Prey

“I don’t know that this thing can be killed.”

The Predator franchise is one of the best known and longest running sci-fi horror franchises in cinema history, and for good reason. With one of the most beloved monster movies to start it off and a crossover with the Alien franchise that shifted cinema forever, the franchise has needed revitalisation after some interesting choices.

That revitalisation comes in the form of Prey, written and directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Dan Trachtenberg (with Patrick Aison and Jim Thomas as writing partners). In the 1719, Naru (Amber Midthunder, Legion) is trying to prove herself worthy as a warrior in the Comanche Nation, when she and her tribe are threatened by an other-worldly threat that they are truly unprepared for.

The premise of Prey is simple, and basically the same as the premise of the original Predator; a group of skilled hunters encounter a Yautja as it comes to Earth to prove itself worthy within its culture as a skilled hunter. The mirror effect of these movies is what makes them so effective; the humans and the Yautja don’t know what they’re up against and must learn how the opponent hunts in order to defeat it. For the Yautja, that victory comes with the claim of a trophy to prove its skill and ability as a hunter; for the humans, the reward is simply survival. Prey makes this clear in the same way that Predator did; various opponents are put up before the Yautja beyond human beings; snakes, wolves, mountain lions and bears all find themselves standing against this prize fighter before it finds itself in conflict with any humans, and eventually it encounters both the Comanche warriors and French voyageurs in its hunt. The challenge is to stay alive, and the humans can only do that by surviving long enough to learn how the Yautja hunts; which is the central theme of Naru’s place in the narrative.

A lot of the narrative is placed on Naru’s back as a result, and Midthunder is more than capable of holding it in place. Her story is one of underestimation; even her brother and strongest supporter, Taabe (Dakota Beavers), doesn’t fully believe that she has the capabilities to survive as a hunter, and her drive to prove him and everyone else wrong is both what constantly puts her in danger, and also is what keeps her alive through her various encounters with local wildlife, the French, and the Yautja. Midthunder’s strength and determination shine through in this role, giving us a character who is quick-witted and curious, who adapts to her environment and to her limitations in a way that fulfils that narrative device of mirroring the drive of the Yautja. She’s also accompanied by her dog, Sarii, who stands beside her in her conflicts and plays a pivotal role in keeping her alive pretty frequently. Sarii is played by Coco, who was rescued from a shelter specifically for the film, which is reason enough to see it. Beavers and the rest of the supporting cast do their jobs well here, but Midthunder & Coco are undoubtedly the stars of the show.

Prey also used practical effects as much as reasonably possible, with Dane DiLiegro (Running Point) suiting up to play the Yautja in live action. DiLiegro does a fantastic job of capturing the Yautja’s other-worldly movement, keeping the Predator’s strength and speed at the forefront of the performance without making it seem cartoonish. Trachtenberg takes time to highlight the adaptability of the Predator through sequences showing its hunts, but it is the fights against human combatants in which DiLiegro really shines in terms of physicality.

Prey is, for me, a return to form for what the Predator franchise should be; refreshing the series after getting bogged down in complicated lore and unnecessary subplots involving genetic engineering, and getting back to the basics of survival against a terrifying foe. The biggest letdown for this film is that it didn’t get a proper cinematic release; and while I have deeply enjoyed watching it, I would’ve loved to have seen it in an actual cinema. Maybe someday.

Prey is available to watch on Disney+ and I encourage you to do that, so that they let Dan Trachtenberg make more of these. Which, to be fair, he already has…