In 1986, John McTiernan and his crew traveled to Mexico and crafted a nearly flawless movie that blended action, sci-fi, and horror in a truly original way. Of course, I’m talking about Predator. Since its release in 1987, three different filmmakers have tried and failed to recapture the thrills and ingenuity of that film, including Shane Black, who co-starred in it. After three mostly unsuccessful sequels, it was clearly time for a change-up. In come Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison, whose new concept sends the story back in time to the northern Great Plains circa 1719. They probably figured, “Hey, if the sequels ain’t working, why not try a prequel?” It was a solid plan, one that I’m pleased to say worked out pretty well. Oh, and before someone gets on my case, I know that the two AvP movies would technically make it five sequels. Let’s be real, though; they’re spin-offs, and not very good ones to boot.

Prey follows a young Comanche woman named Naru (Amber Midthunder), who wants nothing more than to be a hunter, a respected role that’s traditionally reserved for the men of her tribe. Her brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers), is the most skilled of the hunters, and he reluctantly encourages her to follow in his path. Despite protestations from her mother and other men in the tribe, Naru sets out to prove herself by killing a notable trophy. However, a new hunter has arrived in the area, killing any prey it deems worthy. It’s not long before this hunter, or predator if you will, squares off with humans in the area, meaning the Comanche as well as a group of French fur traders. Naru wanted to be a hunter, but now she’s the hunted. Or is she?

A movie like Prey lives and dies on the strength of its lead, similar to how Predator relied heavily on Schwarzenegger’s machismo and screen presence. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a relative unknown like Amber Midthunder, but as far as I could tell, it clearly didn’t get to her. Her performance as Naru is so full of emotion and physicality, you’d think she’s a seasoned megastar. It also helps that Aison’s screenplay simply but cleverly establishes Naru as an underdog to root for. Unlike Dutch from the original, Naru isn’t a practiced warrior with plenty of kills on her resumé; she’s a skilled novice. Not only that, but nobody believes in her, except for Taabe, but even he has his doubts. Because of this, she’s met with a great deal of condescension and misogyny. Even so, Naru really doesn’t care that nobody views her as an equal or as a threat; she’s determined regardless. This characterization combined with Midthunder’s fierce acting makes Naru a protagonist to be reckoned with, and one that should resonate with most viewers, especially young women.*

In addition to a solid hero, a Predator movie also needs an intimidating titular alien in order to make the grade. Played by Dane DeLiegro, the Predator in Prey is surprisingly different from previous incarnations of the creature. Without spoiling anything specific, this Predator has a distinct look, carries entirely new weapons and gadgets, and uses different tactics. While many will enjoy these changes, I found this new Predator to be a bit inferior to past variants on a few levels. For example, its new weapons/gadgets were cool, but it simply carried too many. The Predator is not Batman. Also, this version of the creature seemed a little dumb to me. I know it’s implied that this is the first interaction between the Predator species and humans, and therefore the Predators don’t know how to hunt us yet. Still, I felt that the screenwriters picked and chose when to make the creature intelligent, rather than having any sort of consistency. I prefer the creepy and cunning 1987 version.**

As for the story, well, if you’ve seen the original movie, then imagine that combined with The Revenant and that’s pretty much Prey. That’s not a knock, though, as I actually think that retreading familiar ground was the right strategy. The first act of Prey, like how the 1987 film did with its soldiers, establishes the Comanche hunters as talented warriors. It’s fun watching Naru and Taabe hunt mountain lions and bears, and it’s similarly cool seeing the Predator square off with rattlesnakes and wolves. I also really enjoyed watching Naru take on the role of investigator, similar to how Mac and Billy did in Predator. The main difference being that the original movie had the benefit of never being seen before, so the mystery of the creature was a lot more intriguing and the reveal a lot more potent. In 2022’s Prey, the investigative bits feel somewhat redundant and perfunctory.

