Top hunters fight for lives when hunted
Depending on how you count ’em, “Prey” is either the fifth “Predator” movie or the seventh — the debate stems from if you count the two dreadful “Alien vs. Predator” films from the 2000s.
Regardless, there have been a lot of them; taking place in the jungle (the Arnold Schwarzenegger original from 1987, “Predator”), a violence-torn Los Angeles (“Predator 2,” 1990), even on another planet (2010’s “Predators,” a reimagining of “The Most Dangerous Game”). So if you’re going to make one of these films, you better come up with something distinctive and different.
Well, no one expected this take: a “Predator” movie set in the 18th century on the North American plains, with a predominantly Native American cast. “Prey,” which begins streaming Friday, Aug. 5, on Hulu, is a lean, mean, riveting back-tonature horror film that flies through its thrilling 99 minutes.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (“10 Cloverfield Lane,”), “Prey” is set in 1719. Naru (Amber Midthunder, “The Ice Road,” “Legion”) is a young hunter in the Comanche Nation. She’s the only woman among several budding young hunters in their tribe. To become providers for their tribe, they must prove themselves in a rite of passage by bringing back big prey on their own.
Two things to know about Naru: She has one heck of a loyal dog and is an elite ax-thrower. Naru’s spiritual brother and frequent good-natured sparring companion is Taabe (newcomer Dakota Beavers), perhaps the most talented of the group.
One day, while off on her own, Naru sees strange lights flashing across the sky. We 21st century beings recognize it as a spaceship. For her, it is something from the spirit world. What she doesn’t know is that the ship deposits one of its travelers onto the land, which we movie fans recognize as a Predator (a 6-foot-9 former basketball player, Dane DiLiegro, wears the suit).
The Predator’s mission is to seemingly kill everything that lives and breathes, from buffalo to bears to snakes. Sometimes it drinks their blood; other times it seems to kill because it can. Almost always it skins the creatures.
Humans, of course, are next on the menu.
At this point, the discerning moviegoer might contemplate the inherent weakness of the “Predator” movies: To what purpose do these creatures unleash death and destruction? They are obviously intelligent enough to have mastered interstellar space travel. All that science and technology and astronaut training just to fly millions of light years across the galaxy to wreak havoc?
And why is only one of them deposited on Earth? Is it an advance scout, or is it on shore leave and this is its idea of R&R? Perhaps it is a criminal and its life sentence is to be stranded on an alien planet.
But if you’re the hunted, you’re probably not thinking of those things. When Naru and her companions encounter the Predator, they are locked into an epic battle of survival against a much better-equipped opponent.
All this plays out among gorgeous scenery. The film was made near Calgary, Alberta, much of it shot on Stoney Nakoda Nation land. Every scene is outdoors, and cinematographer Jeff Cutter used only natural light.
Which raises the question: Why is “Prey” not in theaters? Disney has not given a reason, but since its acquisition of 20th Century Fox (since renamed 20th Century Studios) in 2019, Disney has been criticized by some industry analysts for short-changing its new division’s films.
With its appealing lead performance by Midthunder and its spectacular scenery, “Prey” would have popped on a big screen and been one of the summer’s most invigorating genre films.
Even on the small screen, it hits its target.