R-Rated Sci-Fi Horror Prequel On Hulu Reenergizes Dead Franchise

Prey is a movie with an elegant, back-to-basic premise: embracing the “man versus monster” motif of the first movie but setting the action in a different time and place. This film takes place in 1719 in the Northern Great Plains and focuses on a would-be hunter who has to prove herself to the rest of her Comanche tribe. But her skills will be put to the test when the ultimate hunter arrives from the stars in search of the ultimate prey.

Part of what makes Prey feel like such a fresh take on a tired franchise is that the cast isn’t filled with the big names (like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover) who once anchored it. There are some more established character actors in here, including Michelle Thrush. But the real stars are Amber Midthunder, who plays our plucky young warrior, and Dane DiLiegro, who plays the fearsome Predator whom she must defeat or die trying.

It’s worth noting that Prey looks surprisingly good, owing much to both its $65 million budget and its talented director, Dan Trachtenberg (not the “made for TV” crappy production value I feared). The director has a small but perfect-for-this-film body of work, including 10 Cloverfield Lane and episodes of shows like Black Mirror and The Boys. Notably, the director proved himself to fans and critics alike so thoroughly with Prey that he is now set to helm Predator: Badlands, the next entry in the franchise.

Speaking of critics, Prey generally took the world by storm. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a critical rating of a whopping 94 percent, an insanely high rating for anything in the horror genre. The critical consensus is that this prequel is “the rare action thriller that spikes adrenaline without skimping on character development,” ultimately declaring that “Prey is a Predator prequel done right.”

Now, I won’t pretend to be an expert on the entire Predator franchise, but Prey is certainly the return to form that I had been hoping to see from this franchise for decades. While Predators had some interesting ideas, the 2018 film The Predator was like a long, wet slog through pure sewage. I thought (hoped, really) that the franchise was finished at that point, but the sheer quality of Prey has me hoping for an entire new franchise of prequels set in different times and places.

REVIEW SCORE

Admittedly, Prey can get a little fan service-y at times, doing very explicit foreshadowing for what we saw in previous films in unnecessary ways. But that didn’t get in the way of the movie, which had great action, engaging performances, and plenty of clever moments. It doesn’t overshadow the first film but touches the hem of its garment, and let’s be real: that’s still wildly impressive for a franchise that was previously on the verge of self-destructing.

Will you find Prey a worthy Predator prequel, or will you be ready to feed this film to the xenomorphs when all is said and done? You won’t know until you stream it on Hulu. Just beware of any predatory creatures around your home who hunt by heat because this R-rated horror classic is piping hot.