By Callum Blevins
Prey is a 2022 American Sci-fi, action thriller directed by Dan Trachtenberg and is the fifth film in the Predator franchise which began in 1987. John McTiernan’s original film is a staple of 80’s action. It had everything audiences had come to expect; muscles, explosions, and plenty of it. But it was also a clever subversion of the genre, by adding an advanced alien creature into the mix to out match and kill off these invincible action heroes one by one. After years of countless tired sequels and spin offs, we now have Prey, which also acts as somewhat of a prequel.
Like the other sequels, Prey can’t come close to matching the energy and originality of the original. However, it’s a surprisingly welcome edition to the franchise that gets back to basics, delivering a fun, tightly paced action film. Prey benefits from not only taking the Predator back to a secluded location but also setting it in a different time period; the 1700s. The film centers around Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Comanche warrior who sets out to find and hunt the alien creature to prove to her Native American tribe she’s worthy of being a hunter. The human cannon fodder this time around, doesn’t have access to guns or technology, which feels like a breath of fresh air for the franchise and the characters must rely on their primitive weapons and tracking skills in order to fight off the Predator. This gives the action and violence a fun, unique and visceral feel. The kills are brutal and creative, with the newly designed Predator utilizing plenty of fun new weapons.
What’s perhaps most refreshing about Prey is its tightly paced 90 minute runtime. In a time where all major blockbusters seem to competing for longest runtime, it’s refreshing that Prey wastes no time in its storytelling, it has no fat and is efficiently paced. Our lead heroine is fleshed out and given appropriate motivation all in service to the story at hand, her character arc is entirely based around her hunt for the Predator, so the film is always efficiently moving. The franchise is in safe hands with Trachtenberg, who gives the film a wonderful cinematic flare with its wide shots, major use of rack focus and its geography. From the opening seconds of the film, he knows how to create tension and suspense, constantly showing wides of the location to emphasise the secluded nature. With the predator having invisibility abilities, Trachtenberg knows how to use this as a method for suspense, tension, and visual excitement. Even the sequences involving nature, such as a bear chase is intensely and confidently held.
The films last act isn’t as tight or tense in comparison to the first hour of the film, however, once the Predator is fully revealed the film resorts to just having the creature pop up every five minutes without much build up. A lot of this is also due to a new group of characters introduced primarily for the final act who don’t add much to the picture. As previously mentioned, the film doesn’t quite capture the brilliance of the original. But it gets close a lot of the time, perhaps the one issue with putting a Predator among a more primitive society is that we lose some of the action satire of the original. Nevertheless, Prey still mostly succeeds.
Arguably, the most noteworthy element of Prey is its method of distribution. Despite being made with the theatrical experience in mind, Disney decided the film would be best on a streaming platform. This isn’t due to quality, it’s more due to living in this digital and post covid landscape and Disney seem to be testing the waters in terms of using streaming as a way to compete with cinemas. It’s understandable, but also a shame as a film such as Prey would be perfectly suited for the biggest, best screen you can see it on.
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