thia. Perhaps the dreaded PG rating is to blame for the relative lack of gore and less somber tone for this film, for though many creatures and synthetics are killed off during the movie, no humans are seen to be killed or maimed during the film.
The 107 minute running time goes by quickly with lots of good special effects and action, though audience members expecting to see a more humanly gritty film in line with the others in the franchise may be disappointed, in fact, an observation noted by other reviewers and movie goers. We, on the other hand, found the film entertaining and it kept our interest up throughout the cinematic journey, partly due to the RealD 3D effects.
If you can handle a cute looking baby monster that befriends our protagonists and the more or less constant babble from Thia, we believe you will also enjoy the movie. Just do not expect the darkness and human horror of the other Predator films and you will be fine!
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Did you enjoy this film?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Sacks, Ethan. Predator: Badlands (2025) #1. Marvel, 2025.
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