The new film in the Predator franchisem, simply titled Prey (2022, directed by Dan Trachtenberg), is a breath of fresh air after the disappointment that was 2018’s The Predator.

The film’s story serves as a prequel to all the rest, taking place over 200 years before the first film, Predator (1987). 

This particular tale follows Naru (played by Amber Midthunder), a skilled hunter of the Comanche Nation in 1719. However Naru isn’t taken seriously because she’s a woman, with the tribe preferring her to be a gatherer.

In order to prove her worth, she has decided to partake in her tribe’s tradition to officially become a hunter by taking down a dangerous beast. Though she’s not completely alone, as she’s brought her dog Sarii to help track her prey.

Meanwhile her brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers), the tribe’s best warrior, is trying to find her and bring her back home.

However, Naru is hunting no simple wolf or bear. For her hunt, she has her sights on the deadliest creature in the known galaxy, the Predator, who’s hunting for some worthy game. 

Prey is similar to the original Predator, in that the story feels like it’s being invaded by the predator and the characters in that story have to adapt in order to survive this new threat.

While in the original movie, the Predator invaded a generic ‘80s action flick, here the predator invades a coming of age survival story.

While the characters in this film may not be as memorable as the cast from the first three films in the franchise. The three main characters, Naru, Sarii, and Taabe, work well off each other in a believable way that the viewer buys there for each other.

Something else the movie does similar to the original is making the predator more intimidating and mysterious. For long stretches of the runtime you don’t get a full shot of the predator, only its legs, or the shimmering of its cloaking device. 

But when the predator does eventually show up in all its glory, it’s done in an intense way, and has a different enough design to keep the tension high and make the viewer wonder what this predator can do. 

Speaking of what the predator can do, the gore is well done and imaginative. Most of it is done practically, helping it look better than if they were just done on a computer.

No film is perfect however, and this flick certainly has its fair share of problems.

Firstly, while the three main characters are memorable and fun to watch, everyone else in the cast is forgettable. 

Which is a real downgrade compared to the first three movies where the entire cast was memorable. 

Whether it was a squad of larger than life 80s action heroes, some loose cannon cops who didn’t play by the rules, or some of the deadliest people on the planet, you remembered who they were and liked watching them on screen.

Another flaw is that Naru can come off as pretty unlikeable at times. 

For example, near the beginning of the movie, she’s hunting a mountain lion and she fails, nearly dies, and her brother has to carry her back to camp and go back and kill the mountain lion by himself. 

When he comes back he’s celebrated and made chief hunter, and Naru gets angry, claiming her brother stole her glory, and gives him quite the attitude. 

It’s clear the audience is supposed to side with Naru in this instance and feel bad for her, instead the exact opposite happens. Instead, the story makes a person feel bad for Taabe, as what he did was really quite incredible and legitimately earned his title. 

And all he wants at this moment is his sister to celebrate in the festivities, he’s not even rubbing it in her face.

Though Naru grows into a more likable character as the film goes on, early on she can come off as quite annoying.

Something else that might be a turn off for some viewers is that the movie is a very slow start, the predator doesn’t show up fully till around 45 minutes in. And large amounts of the movie is establishing shots of nature and the wildlife. 

The last major problem worth mentioning is that while most of the kills and gore is done practically, and look great, there are a few kills that are done with CGI and don’t look great and are very distracting

In the end, Prey is a fun and intense watch that’s worth checking out if one has Hulu, and is willing to wait through a slow start.

Patrick will soon be starring in a film about a movie critic trying to escape from aliens, Pray