WHAT’S good in a science fiction horror flick you ask?
It is when mortal being(s) face-off with an out-of-this-world and almost sentient killing-machine.
Prey (2022) has gotten a lot of positive buzz among the Internet community with some calling it the best thing that has happened to the Predator franchise since the original movie.
But is this too exorbitant of a claim?
First off, those who still have the film on their watchlist must know that the movie is indeed a prequel to the existing films we have been graced with.
Taking us back in time to the early 1700s – prior to Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his elite paramilitary rescue team going on a mission to save hostages but coming face-to-face with alien Predator, Prey follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young woman of the Comanche Nation who had to deal with the perils of an earlier version of the technologically advanced extra-terrestrial.
Now, having a female-lead will definitely guarantee a certain hype and moral lesson.
In the case of the film, it’s the repercussions of Naru’s male community members doubting her worth (no surprise there) early on which would result in the decapitation and dismemberment of the tribe's hunters she mostly clashes with in ideology.
After witnessing a Predator ship breaking through earth’s atmosphere, she is dead locked on proving her worth as a warrior.
Talks among the community was that a [mountain] lion had been causing nuisance and it is up for the tribe’s young fighters to sort it out before it becomes a real problem. Little did they know that the lion was the least of their problems.
Side note, mentions of the term ‘lion’ early in the movie got the writer confused about how on earth the ‘King of the Jungle’ ended up in North America (?), until the CGI visual of the big cat popped up on screen clarifying that the supposed antagonist was not the ‘panthera leo’ kind.
Anyway, the men of Naru’s tribe would soon realise their misjudgement after the sidelined warrior was indeed smarter and more skilled than any of them in combat. This was of course more apparent after people are killed off as the storyline unfolds by the Predator with ruthless efficiency.
There was also one moment where the film (maybe unintentionally) shadowed the bear fight scene of award-winning The Revenant back in 2015. Only that this one ends with the grizzly being – you guessed it – gutted, to which the writer felt kind of sorry for.
Naru’s loyal and trusty dog who was even more bold and acted with better brain power (or in this case survival instinct) than the masculine characters of the movie was the saving grace.
To be honest, the movie’s plot is pretty predictable, and this is definitely more apparent for science-fiction buffs who have seen it all.
The half-witted action-packed gore offered by the sequels of the original Predator lowkey ruined the predictability of the franchise. This is possibly one of the inherited weakness since movie buffs have grown accustomed in what to expect, that all they want is entertainment.
That said, credit must be given to those behind the costume and set design/props (including the picturesque locations) because these elements were quite profound. It made selling the movie’s premise convincing enough to the audience.
So, Prey could indeed be less theatrical compared to its counterpart. In fact, it’s not anywhere close to any of the scifi/action energy in which the Cloverfield [movie] series holds. This point is only thrown out because director Dan Trachtenburg (10 Cloverfield Lane) is involved.
With regards to how well the movie wraps, we leave it to readers to come back with reactions and welcome rebuttals to this review. – The Vibes, August 14, 2022
* Prey is available to watch exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar
