Prey – Review

The very first VHS tape I ever owned was the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Predator. It was a fun movie with lots of action and an interesting if mysterious adversary. This was 1980s science fiction at its best.

Predator spawned numerous sequels, of which, I have only seen Predator 2. I was not impressed with the sequel. While Predator was enjoyable, it is sort of a one trick pony. An alien hunter goes after humans and they seek to survive against superior technology. Fine the first time, but after that…

But then Prey was released. I was surprised that the franchise had made it to its fifth movie. I thought I would give it a try since it was free to watch on a streaming channel and had an interesting historical setting.

I loved this movie!!!

It takes place in 1719 in the Northern Great Plains and it focuses on a village, and more specifically a family, of Comanche. The main character is a young woman named Naru.

One of the things that this movie has going for it is the strong characterization. I really enjoyed the relationship between Naru and her brother. I came to really care about what happened to these people.

I appreciated the Prey has a strong female lead but that it also did not take the easy route of portraying all the males as idiots to lift her up. Her brother plays an important role and is really her partner, even if she eventually takes the lead.

I enjoyed the Comanche setting of this movie. We have come a long way when it comes to movies with indigenous people. There was a strong attempt to be as authentic as possible. The little details really made the movie shine.

However, this is not just an indigenous peoples documentary. It is a science fiction and action movie and it succeeds on that level. The fight scenes are a lot of fun. It is refreshing to see what less sophisticated weapons look like against alien weaponry.

With all of the streaming services out there, there is no lack of new science fiction movies. But this one stood out far above the rest. I think the biggest criticism that many viewers had was that we never had the chance to see it in theatres.

I will go on the record as saying that Prey was better than the original Predator. Having said that, being a fan of Predator made Prey that much better of a movie.

I definitely recommend Prey.

Liked it? Take a second to support Stephen Bedard on Patreon!