Prey (dir. Dan Trachtenberg, 2022)- Review

A blast from the eighteenth century past, Prey brings a pleasantly fresh serving of blood and guts to a bloated 35 year old franchise, with a Revenant-esque survivalist backdrop and plucky canine companion as the zhuzzhed-up backdrop to the retrofitted murder-alien. Avoiding a slavish imitation of the 80s legend, Hulu’s biggest-ever original opener relies on fresh talent- from star Dakota Beavers, whose previous job was at T.J Max, to Coco the ‘unruly’ shelter dog adopted for the movie.

Set in 1719- 300 years before the events of the original film- Prey picks up in the Comanche Nation, as a slightly more feral version of the predator creature makes first contact. Once again looking to face off against the planet’s deadliest hunter, this Ur-Predator runs up against not Arnold Schwarzenegger but a young female warrior named Naru, looking to prove her hunting skills to her skeptical tribe. Plus, rather than Arnie’s military arsenal and team of commandos, Naru has to rely on tomahawks, arrows, and herbal medicine to fend off something far more horrific than a bloodthirsty, superpowered monster: a group of French men.

Lean and mean at under 100 minutes, Prey’s punchy, action-driven plot relies on strong and simple characterisation. Naru (Amber Midthunder) provides a Ripley-esque protagonist in a setup that calls back to the spirit of the 80s, at least: initially contending with unhelpful or unwilling men, her smarts and her frustration make the grisly vindication that bit more satisfying.

Naru, a young Comanche woman, aims to become a warrior by embarking on the “kühtaamia,” a rite of passage ritual where the hunter hunts the hunter who hunts them; doubted by the rest of her tribe, she gets the chance to prove herself when a child disappears from the village, following her sighting of a mysterious flying object. As her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) and a group of other warriors strike out in pursuit as well, the double intrusion of the Predator and a band of French trappers sets up a more dramatic skills test than she might have expected.

Fort Peck Sioux Tribe, the film was also an "opportunity to kind of break down stereotypes" about Indigenous people. The film stars an almost entirely First Nations cast, and even if the feminist themes come on a bit thick in scenes at the village, the overall balance of flamboyant slayage makes for an all-opportunities venture. The Predator is a truly indiscriminate killer, going for bears and mountain lion, men and women, Comanche and French with equal enthusiasm.