Review: Prey (2022)

Prey (2022)

Rated R for strong bloody violence

Score: 4 out of 5

Prey is the kind of sequel to Predator that feels like it should've been made a long time ago, at least right after Predator 2. Whereas the most recent sequel got bogged down in a ton of convoluted lore, and the Alien vs. Predator series in film, comics, and games does its own thing entirely, this is about as back-to-basics as it gets: a group of badass human characters being stalked and killed by an alien version of the Great White Hunter, who came to Earth for the bragging rights of taking out some of the toughest humans on the planet while fighting under self-imposed limitations to keep things interesting. It's a formula that worked for numerous horror franchises from that time period: drop the slasher villain into a new setting, or put a new twist on the usual formula, and just go from there. In this case, that twist is that the film takes place in 1719 on the Great Plains of North America, the main characters being a group of Comanche warriors and French fur trappers who find themselves going toe-to-toe with a Predator. And what's more, they put the film in the hands of Dan Trachtenberg, who's proven his skill at horror before, albeit of a very different kind with the claustrophobic thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane and the Black Mirror episode "Playtest". The result? Exactly the sort of kick-ass action/horror flick I wanted to see when I heard the premise, a mix of Predator and The Revenant that looks downright gorgeous, gets straight to the point, and boasts a lead performance by Amber Midthunder that ought to make her a star. It's a bloody, no-holds-barred movie that really should've been released to theaters instead of premiering on Hulu, but one that was nevertheless a very entertaining experience (even if I was watching it with a head cold).

The first act is a slow burn that does a wonderful job building tension and introducing us to our protagonists, particularly the heroine Naru, her brother Taabe, and the jerk Wasape who looks down on Naru's ambitions to become a hunter like the men in her tribe. Through it all, the Predator constantly lurks, only rarely seen but with his unmistakable clicking voice echoing through the trees and grasslands. While Trachtenberg loves to show off the natural beauty of colonial-era America, the first act especially filled with sweeping shots of the wilderness that almost call to mind nature documentaries, the film is quick to show us that this landscape is not a friendly place. Our protagonists spend the first act hunting ferocious wild animals in scenes that are almost as thrilling as when the Predator formally introduces himself around the 40-minute mark and proceeds to kick everyone's ass. Throw in some antagonistic hunter-trappers who turn out to be almost as much an obstacle for Naru as the wilds and the Predator himself, and you've got a lean, mean little movie with very little fat but which nonetheless delivers the goods.

Midthunder is great as Naru, a natural-born action star who made me want to pick up my PlayStation controller and join the action myself, such did her moves throughout the film feel inspired by Aloy from the Horizon games. She's not invincible, and is shown early on to be a great tracker but also one who has trouble finishing the job and actually killing the animals she hunts, the fatal flaw that keeps her from being taken seriously by the other warriors in her tribe and also the reason why I bought that she was in danger when the film put her up against a mountain lion, a bear, and eventually the Predator. The supporting cast, too, was solid all around, particularly Dakota Beavers as Naru's brother Taabe, the man who she looks up to as the kind of person she wants to be but who's also shown to be a bit overly cocky over the course of the film, most notably in an early scene where he shoots an eagle with an arrow only for its corpse to fall on the other side of the river just as Naru said it would, forcing him to take a long trip across it.

And of course, we have to come to the Predator himself. Said alien monster is presented, in the tradition of the first film, as an elusive killer who, for much of the movie, is hidden behind either shadows or his cloaking device. It's a stylistic choice that could've easily fallen into the same hideous trap as Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, a film that was so poorly lit that the action became hard to follow, but it works here, used to build an aura of mystery around the Predator even as we see him in action. His appearance is as much of an ugly motherfucker as he ever was, this time boasting a mask seemingly made of bone while wielding new weapons like a laser-guided speargun and a retractable metal fan shield. He's not all sizzle and no steak, either. Even in the early scenes that take place at night, Trachtenberg handles the action as well as he did the slower-going earlier scenes, keeping things as clear as possible so that, even if the Predator seems like he's just a blur as his cloaking fades in and out, we know exactly where the human characters are and what they're doing to try and fight him. The more artistic touches are still here, too, most notably in a scene set in a forest that's recently burned, ash still thick in the air, creating a bleak environment for the Predator to slaughter some asshole trappers in.

My two big complaints would be with the CGI and the supporting cast. While the practical effects work in this film was outstanding, the same could not be said of the computer-generated effects, particularly the various animals who confront both the human characters and the Predator. Their movement felt just a bit too unnatural for me to buy them as the real thing, making me feel like I was watching a video game in a less positive way than in how my mind was mentally comparing Naru to Aloy. The human characters other than Naru and Taabe were also very thinly drawn, with both their fellow braves and the trappers feeling like obvious cannon fodder for the Predator to slice through and the latter coming across as one-note villainous jerks on top of it. It's an unfortunate contrast to the original film, which was rich with supporting characters who sold me on their sense of camaraderie, a group of people who you grew to care about such that you came to hate Dillon as much as Dutch did for treating them like they were expendable. I didn't feel that same connection to any of them here.

The Bottom Line

This is how you do a Predator sequel right. Keep it simple, stupid, and deliver the goods, a motto that this film follows to the letter. If you have a Hulu subscription and you're not squeamish about violence, this one will easily make your day whether you're a longtime fan (in which case you'll probably appreciate some of the little Easter eggs) or a complete newbie to the series.