Prey review – fresh reinvention of Predator franchise

With six Predator movies in the franchise, it’s hard to find fresh new angles. The 2010 Predators was a welcome surprise with its back-to-basics approach.

Prey takes that formula even further with its setting in 1791 and the Predator (Dane DiLiegro) encountering a tribe of Comanche Nation warriors.

This hardly seems like a fair fight. The Predators typically have the technology edge even with opponents using high ordinance heavy weaponry. With targets using spears, tomahawks and arrows this seems like the Predator should be back home in time for dinner.

Naru (Amber Midthunder) isn’t interested in gathering crops and materials for medicine. She’d rather be out hunting alongside her older brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers).

Taabe isn’t exactly the cliché brother given the time period, but he is concerned Naru lacks the killer instinct to be a true hunter. Besides, Naru gets enough traditional gender role talk from Taabe’s peers and her mother (Michelle Thrush).

A major element of Patrick Aison’s script is Naru’s frustration with not being perceived as capable let alone a threat.

Director Dan Trachtenberg uses a subtle theme repeatedly with hunters and prey. There’s the constant visual of the hunters chasing after their hapless, defenseless victims.

This also helps with the pacing. Trachtenberg starts off with smaller hunters stalking and killing pint-sized prey and gradually building up to larger threats.

There’s a nice sense of escalation as if Naru is fighting various mini-bosses en route to the main showdown with the Predator.

One of the film’s strongest assets is there’s no rush to make Naru this badass killer. She’s able to show rare emotions for the lead in an action movie — fear, apprehension and terror.

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Naru even freezes up when it’s time to go on the offensive. This is a refreshing approach and makes Naru’s eventual heroic turn far more rewarding. Midthunder does an excellent job of conveying these various emotions and the desperation in trying to survive this encounter with the ultimate hunter.

For long stretches of the film, Midthunder is asked to further the story with little dialogue beyond Naru talking to her loyal dog. Midthunder brings a sense of determination and steely resolve to Naru in conquering her fears.

Cinematographer Jeff Cutter establishes some memorable shots. Some simply take advantage of the natural backdrop of the environment. Prey was shot in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which offered plenty of wide-open range spaces.

In other scenes, Cutter added some lighting and smoke effects to make locations even more ominous.

The setting proves advantageous since there’s a variety of threats in the environment beyond the Predator. Some are natural while others are equally dangerous hunters.

With the woman vs. nature theme, Prey plays out a lot like The Revenant if a Predator was added to the mix just for some extra fun.

When it’s time for the big showdown, Trachtenberg doesn’t disappoint. The film’s penultimate battle shows the Predator just absolutely massacring victims thanks to his advanced tech. It’s a riveting sequence with the various ways the Predator inflicts its carnage.

Ideally, Trachtenberg would have just kept the momentum rolling instead of a cool down period before the final fight. From a story perspective it makes sense, but it felt like this decision needlessly padded out the film’s run time.

Prey was exactly the kind of reinvention the Predator franchise needed. It’s intense, suspenseful and filled with exciting action sequences.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Prey premieres on Hulu on Aug. 5.

Photo Credit: Disney

Check out Predators now on Amazon Prime.

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