Prey | Review & Score

About: Naru, a skilled warrior of the Comanche Nation, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.

I remember seeing the trailer to Prey in 2021... I believe. Correct me on that one if necessary. Watching the trailer when it came out, I knew how the last Predator movie went, and it wasn't the greatest experience for the long, storied franchise. This one.. is different. Much different. A good difference. Some may even say, the greatest difference. At least in recent times.

Prey tells the story of the Predator arriving to earth 300 years prior, on Comanche land, where we see a highly skilled tracker and hunter in Naru (played by Amber Midthunder) trying to protect her family and tribe against the newfound threat.

In Prey, we see director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) bring to life one of the most beautiful adaptations of the Predator franchise in recent memory. Not only did he bring a new scope to the series, he brought a sense of realism and tension that we haven't seen in the Predator series since the original. Although, one might argue 2010's Predators was pretty intense in many scenes. Fair play.

But, with Prey, Trachtenberg brings out a much more gory, ruthless setting and story to the frontlines and makes you engross the whole film on the edge of your seat. That's exactly how I felt the whole time. I was on the edge of my seat, thoroughly entertained in so many ways. The right ways.

The atmosphere, the performances, the action sequences, the Predator design, the musical score, cinematography was all on point from beginning to end. I absolutely was blown away from the film. You don't get much personality or a sense of character from the Predator himself, at least as much as we did from the legendary and late Kevin Peter Hall (1987's Predator).

I did, however, love every action sequence involving the Predator in Prey. Every scene he's in is extremely captivating and brought to the screen with sharpness and cleverness to spare. After every action scene, you'll be drooling for more. Trust me on this. Hats off to the stunt coordinators in Prey. Thank you.

I enjoyed the strong storytelling from the perspective of the tribe in the film. Especially from the crafty hands and mind of Amber Midthunder's Naru. She's fierce, strong, brave, courageous, beautiful and such a badass in every way imaginable. But she definitely has her vulnerabilities, in which Midthunder brings to life in such a captivating way.

You feel for Naru and what her people are going through and what they're experiencing, some not even knowing what's truly going on around them. I loved Midthunder's performance and I hope she sticks with the franchise for a while longer. I do hope we get more movies out of Trachtenberg and company in the years to follow. I love this story.

4/5