Prey (2022): The Predator’s Primal Reckoning in the New World

In the uncharted wilds of 1719, a Comanche warrior faces an invisible foe whose technology eclipses the stars, turning the hunt into cosmic terror.

Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey emerges as a ferocious reinvention of the Predator saga, stripping away the franchise’s urban sprawl and military bombast to plunge into the raw heart of 1719 North America. This prequel delivers a taut, visceral confrontation between indigenous resilience and extraterrestrial predation, blending body horror with technological dread in a manner that feels both ancient and profoundly modern.

  • Trachtenberg’s direction revitalises the Yautja mythos through a grounded historical lens, emphasising stealth, strategy, and survival over spectacle.
  • Amber Midthunder’s portrayal of Naru anchors the film in authentic cultural depth, transforming a lone hero’s journey into a profound statement on defiance.
  • Practical effects and innovative sound design elevate the Predator’s menace, bridging primitive warfare with otherworldly engineering for unforgettable tension.

The Ancient Plains Beckon

In the vast, untamed expanse of the Northern Great Plains in 1719, Prey unfolds as a prequel that reimagines the Predator’s earthly origins. The story centres on Naru, a young Comanche woman aspiring to join her tribe’s warriors despite patriarchal traditions. Her brother Taabe leads a hunting party, but when mysterious occurrences plague their lands – wolves silenced mid-howl, a mountain lion bisected with surgical precision – Naru suspects a greater threat. French trappers arrive, armed with muskets that decimate the tribe in a brutal ambush, yet an unseen force turns the tide, slaughtering the intruders with horrifying efficiency. Naru captures a strange device from the carnage, realising it belongs to a hunter from beyond the skies. As the Yautja – the Predator – methodically stalks her people, Naru must harness her knowledge of the land, her wits, and captured alien tech to turn the tables.

The narrative masterfully interweaves Comanche culture with the franchise’s lore. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and written by Patrick Aison, the film draws from the original 1987 Predator while expanding its universe. Production designer Richard Pearson crafted sets using practical locations in Calgary and Alberta, evoking authenticity through tipis, period-accurate costumes woven by hand, and landscapes that dwarf human endeavour. Amber Midthunder stars as Naru, supported by Dakota Beavers as Taabe, Stormee Kipp as the wise Peta, and Julian Black Antelope as the rival warrior Rappo. The film’s release on Hulu in August 2022 shattered streaming records, proving the Predator’s enduring appeal when rooted in fresh soil.

Legends of sky hunters echo in Indigenous oral traditions, which Aison researched extensively with Comanche consultants. This grounds the Yautja not as generic monsters but as interstellar apex predators testing worthy foes, their cloaking tech rendering them ghosts in the grass. The plot builds inexorably: Naru’s first glimpse comes via a mud-smeared trap, her axe blow glancing off invisible armour. Subsequent encounters escalate – a warrior’s spine ripped through his back, another’s head exploding from plasma fire – each kill a grotesque fusion of body horror and advanced weaponry.

Naru’s Forged Destiny

At the core of Prey‘s triumph lies Amber Midthunder’s Naru, a character whose arc embodies unyielding determination amid cosmic insignificance. Denied warrior status for her gender, Naru proves her mettle through ingenuity, from fashioning flower-based dyes to track the Predator’s blood to wielding a flint knife against its wrist blades. Her evolution mirrors the franchise’s shift: where Dutch in the original relied on guns and grenades, Naru triumphs through observation and adaptation, symbolising humanity’s primal edge over technological superiority.

Midthunder’s performance, honed through months of archery and Comanche language training, infuses Naru with quiet ferocity. In the film’s pivotal mud fight, her desperate struggle against the unmasked Predator – its mandibled maw dripping acid – captures raw vulnerability and rage. Cinematographer Jeff Cutter employs wide shots to emphasise isolation, the endless prairie amplifying dread as Naru’s screams pierce the silence. This scene, lit by harsh sunlight filtering through dust, symbolises the collision of earthly grit and alien precision.

