Prey (2022) reintroduces the extraterrestrial game hunter back into our homes in a daring prequel. Prey gives us a story of a Predator landing in Comanche territory during the 1700s. Does this prequel have enough guts to reinvigorate the franchise?
What’s it about?
Prey follows the story of Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman who wants to be recognized as a hunter by her family and tribe. Despite her resilience, tenacity, and training, she has yet to earn the respect of her peers, all men, who mock her goal. To earn the recognition of a hunter, Naru must go through “Küthaamia,” a ritualistic hunt where she must successfully kill a lion.
Naru’s older brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers), has already completed the Küthaamia and is recognized as one of the tribe’s most skilled hunters. He reluctantly allows Naru to join him and the others on a hunt for a wild mountain lion, which would satisfy her Küthaamia if she successfully slew the beast. Naru puts together a brilliant plan to trap the beast but is distracted. She notices strange footprints in the woods that belong to something as large as a bear but walks upright like a human. Something dangerous is hunting in this forest, and she believes that her tribe may be its game.
My Reaction
Prey was not on my radar until it was introduced at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. I was initially excited about the sci-fi horror that would center Indigenous people within the story. The cast was relatively unknown to me, although I was somewhat familiar with Amber Midthunder from FX’s Legion series.
However, I had serious concerns. The most obvious one was being culturally sensitive to the material. The history of Indigenous stories in film is not great. Often, Indigenous culture is portrayed in the most stereotypical and offensive way. We have seen some course corrections in Hollywood, but not enough for me to let my guard down. Luckily, director David Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), the film crew, and especially Jhane Myers, a producer on the film, went through extraordinary efforts for historical accuracy.
My number one trepidation was for the franchise itself. The Predator franchise has been middling to awful since the initial movie.
This meticulous production paid off, as Prey gave us a world that felt lived in and authentic. The characters are genuine, with dreams, ambitions, fears, and concerns. The acting of those in the film feels honest as well. Midthunder gives Naru’s character a lot of fire and spunk but also a believable crisis of confidence when things don’t go her way. You can even understand the other hunters who bully and dismiss her. There is blatant misogyny at play with her dismissal. But there are also understandable concerns, as she almost gets killed at different times in the movie.
My number one trepidation was for the franchise itself. The Predator franchise has been middling to awful since the initial movie. Although Danny Glover’s work in Predator 2 is a guilty pleasure of mine, I can’t defend it as a good film. The Alien vs. Predator series should have been a layup, but those movies were god-awful. Not even the greatness of writer and director Shane Black, who also acted in the original Predator film, could craft an exciting or horrifying movie.
The reality is that the original Predator may never be topped. It had arguably the best ensemble cast in the history of action movies, led by Hollywood’s all-time greatest action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was doubtful that a direct-to-streaming film could live up to that film when so many of its predecessors failed.
Luckily, the creators of Prey realized this impossible task and instead went the other direction. With a cast full of unknowns and a smaller budget, trying to recapture Predator’s box office success would have been a suicide mission. Instead, David Trachtenberg and writer Patrick Aison (Jack Ryan) relieved themselves of that pressure and told a unique story of hunter vs. hunter. Sure, there are enough nostalgic callbacks to the first film for fans, but it doesn’t feel like any other Predator story previously told.
The biggest problem with this film is that it isn’t scary. Prey is an entertaining watch, but most of the Predator’s fighting scenes are a bit underwhelming. In fact, some of the animals Naru crosses paths with are scarier than most Predator encounters. Maybe some of the scenes could have benefited from viewing on the big screen, but it wouldn’t have solved the underlying lack of horror.
Overall Rating
Kudos to David Trachtenberg and all those involved in creating the best Predator since its original. The worldbuilding was meticulously done, and the characters were engaging. I hope Prey opens the door for Midthunder and her co-stars in future projects beyond this franchise. Prey was enjoyable, even if the horror elements were lacking.
