By Geno McGahee
The predator is one of my favorite monsters and he’s not always been done right. In 1987, PREDATOR was released with Arnold Schwarzenegger and it was an instant classic, but it didn’t stop there. The predator was here to stay and kept coming back and why not? It’s a cool creature that can fuck shit up and that can be translated to any film and any setting.
In the 2022 film “PREY”, HULU has brought an origin story about this beast, sort of, I guess. I suppose the predator could have killed dinosaurs or chased Jesus around, but, as far as I know, messing with Native Americans was what he decided to do from jump.
Naru (Amber Midthunder) wants to prove that she can hunt just as well as the guys. She was sort of like Mulan. I liked that Mulan movie with that dragon cartoon Eddie Murphy character. I’m not saying that PREY is a MULAN rip off, but I’m not saying it isn’t either.
The Predator has focused on some animals to kill, including a snake and a wolf. The wolf was chasing a poor rabbit and the Predator jumped in and killed the wolf. The rabbit then sat there with a super satisfied look on his face that screamed “the wolf fucked around and found out.”
As time goes on, Naru figures out that there is something different going on. The bears and the lions aren’t the big problem. She notices a big alien footprint, but the dudes aren’t taking her seriously. The men of the village called the shots and wanted her to know her place as a woman, but she was a warrior. She wouldn’t have it, just like Mulan. Have I mentioned that I like that movie? It’s no LION KING, but it was good.
After the Predator kills a grizzly bear, Naru barely gets away, but she stumbles upon this group of guys with guns. I wanted to call them rednecks, but I don’t think rednecks existed back then. I guess they are hillbillies.
Naru and her brother, Taabe (Dakota Beavers), are set up as bait but the Predator doesn’t kill defenseless people. The hillbilly rednecks are (spoiler) killed off and it’s now Naru and Taabe against the Predator from another planet. Get back to your own planet asshole!
The final showdown has some nods to the original PREDATOR and it’s definitely watchable. I read a lot of reviews that called this the best PREDATOR film since the first, but I don’t see it. This one is certainly better than some entries, but it would land somewhere in the middle. I think people are just surprised that this film didn’t suck dog balls.
PREY is OK. If you love the Predator and how he rolls, you’ll like this. I give credit to everyone involved for presentation and approach to the matter, but I’ll still take PREDATOR and PREDATOR 2 over this one. I’d love to see that alien back in the city! I loved that setting for the creature to do some big damage.
In the end, I recommend PREY, but it’s very forgettable.