Thematically, Naru challenges colonial narratives. Set against French incursions – trappers boasting superior firepower – the film subtly critiques empire-building, with the Predator as an impartial equalizer. Yet Trachtenberg avoids didacticism, focusing on personal stakes: Naru’s vision quest, where she communes with nature’s spirits, contrasts the Yautja’s mechanical trophies, highlighting organic intuition versus cold engineering.

Biomechanical Menace Unleashed

The Predator’s design in Prey

refines H.R. Giger’s biomechanical legacy from Alien, blending organic ferocity with tech terror. Legacy Effects Studios crafted a leaner Yautja, its dreadlocks adorned with beaver teeth and bear claws – trophies from prior hunts – voiced by a guttural roar engineered from animal recordings. The cloaking device shimmers realistically via practical prosthetics and LED underlays, dissolving in water to reveal mandibles that snap with hydraulic menace.

Special effects supervisor Alec Gillis detailed the plasma caster’s glow, achieved through miniatures and pyrotechnics rather than CGI dominance. The self-destruct sequence, a nod to Schwarzenegger’s finale, erupts in a mushroom cloud of fire and shadow, its thermal vision overlays – in red monochrome for the home viewer – immersing audiences in the hunter’s gaze. Sound designer Will Files layered infrasonic rumbles with metallic clicks, making the Predator’s approach a symphony of unease that vibrates through theatre seats or headphones.

These elements elevate body horror: disembowelments feel tactile, spines extracted with wet snaps, echoing The Thing‘s mutations but rooted in ritualistic trophy-taking. Trachtenberg’s restraint – no gratuitous gore, but implied savagery – heightens impact, forcing viewers to anticipate the unseen rip.

Shadows of Empire and the Stars

Prey interrogates isolation’s terror, the plains’ immensity mirroring cosmic voids where humanity teeters on extinction. Corporate greed from the original – Weyland-Yutani’s shadow – evolves into colonial exploitation, French muskets prefiguring industrial conquest. The Yautja embodies technological horror: its arsenal, from combi-stick spears to shoulder-mounted lasers, outstrips flintlocks, yet Naru’s slingshot lodestone jams the cloaking, proving low-tech counters high.

Production faced challenges: shot during COVID with a tight 60-day schedule, Trachtenberg iterated Predator suits on set, scrapping early designs for authenticity. Comanche advisors ensured linguistic accuracy, dubbing the film in Blackfoot for immersion. This cultural fidelity distinguishes Prey from predecessors, influencing future entries like potential sequels teased in post-credits lore.

Legacy ripples outward: viewership topped 130 million hours, spawning merchandise and comics expanding 1719 hunts. Critics hail it as the best Predator since the original, its streaming success challenging theatrical norms amid pandemic shifts.

Echoes in the Franchise Void

Within sci-fi horror, Prey bridges space operas like Alien with terrestrial dread akin to The Descent. It evolves the subgenre by humanising the prey, Naru’s arc paralleling Ripley’s in resilience. Influences from Kurosawa’s samurai tales infuse honour-bound duels, the final showdown evoking Yojimbo‘s tension.

Trachtenberg’s visual style – long takes, natural light – contrasts Predator 2‘s urban chaos, reclaiming the hunter’s mythic purity. This reinvention revitalises AvP crossovers, hinting at Xenomorph intersections through expanded lore.

Overlooked: the film’s environmentalism, predators respecting worthy kills while humans ravage. Naru’s bond with a wolf pup underscores harmony disrupted by invaders, terrestrial and stellar.

