The prequel is set in colonial North America, with sweeping landscapes as a backdrop for the action.
Prey is a prequel to the famous Predator franchise stemming from the original in 1987. The Predator franchise is renowned for its suspenseful, shocking, and bloody scenes. While the series has somewhat stagnated in the 2000s with additional sequels, Prey is set to reinvigorate predator fans and back to the root of what made the series so iconic: “The Predator”.
The movie is set in the late 1750s and is set around a group of Native Americans surviving in the wilderness of North America. The main protagonist of the story is a young girl named Naru who wants to prove herself as a hunter even though women at this time were not looked upon as being capable of anything other than housework. Her brother Taabe, is a successful hunter and leader but is also compassionate for his sister’s need to become more than just a housemaid.
Taabe allows her to come on a trip with them into the forest where they are tracking a mountain lion. The others get lost and split up until it is just Naru and her brother hiding right out of sight of the beast. Naru attempts to kill the lion but is overwhelmed and is knocked unconscious. When she awakes, she is resting in the village and sees her brother come home carrying the body of the lion he slayed. He is promoted to chief and she can only watch as her aspirations are taken coldly from her. The rest of the movie focuses on Naru seeking to get her honor back and the ultimate fight between herself and the Predator that she has been training for.
Where Prey really excels is when the Predator itself is on the screen. The movie puts a lot of work in making the Predator more than just a one dimensional killing machine and actually focuses on how it views the world around him. The Predator has rules and conduct on how he does his hunting. For example he will not hunt the defenseless or those who are not hostile. He also does not kill simply for fun. When the movie is able to use the environment and the Predator’s vast array of weapons and strategies to have unique fights with other characters. The movie also portrays the environment and the Native Americans well and shows how they utilize the resources they have. This provides the movie a unique angle compared to the more modern weapons that the original movie uses.
Prey struggles when trying to keep a simple storyline. The movie wants to explore a lot of real world topics but doesn't do any particularly well. An example of this is Prey’s attempt to show how the French colonists are invading Native American land. In actuality it comes off as the writers needing another villain of the movie because they can't utilize the Predator by itself. It makes the movie disjointed from the main story and feels like a forced addition. The movie needing a clear villain is perhaps the hardest part to justify when they have the Predator to fill any role they need.
Another thing that the movie doesn't do particularly well is the dialogue. Sometimes it is so jarring that it can take the viewer out of the movie. Some scenes can feel forced and unnatural. Many of the action scenes seem clearly like actors in front of a green screen, not really interacting with the fact that they are in danger. This is fine if the scenes involve the Predator because there was a physical costume for the actors to interact with but when scenes take place in the environment and with CGI animals, the movie struggles.
Overall Prey is a movie that does well in its visual spectacles and the utilization of the Predator in scenes, but lacks a clear vision and suffers from the overuse of CGI and green screen that many other movies suffer from. In the scenes that the Predator is in the movie has suspense and tension but he is somewhat underused compared to what could have been done.
Prey is a new take on an old movie franchise and compared to many modern adaptations it does a good job at keeping the feel of the originals while adding new elements to blend with that.
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