Then we move into the second and third acts, in which the Predator begins eliminating the good guys one by one, building up to a riveting final battle. Again, we’ve seen all of this before. Still, I need to credit Trachtenberg and Aison for mixing things up just enough to make Prey feel unique. One way they do this is by throwing a bunch of French fur traders into the mix, who not only act as secondary antagonists, but they also serve the larger story and its theme (more on that in a sec). Also, they simply make for good cannon fodder, allowing the Predator to cut loose and savage some dudes à la the lab scene in The Predator, my favorite part of that movie. And then there’s the final bout, which in many ways is superior to the one from 1987. I had some issues with it, but more than any sequence in the sequels, it came closest to reminding me of why I love this series and how it showcases human ingenuity.***

As good as the action in Prey is, it suffers from one overarching problem: the humans’ weapons and tactics are uniformly lacking. In the original film, Dutch and his soldier buddies have machine guns and explosives, not to mention the years of military training and experience. It’s all put on display when they annihilate an insurgent camp and take zero casualties. This is why it’s so shocking when the Predator begins to eliminate them one-by-one, seemingly with ease. In Prey, what do the characters have? Well, the Comanche have bows and stone arrowhead-tipped arrows, along with tomahawks and spears. In terms of training, they know how to hunt deer and maybe bigger game every now and then. Alternatively, the French have flintlock rifles and pistols, but they take forever to reload. So yes, of course the Predator is going to cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Taking all of this into consideration, it becomes quite hard to fathom how the Predator could possibly be challenged this time. I, for one, found it hard to believe.

However, one thing that Predator didn’t really have going for it was a larger message or theme to make it hit a bit harder. This is one area in which Prey is definitively better than that movie. Take Naru for example; as I already hinted at, she represents all women who reject the premise that they need to conform to societal norms. She’s a feminist in a time that rejected the very idea of feminism. Additionally, there’s the other theme of European colonialism and how that affected the indigenous tribes of North America. For the Comanche and other natives, the Predator isn’t the only threat they face. Hell, it’s not even the greatest threat. I felt highly disconcerted when I realized that no matter what Naru, Taabe, and the Comanche do, no matter how hard they fight, their ultimate fate is to be displaced or killed by European settlers. Even Schwarzenegger couldn’t overcome that ordeal.****

Where does Prey rank in the Predator series? For me, I would put it right there with Predators as the most engaging addition since the original movie. On one hand, Predators had better ideas on how to advance the series, but its execution was poor. On the other, Prey does little to alter the formula, but its execution is much better. Combine that with some first-rate indigenous actors and a script that touches on some heavy themes, and you have what one could argue is the best in the series since McTiernan’s 1987 classic. Personally, I don’t think any filmmaker will ever craft a Predator movie that surpasses the original, but Prey proves there are still reasons to try to regardless.

If I had to score it, I’d give Prey a 7/10.

Notes:

* I can see how Naru’s defining trait, to not settle for anything less than being a hunter, could be interpreted as belittling traditional female roles. Then again, she uses the knowledge she gained from training as a medicine woman to great effect, so maybe I’m off-base here. Either way, I felt that some elements of the film’s message lacked a bit of finesse.

** I did appreciate how the Predator’s gear in Prey seemed to be a bit more primitive than its gear in past installments. This makes sense, given that this film is set 300 years ago. I still think that the creature had a few too many gizmos, but the attention to detail in their design is impressive nonetheless.

*** SPOILER WARNING: I didn’t love everything about the final fight. As clever as Naru is, I still felt that the creature should’ve put up more of a fight. And cutting its own arm off by accident? Yeah, I don’t think the OG Predator would’ve made that error. Also, the way Naru kills the creature is really neat, but upon reflection, why didn’t the Predator move its head out of the way? It had more than enough time to do so, which again plays into my point that this version of the creature is a bit too dumb.

**** It’s highly commendable that Aison and Trachtenberg found a way to build a story around Native American characters that felt organic and not forced/pandering. Indigenous peoples are underrepresented in film and TV, but like the TV series Dark Winds, Prey is doing what it can to change that. I already praised Midthunder, but the entire cast is terrific, with Dakota Beavers also giving a standout performance. I hope to see more from both of them in the near future.