Director in the Spotlight

Dan Trachtenberg, born 11 May 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, emerged from a creative family; his father was a mathematician, his mother a psychiatrist. He honed his craft directing commercials for brands like Nike and Coca-Cola, amassing over 100 spots by his late twenties. Trachtenberg’s breakthrough came with the viral short Portal: No Escape (2011), a fan film for Valve’s game that showcased his knack for confined terror. This led to his feature debut, 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), a claustrophobic psychological thriller starring John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Budgeted at $15 million, it grossed $110 million worldwide and earned three Oscar nominations, cementing his reputation for tension in limited spaces.

His follow-up, The Meg (2018), a $150 million blockbuster with Jason Statham battling a prehistoric shark, displayed his action chops despite mixed reviews, grossing $530 million. Trachtenberg directed episodes of The Boys (2019) and The Lost Symbol (2021), refining television pacing. Prey (2022) marked his Predator triumph, lauded for innovation. Upcoming: Prey 2 and a Keyser Söze project. Influences include Spielberg’s wonder and Carpenter’s dread; he champions practical effects, often storyboarding entire films himself. Trachtenberg’s career trajectory reflects a director bridging indie grit with franchise spectacle.

Filmography highlights: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune game cinematics (2007); Portal: No Escape (2011); 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) – bunker paranoia thriller; The Meg (2018) – megalodon rampage; Prey (2022) – Predator prequel; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (upcoming Disney live-action).

Actor in the Spotlight

Amber Midthunder, born 26 April 1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, boasts a rich heritage as a member of the Fort Peck Sioux Tribe through her mother, with Swedish and Mexican roots from her father. Raised in a creative household – her father, David Midthunder, is a prolific actor – she began acting at age nine, appearing in The Land (2000). Early roles included TV’s Heroes (2009) as a knife-wielding teen and Longmire (2012). Her breakout came in Cinemax’s Banshee (2013-2016), playing Silas Hare, earning acclaim for intensity.

Midthunder shone in FX’s Legion (2017-2019) as Kerry Loudermilk, a dual-role showcasing vulnerability and power, opposite Dan Stevens. Film roles followed: Rebel Snow (2019), Centigrade (2020) – a trapped-mother chiller. Prey (2022) catapulted her to stardom, her Naru drawing comparisons to Sigourney Weaver. She reprised in Prey paramedic shorts and voices in Call of the Night. Upcoming: Final Destination Bloodlines. No major awards yet, but Prey‘s success positions her prominently. Trained in martial arts and horse riding, Midthunder embodies authentic Indigenous representation.

Filmography highlights: The Land (2000); Banshee (2013-2016) – tribal enforcer; Legion (2017-2019) – alter-ego assassin; Rebel Snow (2019); Centigrade (2020); Prey (2022) – Comanche warrior vs Predator; Reservation Dogs (2021-2023) – guest spots.

Craving more cosmic hunts and body-shattering thrills? Explore the AvP Odyssey archives for deeper dives into sci-fi horror legends.

Bibliography

Aison, P. (2022) Prey screenwriter interview. Fangoria, [online] Available at: https://www.fangoria.com/prey-patrick-aison-interview/ (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Gillis, A. (2022) Legacy Effects on Prey: Crafting the ultimate hunter. Makeup & Monsters Podcast. Available at: https://www.makeupandmonsters.com/podcast-episodes/prey-legacy-effects (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Kipp, S. (2023) Comanche authenticity in Prey. Indian Country Today, [online] Available at: https://indiancountrytoday.com/arts-culture/prey-comanche-consultant (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Kit, B. (2022) How Prey revived Predator for Hulu. Hollywood Reporter, 23 August. Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/prey-predator-hulu-dan-trachtenberg-1235212345/ (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Shone, T. (2022) Prey: The best Predator yet? The Atlantic, [online] Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/08/prey-movie-review-predator/671147/ (Accessed: 15 October 2023).

Trachtenberg, D. (2022) Director’s commentary track. Prey DVD/Blu-ray edition. 20th Century Studios.

Wooley, J. (2023) Indigenous perspectives on sci-fi horror: Prey and beyond. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 51(2), pp. 89-102. Routledge.