"Prey" Review: A Prequel that Easily Wins the Hunt

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Platform: Hulu

The “Predator” film franchise has long carried a loyal fan base, of which I am very much not a part. Having all but the second film in the series under my belt, it is not foreign to me, but the enjoyment of this creature would end once the credits rolled and a rewatch was never much on my mind. Even so, the trailers for the newest addition to this 30+ year old franchise captured a raw and simple essence that felt like a welcome rollback to the heavy sci-fi vibes on which the latter films focused.

Taking place in 1719, Naru (Amber Midthunder) is a member of a Comanche tribe that lives in the Northern Great Plains. Naru strives to prove herself as a hunter and joins her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) on a search party for one of their own. Already a skilled tracker, Naru begins to notice odd signs that point to a even greater threat, though the hunters by whom she is surrounded ignore her observations. That threat slowly arrives in the form of a Predator, an alien hunter that has traveled to Earth to establish its dominance over the planet's greatest game. To protect her tribe from this highly advanced threat, Naru must learn from her failures to combat the Predator, while also navigating a conflict with French fur traders.

A fair amount of criticism has been shared on the movie's opening act, citing is as slow and boring. Not only did I enjoy the movie's establishing of the Naru and her place in the tribe, but it also lended itself to some of the more beautiful establishing shots of the area. Something Dan Trachtenberg did really well in his directing is developing a strong-willed, yet vulnerable, central character. Naru was not just the POV character for the conflict, but also for some of the film's deeper themes. She was a layered individual who developed in skill throughout the movie through her failures, which kept her compelling and well away from being simple Predator fodder. It was easy to be invested in Naru wanting to become a hunter, wanting to prove herself as more than what her tribe values in women, which helped the movie remain engaging when there was little action to be found.

As indicated by the trailers, the narrative is kept simple and follows a clear and singular path to its obvious final conflict. It never strays from that path, even while carrying the weight of multiple themes, such as Naru's journey to break gender norms. The subplots ultimately serve to supplement the skills that Naru will use to fight against the Predator, even though they are framed to focus on her personal journey as a hunter. Knowledge and strategy are positioned as the ultimate weapon and Naru's knowledge of the land and that which she gathers on the Predator all prove to be the deciding factor in their final battle. It proved to lend a sense of realism to the movie by having her come face-to-face with the Predator multiple times and struggle against it. Rather than out-muscling the threat, Naru is constantly taking new knowledge and strategies into every subsequent battle, capturing a human's greatest strength as opposed to the raw nature of the animals quickly hunted down.

This a film that is beautifully shot, with a lot of cinematography that widely captures the landscapes surrounding the area. There was a real sense of vastness to the area in which the story takes place, it felt like quite a journey from the river valley to the forest to the bog. It is an impressive to see Trachtenberg capture such distance after claiming fame from "10 Cloverfield Lane," a film that is confined to an underground bunker. The makeup design on the Comanche and the design of the Predator itself were both congruently organic, further setting the movie apart from its more advanced sci-fi counterparts. Some particular visuals were also very compelling, particularly the neon green blood set against the dark background of the final act. The fight scenes are filmed with a balance between close-up and distance shots, providing multiple perspectives from which to watch the violent conflicts. The fights were both intelligent and brutal, with the Predator tending to capture the latter, though still showing its ability to carry planned out attacks. This is one of many ways in which the Predator and Naru paralleled each other, with both having something to prove in their hunts, strengthening the characters' relationship and conflict with one another.

Every film will have downfalls as the subjectivity of the art lends itself to such. There seemed to be inconsistencies in what is taught about the Predator and its hunting habits. Naru deduces that it only attacks what it perceives as a threat, though there were a couple of times when it takes out non-threatening characters, such as the fur trader who was laying down on the ground and gets stepped on, causing him to scream. Naru, herself, comes face to face multiple times against the creature and ended up surviving many times on some convenient technicality. While I still proposition the strength of having her experience the threat multiple times, the conclusions to those encounters seemed to be void of character-strengthening imagination. As well done as the final battle was, the absolute final blow to the Predator involved so much luck and plot magic that it came off as disproportionate to the grounded approach of the previous battles. Admittedly, the opening act, as vital as I claim it to be, could have been more efficiently packaged and paced a bit faster to the ultimate hunt. Awfully minor, but as good as the Predator and its CGI elements looked, the same attention was not given to some of the animals in the movie.

There are very few nitpicks that could truly damage the quality of this film and it almost feels unreal that it was released straight to Hulu. Even with its social commentary, the movie remains subtle in its preaching and lets its violence do most of the talking. This is a very different movie from the rest of the franchise and it excels greatly because of that. An enjoyable cast, strong directing, and a focused story are the recipe the key ingredients, but the action pieces and creative brutality supplement the simplicity in a way that never feels overwhelming. "Prey" is a victory for the "Predator" franchise, its indigenous cast, and for those seeking creative risk with a nostalgic feel.

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RATING: 🪓 🪓 🪓 🪓.25 / 5

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