For as impressive as Dan Trachtenberg’s (10 Cloverfield Lane) Prey, the origin story of the successful Predator franchise is, it’s a travesty that this movie did not receive a theatrical release. From Forbes.com about the movie’s release to Hulu/Disney+, over a theatrical fun.
Since ‘Prey’ was a holdover before Disney bought Fox in 2019, the potential for post-theatrical streaming boosts was contractually limited. Had it been released in theaters, its post-theatrical afterlife would have begun not on Disney+ or Hulu but on HBO Max. However, if Disney wanted the film in theaters badly enough, they likely could have worked out a post-theatrical deal akin to ‘Death on the Nile, ‘ which premiered at home after theatrical on both Hulu and HBO Max. It didn’t, so theatrical was never in the cards.
- Predator (1987) – 80% critics/87% audience
- Predator 2 (1990) – 31%/44%
- Predators (2010) – 65%/52%
- The Predator (2018) – 34%/22%
This doesn’t even include the abominations of both Alien Vs. Predator and Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem. So, I do understand where the studio was coming from. However, I wonder if Prey was screened before a decision was made or if it was always destined to be a streaming release. I say this because if it had been audience-tested beforehand, there would have been enough buzz to warrant better marketing and promotion as it made its way to the big screen. However, that is neither here nor there and doesn’t take away from the underseen and quiet masterpiece that Prey is.
A large audience will not know that Prey is part of the Predator franchise, which has nothing to do with its lack of a theatrical run. The film’s title certainly doesn’t have any association with the word ‘predator,’ which is a mainstay in pop culture (all six previous films had Predator in the title in some fashion). Additionally, this prequel takes us far back in time. And not like 25 years before the original. We are talking about 250 years in the past. This is highly original and one of the many characteristics that help make Prey unique.
The film is set in 1719 in the Northern Great Plains. Naru (Amber Midthunder – The Wheel, Priceless) is part of a Comanche tribe, desiring to improve her hunting skills to the rest of her tribe, which includes her older, protective brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers). There is a belief in the tribe that a woman’s place in the tribe isn’t as a hunter, something that Naru is determined to quell. When carcasses of wild animals begin to appear in a fashion that humans or even other animals couldn’t do, the entire village becomes curious. As time passes, intrigue builds around this mystique circling the tribe. When this mysterious entity begins killing men from the tribe, Naru tries to prove herself by trying to kill this unknown entity on her own.
Complicating things even further is the arrival of French fur trappers who captured Naru and Taabe. They, too, are aware of this killing beast and use the siblings as bait. But, as we know from the original and its successors, Predators have keen vision, smell, sound, vibration, temperature, and electromagnetic sensing. So, it will take more than bait to capture and kill a Predator.
This film’s success relies on its ability to build intrigue, intensity, and storytelling. It makes us feel like we have been thrust into the jungle with each character, experiencing the unknown terror as they do. The originality in taking the origin story 250 years ago was neat, as we saw those trying to hunt the Predator with something more than semi-automatic weapons. The script is tight. The visuals are stellar. The sound has a certain ever-present eeriness that aids in the allure. A cast of unknown actors is always risky, but it did enhance the overall product.
Prey is a great film.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 8/10
Acting 8/10
Screenplay 9.5/10
Directing 9.5/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
92%
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- Predator
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