Director – Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, The Boys)
Starring – Amber Midthunder (Longmire, Hell or High Water), Dakota Beavers (Burning Questions), and Dane DiLiegro (Sweet Home, American Horror Stories)
Release Date – 2022
Rating – 3.5/5
I grew up in the late 80s and early 90s and spent more time than I should have in my local video store. I also convinced my dad to get the cable box so I could watch movies and shows on HBO, Cinemax, and The Movie Channel. Sometime over the years I was able to watch Predator and Predator 2. They weren’t my favorite films but I did enjoy them. Since then I’ve stayed on top of the Predator films with the exception of The Predator that was released in 2018.
I enjoyed them all, even both AVP films, but I have no idea why I took the time to find and watch The Predator. However, when news of Prey was announced I knew this would be one film I couldn’t pass up. I had to see it and once it arrived on Hulu I made sure I had time to watch it the following weekend. No one asked for this review but here it is.
**Spoiler Alert** The film takes place 300 years ago with a tribe of Native Americans who are dealing with the encroaching French fur traders and tribe politics. We follow the young Naru (Midthunder) who wants more than to be a gathering like most females. She longs to be a hunter like her brother and often sneaks out on her own hunts. However, on one of her excursions she tracks something unusual and tries to warn her tribe. They ignore her warnings and soon come face to face with an ancient Predator. When the men in her tribe fall prey to the predator she steps up to stop it before it wipes out her tribe. **Spoiler Alert**
Prey is a movie that was custom made for fans of the Predator films. Most forget that the first two Predator films were action films with a horror element. Most of the modern Predator films continue the horror inspired action which does draw hate from the genre fans but that’s because they mostly expect a more horror based film after the title character often gets bunched together with the xenomorph and aliens. Prey once again delivers on what Predator fans expect. A lot of great action sequences and some horror elements that really made for a fun and enjoyable popcorn flick. This is one I will be adding to my collection come hell or high water.
The acting in this one is great. Midthunder is absolutely astounding as the young aspiring Comanche hunter. Her dialogue and delivery is better than most seasons actors and her action scenes are very intense. She does an amazing job with her performance and Trachtenberg knocked the casting out of the park with her and the remainder of the cast. What is truly impressive is that a good portion of the Comanche’s delivered some seriously unforgettable performances with very little experience. The film has an amazing cast with some seriously amazing performances.
The story for this one is unique to the Predator series. Most of the Predator films are set around modern day with AVP touching some on their decades-long arrival to our planet to hunt and mine DNA from predator animals. However, none actually takes us back in time to those encounters. It was a different approach and a bit of a gamble that actually worked. It was a lot of fun, had a tremendous amount of character development, and molds a legacy for future Predator films in different historical periods. I can’t wait to see where we go next.
Finally, the film has some fun deaths with a lot of practical and visual effects. Usually, the visual effects stand out in films like this but in Prey they compliment the practical effects. I loved the gory deaths and how they were incorporated into the film. It will not disappoint especially those of you with an eye for the red stuff. Overall, Prey is not a movie that should be slept on. This is the Predator film that fans have been asking for. I highly recommend checking this one out. It was a lot of fun.
