Prey: A Dying Movie Franchises’ Redemption

Warning, this movie is rated R

Prey, the Hulu exclusive movie, is a new and needed addition to the Predator movie series. The Predator movies series, which began in 1987, has been on life support for some time. Although the first movie in the series, Predator, is a sci-fi classic, the three (or five if you count Alien Versus Predator which were spin-off films) additions to this much loved classic have struggled to live up to their parent movie. Prey, however, is a phenomenal action movie which may even top Predator in terms of quality. Prey was released July 21, 2022 as a Hulu original movie, it stars Amber Midthunder as our leading lady, Naru. The film takes place in 1719, making it a prequel to Predator, and takes place in the Northern Great Plains of North America. The basic plot is that an alien known as the Predator has taken a trip to Earth…in order to hunt humans and other dangerous prey. Our hero Naru wishes to become a hunter, a role filled by men in her tribe, and joins a hunting party, which is looking for a member of the tribe who disappeared. They find him gravely wounded and Naru and her big brother, Taabe, must stop this bloodthirsty creature in order to save herself and her tribe. 

This plot is the same basic plot as in most of the other movies, though it manages to feel unique for a multitude of reasons. In previous Predator movies, our heroes were able to rely on firearms and explosives to defeat our ugly alien friend. However, being set in 1719 in North America, Naru doesn’t have access to machine guns and bombs. The Predator’s technology is also a bit more antique than that of later Predators, its famed plasmacaster is instead replaced by a laser guided arrow. This new weapon shoots a metal spike that goes straight to wherever the Predator’s laser is aimed. These new (old) weapons mean our hero must use tactics we’ve never seen before in order to kill her predator. The addition of the French hunters also adds an interesting aspect that isn’t usually found in Predator movies, though that’s all I’m gonna say on that, no spoilers! 

In terms of production quality, this movie is great. It had a budget of 65 million dollars and used it well. The Predator’s suit is well done and looks like an actual living creature, and not just a latex suit. Surprisingly, the suit is a practical effect (with some CGI touch-ups) and was worn by Dane Diliegro, an up and coming creature actor who has done work for The Walking Dead and American Horror Story. An impressive aspect of the Predator suit is the animatronics in its mouth, which control the creature’s jaws. The props all look authentic and of their time, as do the costumes. The movie was filmed in the wilderness of Canada and the set pieces are beautiful. Overall, this movie has a high quality feel, and by not relying heavily on CGI the movie has a more realistic look that I love. The film also manages to have exciting action scenes, even with the Predator being a practical effect. In most movies which feature a monster that is a creature suit (Actor wearing a costume) the creature’s movements look stiff, you can tell it is someone wearing a stiff suit. Luckily, Prey does not suffer from this common pitfall and the Predator looks agile and ferocious.

One significant aspect of this movie is that the main characters are all Native Americans, who are actually played by Native Americans! The Native tribe featured in Prey are Comanches, and the Comanche nation assisted in the creation of the movie. However, this has caused some controversy. Many online have called out the movie for being “woke” because the movie features a mostly minority cast, and a female lead. However, this complaint is entirely pointless, neither of these factors really have anything to do with the movie and are simply bigoted nerds being bigoted nerds. 

Overall, this film is a fantastic addition to the Predator movie series, I would even go so far as to say this movie is the best in the series. I would easily recommend this movie to anyone with any interest in action movies.