Connect with us
Prey
Image Courtesy of Disney+

Film

Prey Takes the Franchise Back to Basics

Dan Trachtenberg’s sophomore feature lives for its brutal kills while also presenting a character-driven action film reminiscent of the 1987 classic film where the franchise all started.

Prey Review

Going back to basics and presenting a thrilling skirmish between two hunters out to prove their mettle, Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey takes the original 1987 Predator’s simple premise and marries character with action in a way that many of its sequels have struggled to realize. Sleekly presented into a nice package, Trachtenberg’s latest breathes new life into a franchise that has gone through many ups and downs. Gone are the commandos who find themselves hunted for sport – Prey sees what happens when the hunt for sport interrupts the hunt for survival.

Prey focuses on Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled tracker and warrior who wants to become the best hunter, as she attempts to find the animal that threatens her camp. Set 300 years ago in the Comanche Nation, Prey acts as an origin point for the Predator – a technologically-advanced alien species that hunts for sport – and wastes no time embedding it within a world still centuries behind in advanced weaponry and technology. Instead, characters rely on bows and arrows, hatchets, and other makeshift weapons to hunt down their prey and put an end to the beast stalking them.

Prey
Image Courtesy of Disney+

Patrick Aison’s screenplay finds itself less interested in the tools at Naru and the Predator’s disposal, and more compelled by how the two characters differ. Evident by the film’s structure playing out as two separate perspectives – one centered around Naru and the other around the Predator – where by the time their characters meet, they are not equals because they fight for different reasons. As Naru’s tribe becomes threatened by what stalks them in the woods, the film continues playing with the differences (and lack thereof) between man and beast.

Prey’s screenplay also puts in the effort of portraying the Comanche nation with accuracy and attention to detail. With a cast consisting primarily of Native American and First Nations actors and the ability to watch the film in the Comanche language, Prey takes the extra steps to give it that historical touch to an otherwise out-of-this-world thrill ride. There’s something grounded to Trachtenberg’s vision of the Predator that somewhat removes the idea that the Predator is an alien species and cements it more as an apex predator of unknown origin forcing itself into unknown territory just for the thrill of it.

Where the screenplay makes some weird decisions is in its insistence on having two parallel perspectives going in tandem. The Predator is not a mystery to the audience and is instead openly shown as a threat to the Comanche tribe Naru is trying to hunt. Her concerns go unheeded by fellow hunters (all of which are men) and she finds herself the lone voice of reason against a sea of tradition and expectation. A hunter from the sky circling their camp is the stuff of make-believe, not reality. To the audience and Naru though, it’s reality and clear-as-day, but the film takes a bit too much time giving credence to naysayers that it becomes slightly frustrating.

Prey
Image Courtesy of Disney+

It also robs the film of the mystery that Trachtenberg is actually really effective at conveying, as seen with 10 Cloverfield Lane. He’s capable of hiding narrative and building character at the same time, but in the case of Prey, it’s all pretty much put on display while being routinely ignored by characters. It ultimately feels like the Predator’s inclusion early on is more to show some brutality without having to jump right into a cat-and-mouse game that audiences familiar with the franchise will already expect. Which works to the benefit of Naru’s character, but lessens the impact when seeing The Predator fully step into the hunter role.

Even with that impact lessened, Prey is at its best when it becomes the Predator movie everyone expects. The action is incredibly well choreographed, with each moment of brutality feeling more like an accent mark on the violence than the main showcase. Instead, it’s watching two hunters, each with the intent of honing their craft, tearing through their environment, and attempting to best one another. Prey telegraphs a lot of its action smartly, incorporating tiny details and expanding upon them in later situations.

Prey
Image Courtesy of Disney+

All of the action and how it develops befits the narrative focused on Naru. As a character who always feels like she has to prove herself even when she’s quite clearly capable, Naru’s constant evolution throughout the film is due in large part to having to adapt to a new form of prey. It’s a natural way to have the character grow without many other ways to show that progression. It also lends itself to set pieces that are always toeing the line between creative and effective. Midthunder’s strong performance as Naru helps solidify the intensity of every skirmish and accentuates the survivalist perspective in the face of a seemingly unstoppable force.

While there’s not a Predator movie I’d single out as particularly bad, the argument can easily be made that Prey is the first time since the original that it has felt this lean. Where the wonder of an advanced-being hellbent on killing just for sport is missing, the intensity of it is not forgotten. Even with a healthy usage of CG, Prey still feels appropriately violent especially when it lets its antagonist run rampant. In combination with a sincere approach to its setting and characters, Trachtenberg frequently lets the film remind audiences of its origins while still putting a fresh coat of crimson paint on a classic formula.

Written By

Chris is a graduate of Communications from Simon Fraser University and resides in Victoria, British Columbia. Given a pint, he will talk for days about action films, video games, and the works of John Carpenter.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook

Trending

2001: A Space Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: Clarke and Kubrick’s Odyssey of Discovery

Culture

Deep Impact was a serious look at the end of the world Deep Impact was a serious look at the end of the world

25 Years Later: Deep Impact was a Serious Look at the End of the World 

Film

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Caps Off the Trilogy With a Heartfelt Bang (Mostly)

Film

The Best Movies of 1973 The Best Movies of 1973

The Golden Year of Movies: 1973

Culture

The Zone of Interest The Zone of Interest

Cannes 2023: Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest is a Manicured Vision of Hell

Culture

Jeanne Du Barry review Jeanne Du Barry review

Cannes 2023: Maïwenn’s Great Hair Goes to Great Lengths in Jeanne Du Barry

Culture

Black Flies Gripping Black Flies Gripping

Cannes 2023: Black Flies— Gripping Descent into the Underbelly of New York’s Urban Misery 

Culture

Asteroid City: A Gimmicky Vanity Project Asteroid City: A Gimmicky Vanity Project

Cannes 2023: Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City is a Gimmicky Vanity Project

Culture

La Passion de Dodin Bouffant: La Passion de Dodin Bouffant:

La Passion de Dodin Bouffant: Surfeit Cooking Drama Most Inane Film at Cannes

Culture

BlackBerry movie review BlackBerry movie review

BlackBerry Is a Wonderfully Canadian Account of a Dying Tech Dream

Film

The Mother Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Paez The Mother Jennifer Lopez and Lucy Paez

Jennifer Lopez’s The Mother is Eerily Similar to Enough, But That’s Not a Bad Thing

Film

Godzilla 1998 Godzilla 1998

Godzilla at 25: When Hollywood Made a Manhattan Monster Movie, with Disastrous Results

Film

Discovery channel Discovery channel

The Head-Scratching Moves Discovery Has Been Making

Culture

10 Best SummerSlam Matches 10 Best SummerSlam Matches

10 Best SummerSlam Matches

Culture

Sean Connery Sean Connery

60 Years Later, Dr. No Remains the Paragon of Bond

Film

The Matrix Reloaded The Matrix Reloaded

20 Years Later: The Matrix Reloaded was Underwhelming, but Still Underrated

Film

Connect