Prey: Film Review
I’ve never been super into the Predator franchise so I thought Prey wouldn’t be for me. Thankfully, it’s very different and breathes new life into the series; making it feel fresh and exciting.
The film is set within the Comanche Nation Native American tribe in 1719 and follows Naru (Amber Midthunder) as she tries to prove herself as a hunter among the young men in her tribe. She is good at tracking but fails to execute a kill and “bring it home”. Her skills are well and truly tested when the Predator, a highly evolved alien with futuristic weapons, shows up in their territory.
What I love about this movie is how different it is from the rest of the franchise. The Predator is obviously there but that’s the only connective tissue to the other films. Director Dan Trachtenberg has really revamped it by setting it almost 300 years ago and putting a woman – a Native American woman no less – as the lead protagonist of his movie. So if you’re groaning and thinking, “Not another Predator movie”, you need to scratch that thought and go in with an open mind.
You really don’t need to have seen every (or any) Predator movie to enjoy this. I’m sure there are little details and nods that you may miss but watching the previous movies is not essential to follow the story. I saw the first film years ago and maybe one of the more recent ones so I was a little hazy with the specifics and I did just fine.
The film is simple but effective. It does enough character building that you know who Naru is and care about her fate but the focus is on the hunting and the action. It feels like a survival thriller as it’s mostly Naru on her own against the extraterrestrial monster (although cannon fodder pops up occasionally) and it is raw, realistic and gritty. The action sequences look and feel practical for the most part and the fight choreography is very cool.
Midthunder is so good in the lead role. Naru doesn’t talk very much but she doesn’t need to – she says it all with her eyes. She is (mostly) fearless, resourceful and determined to take on the big bad to prove everybody wrong and is more than capable with her weapons. I was so impressed by the way she wields her axe on her rope!
Trachtenberg has totally reinvigorated the franchise and given us a Predator film unlike anything we’ve seen before in the franchise. It’s a shame it’s not being released in cinemas tbh.
On Disney+ on Friday 5th August