Prey Is the Best and Most Intimate Predator Movie in Years

There have been ups and downs in the franchise. It keeps coming back in various new attempts, like any good horror/science fiction property from the '80's. Where the past few films have seen the franchise more fully embrace the action side of things, Prey returns to the horror roots of the original. A film that captures the old-school "creature feature" vibe while providing modern thrills was made.

The films of the predator have kept up with the times. The story of mankind's first encounter with the spacefaring trophy hunters is being changed by Prey. The franchise needs to take the setting back to the days of yore. Even as it hits familiar beats, it gives you a fresh perspective that keeps you interested. This is the first time we have seen a predator kill people in this way.

Prey gives us a set of protagonists who are distinctly different from any we've seen before, and it also gives us a different predator. It is still part of a highly advanced race that is able to travel through space. We all know the tri-laser targeting weapon and how to use it, but there are other ways to change it. The tech is ahead of the times but shows how the aliens have evolved over time. The film continually excelled at it.

Naru is a Native American on the Great Plains who is unhappy with her current position in the tribe. Her father was a great warrior and passed his skills on to her and her brother. Naru feels like she is in the shadows of her more famous warrior family. Naru knows she can help her tribe in more than just gathering and medicine. She needs to complete the khtaamia to be accepted as a warrior and hunter.

When a mountain lion takes one of Naru's tribesmen, she will be able to use her purpose in Prey. A hunting party is going to run down the big cat in order to get their friend back. Taabe sees it as a chance to give Naru her chance at khtaamia because of her skill in healing. I won't detail what happens, but suffice it to say things don't go according to plan A different type of beast stalks the forest as a result of the lion hunt. There is a threat to Naru's tribe that she is aware of. No one is willing to believe her even though she is the only one who has seen the evidence. To ensure the safety of her tribe, Naru sets out on her own to find the creature.

The scale of the encounter in Prey is brought down a few levels. It is not as concerned with teasing threats. The move puts it in line with what made the original predator so great. Prey is a slow-burn approach to dealing with aliens. If you took the alien out of the equation, the two movies would have their own endings. The story intersects with a violent alien at which point the focus shifts to something more mysterious.

The threat of the predator feels all the more pressing because the scope of the story has been brought to a more intimate level. Prey brings the franchise back to its original creature feature roots, which plays to Dan Trachtenberg's strengths as a film maker. Trachtenberg's debut film, 10 Cloverfield Lane, evoked a sense of tension out of the mundane. Even as Naru goes about normal tasks, like setting up camp and picking up trails, there is a sense of something being out of place.

This is only going to get worse, with a rising body count and some of the most brutal kills we have seen so far. With its cold demeanor in doling out death and reveling in the gore of its kills, Prey feels like something pulled out of a horror movie. There isn't a lot of out there action with the monstrous aspect. It is more than enough to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. The action builds throughout the movie, with things starting off simple enough, and continuing to escalate before reaching an action packed final act that barely gives you a chance to breathe.

Each character has a chance to shine in the action scenes. You get a sense for their skill levels and what they are capable of all while making sure each sequence brings that "holy crap!" factor. The cool thing that happens in this movie is the bear, but the Predator duking it out, hand-to-hand, with a bear isn't cool.

A few modern films have been able to implement well a story structure pulled from classic creature features. The interesting part of the story isn't about the creature itself but how the humans we've become attached to deal with it A film needs to balance out the audience's desire to know more with the individual story being told. It is something the newer movies in the series have struggled with, as they sought to expand the lore into something bigger. There was a dash of government conspiracy in the film. There are elements of warring alien groups and a more complicated hierarchy in the film. The films created worlds vastly more interesting than the stories they set in it.

The Prey franchise takes the franchise back to its roots by weaving engaging characters and impressive action into a self contained story. There are bits of lore that hint at bigger connections. There are threads that feel like they could lead to a bigger universe of stories, but they are presented in a way that doesn't distract from the main story being told Given the time period of the movie, the world building takes a more subtle approach. Naru and her tribe don't use advanced technology to understand the creature. Naru is able to learn things more naturally. This knowledge is limited to what she needs to know in order to survive.

The effect of this approach is a film that is enjoyable to watch. The tight perspective on Naru means that audiences are learning about her at the same time. It's cool to see how this character learns from what we know. Prey has fun with some of the franchise's stereotypes, such as how the predator uses heat signatures to track people. The way Naru learns about this ability and how she hides it is very different from what we have seen before.

When I was a child, I was able to trace my love of creature features back to the original, so I was excited to see Prey. I was overjoyed when it was revealed that it would include Native American actors as well. I was excited to see a new story in a franchise that featured Natives at the center of the story. There aren't many movies with Native American protagonists who aren't just companions or villains.

In the past, Native Americans in the media have been mishandled poorly, but in recent years storytellers have worked to change that. Prey does a great job of representing Native Americans. The cast is filled with Native American actors. When it comes to seeing the characters interact with one another, there is no fudging the tribal rolls here.

It is important to understand that casting diversity and authenticity is more than just representation. There is a level of naturalness to scenes when you cast actors from the background. There is a scene in the film where Taabe returns to camp after a successful hunt and the elder of the tribe names him "War Chief." There is a celebration with music and singing. A group of people are dancing in the background. It is a small thing, far from the focus of the scene, and consists of only a couple people. I immediately recognized their dancing.

I have seen a lot of Native dancing portrayed on screen, but it is always obvious when it is done by non- Natives. It feels like the movements are being forced rather than flowing naturally. In this small moment for Prey, it felt like I was watching my family having fun at the same time. There are so many moments in the film that it's hard to count them. The ease with which the main characters and those fleshing out the background embody these characteristics makes large parts of the film feel like watching a slice of life window into the Plains Indians.

The film uses the phrase "hand talk" during a number of scenes. The Federal government cracked down on the use of sign language by Plains Indians in the 1800s because they were "civilized" in boarding schools. Efforts are being made to keep Hand Talking from dying out completely. The amount of care and attention the filmmakers took with highlighting authentic Native representation was hammered home by seeing it in Prey.

The film uses language to show the Natives in a positive light. The Natives are treated like animals by the French traders. The film presents the French as speaking a completely foreign language because it is from Naru's perspective. The film doesn't understand what the traders are saying. Naru does the same thing when she is with them. For a long time, Native languages in film have been used to make Indigenous people out to be wild and uncivilized. Prey is a completely different way of saying that. Naru and her tribe speak English in the film and it was done for the benefit of the audience. The characters in the film are speaking their native languages.

It feels like Prey sets a new standard for Native representation in films. It's refreshing to see how dedicated the filmmakers were to authenticity, and a lot of that comes down to producer Jhane. She has dedicated her work in film to ensuring accurate representation of Natives, having served as a cultural advisor for many years. It shows the importance of accurate representation behind the camera as well as in front of it, considering how well the cultural aspects were handled.

Prey takes the franchise back to basics and sets it in the past in order to revive it. It brings impressive action that holds up to multiple viewings, engaging characters, and plenty of blood and gore to appease horror fans. All of this is wrapped up in a story that is self-contained and appeals to both fans and newcomers. Prey is the best Predator movie since the original, thanks in part to Dan Tractenberg's eye for action and tense filmmaking.

This Friday, August 5th, Prey will be streaming on the internet.

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