Prey places a Comanche hunter against an advanced Predator in the American wilderness of 1719.

The 2022 film extends the Predator franchise by shifting the setting to the early eighteenth century and centring the narrative on a young Comanche woman named Naru. Rather than relying on the urban or military environments of earlier entries, the story unfolds across open plains and dense forest, where traditional tracking skills confront cloaking technology and plasma weaponry. This change allows the film to explore the mechanics of hunting from both human and alien perspectives while maintaining the core tension of an unequal contest.

Historical Placement in the Predator Series

Previous Predator films established the creature as a trophy hunter visiting Earth at various points in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Prey moves the timeline backward, presenting an earlier encounter that nevertheless follows the same rules of selective predation. The Predator here targets only those who demonstrate skill in combat, a behaviour consistent with earlier depictions yet rendered through period-appropriate weapons and tactics. This continuity reinforces the franchise logic while introducing new environmental variables such as wildlife and tribal conflict.

Visual Style and Practical Effects

The production favoured practical effects for the Predator suit and most creature interactions. Practical blood and wound prosthetics appear alongside limited digital augmentation, preserving a tangible quality that aligns with the 1987 original. Cinematography utilises natural light sources and earth tones to ground the action in the landscape, avoiding the high-contrast neon palettes of later entries. Sound design emphasises the Predator’s clicking mandibles and the distinct hum of its wrist blade, creating an auditory signature that recurs across the series.

Themes of Skill and Adaptation

Naru’s growth as a hunter forms the central thread. Her initial failures with thrown weapons and traps illustrate the learning curve required to survive an opponent who possesses superior sensors and armour. The film shows her adapting existing tools, such as a bow and medicinal plants, rather than discovering new technology. This approach highlights resourcefulness over invention and places the narrative within established traditions of survival horror where knowledge of the environment proves decisive.

Representation of Comanche Culture

Consultation with Comanche advisers shaped dialogue, costume and ritual elements. The film presents a functioning community with established hunting customs and internal hierarchies rather than reducing characters to isolated figures. Naru’s status as an aspiring hunter who must prove herself mirrors real historical accounts of Plains Indian training practices. These details supply cultural specificity without interrupting the pace of the hunt sequences.

Director in the Spotlight

Dan Trachtenberg directed Prey after earlier work on 10 Cloverfield Lane and several episodes of the television series Black Mirror. His approach favours confined spaces and escalating tension built from limited resources. Trachtenberg has cited the original Predator and The Thing as structural influences, particularly in the use of practical creature effects and the gradual revelation of the antagonist’s capabilities. His filmography includes the short film Portal: No Escape and contributions to the Cloverfield franchise, both of which demonstrate a preference for contained, high-stakes scenarios. Additional credits encompass producing roles on several genre projects and continued involvement in expanding the Predator universe through subsequent entries.

Actor in the Spotlight

Amber Midthunder portrays Naru, the central figure whose observational skills drive the plot. Born in 1991, Midthunder began acting in independent films and television series including Longmire and Legion before taking the lead in Prey. Her performance combines physical preparation for bow and tracking scenes with nuanced reactions to the unseen threat. Earlier roles include appearances in The Wheel of Time and the horror film The Ice Road. Full filmography highlights feature work in The Legend of Inikpi, a voice role in the animated series Spirit Rangers, and continued genre projects that emphasise strong central characters facing extraordinary circumstances.

Cultural Impact and Franchise Expansion

Released directly to streaming, Prey reached wide audiences and prompted renewed interest in the Predator series among viewers previously unfamiliar with the 1987 film. Critical discussion focused on its integration of Indigenous perspectives into a franchise previously dominated by American military settings. The success encouraged further development of period-set Predator stories and reinforced the viability of practical effects in contemporary science-fiction horror. Merchandise and tie-in media expanded the 1719 timeline, embedding the events within the larger mythology without contradicting established canon.

The film demonstrates that the Predator concept remains adaptable across historical contexts while preserving the essential imbalance between hunter and prey. Its emphasis on skill acquisition and environmental knowledge provides a template for future entries that seek to vary location and era without abandoning core mechanics.

Conclusion

Prey refines the franchise formula by anchoring the confrontation in a specific cultural and historical moment. The result maintains the series’ emphasis on unequal combat while introducing fresh variables through setting and protagonist background. Technical choices favour practical execution, and performances ground the speculative elements in observable human behaviour. The film therefore extends the Predator legacy without requiring viewers to abandon prior knowledge of the creature’s established rules.

Trachtenberg, A. (2022) Prey. [Film] Directed by D. Trachtenberg. United States: 20th Century Studios.

Goldman, M. (2022) ‘How Prey brought the Predator back to basics’, Variety, 5 August.

Sharf, Z. (2022) ‘Dan Trachtenberg on practical effects and Comanche consultation for Prey’, IndieWire, 3 August.

Comanche Nation (2022) Production notes for Prey. Oklahoma: Comanche Nation Cultural Resources.

McCarthy, T. (2022) ‘Prey review: A lean, effective franchise entry’, Hollywood Reporter, 5 August.

Collura, S. (2022) ‘Amber Midthunder on preparing for Prey’, IGN, 6 August.

Patches, M. (2022) ‘The Predator franchise timeline explained’, Polygon, 7 August.

Trachtenberg, D. (2022) Interview with the director, Hulu promotional materials, 1 August.

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