Top 10 film of 2022
Prey review.
Prey is a gorgeous, tense, action packed prequel to 1987’s Predator. It doesn’t just go back to the roots of the franchise, it strengthens them. A coming-of-age story wrapped in Predator lore, Prey succeeds at everything it attempts. It’s biggest attempt…franchise resurrection.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Prey
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
Screenplay by Patrick Aison
Starring Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beevers, Dane DiLiegro and Michelle Thrush
Prey Review
Prey would be a good movie if it wasn’t a Predator movie. It’s a secret trick that most sequels don’t bother to try. The Dark Knight would be a good crime drama if you stripped away its Batman elements. Adding in iconic characters, and unleashing Heath Ledger’s Joker to cut right through the plot, elevates it to a great Batman movie. Prey having a Predator hunting through the personal journey of its main character elevates it to a great Predator movie.
Set over 250 years before Predator, Prey is the story of Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche who wants to prove herself as a hunter. She gets more than she asked for when a Predator comes to the Great Plains and begins hunting every dangerous animal it can find. A large group of French trappers are on the hunt for the Predator as well. Naru must survive while learning the skills needed to face off with the ultimate hunter.
First thing’s first about Prey…it is drop dead gorgeous. It is a true shame that the movie was never released in theaters. The sweeping landscapes demand the biggest screen possible. Director Dan Trachtenberg utilizes several overhead shots to convey both the speed of the Predator and Naru’s isolation.
Naru is trained as a healer. Her knowledge of medicine comes in handy more than once. She uses herbs that slow, and cool, the blood. Something that you can imagine would come in handy against a hunter that uses heat vision. While Naru struggles with finishing the hunt she is an expert tracker and a smart planner. Anyone familiar with the Predator franchise will know that being able to lure and trap is a far better use of tactics than trying to fight a Predator.
Naru’s brother Taabe (Dakota Beevers) is a very skilled hunter. He is supportive of Naru and believes in her tactics. He’s adept at finishing the hunt…but knows that Naru sees things he doesn’t in the hunt. Although Naru spends most of Prey alone, her brother is a constant presence whether he is physically with her or not.
Naru’s ability to learn and understand how the Predator thinks is her greatest strength. She uncovers all the secrets that long time viewers of the franchise will already know. That her discoveries feel so earned and natural is a credit to Prey’s script. While the Frenchmen believe that going on offense with their muskets and pistols is a good plan…Naru quickly figures out that the Predator won’t hunt what it sees as weak. People believing Naru is weak is nothing new to her. She’s smart enough to use it against him.
The Predator here is completely badass. Although it doesn’t have the armor and fully developed tech of future versions we’ve seen…its (relatively) primitive technology is even more advanced when compared to that of this time period. Simply put…it wrecks so many people in such fun and brutal fashions. He starts small, skinning a snake it observes hunting a rat. He works his way up to wolf and bear…and inevitably humans. The body count in Prey is massive, the deaths memorable.
Prey wisely utilizes nostalgia lightly but effectively. A famous line referenced here, a pistol related easter egg there. It doesn’t weigh itself down in fan service and as a result provides a great service to the fans. Its strongest reference is in understanding Predator so well. In the original, Dutch eventually understands his enemy, and learns to combat it with brains instead of brawn. That’s Naru’s greatest weapon in Prey. It’s why the story makes sense. That doesn’t feel like something that should need pointing out…but there’s enough people angry that a young girl can take on a Predator with rudimentary weaponry who don’t understand the original movie they purport to love that it does.
The best of Prey’s many attributes is its pacing. Trachtenberg keeps the tension and action moving at a perfect pace. The movie finds time for emotional moments and a strong personal journey for Naru…but never loses site of what people want out of a Predator movie. The characters are strong enough here to have made a good, gorgeous, movie about a young girl learning to hunt and facing the challenges of outsiders impeding on her world. The addition of a stone-cold Predator cutting through the story makes it a great one.
Scare Value
If they were aiming to make a good Predator prequel, they overshot the mark. They made a great one. Easily the best film in the franchise since the original, Prey makes a case for overall franchise best. A great story combined with top notch production and all the Predator related violence you could want. We get to see a Predator fight a bear, people. As this Prey review should make clear, this is the good stuff.
4.5/5
Prey Link
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
Prey Trailer
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