Prey - Review

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

THE Predator franchise got a welcome revival thanks to Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey, a pulse-pounding mix of sci-fi and survival thriller that also thrives on its decision to set the action amid Indigenous Americans.

Trachtenberg is no stranger to sci-fi, of course, having delivered the suitably tense addition to the Cloverfield franchise in the form of 10 Cloverfield Lane - replacing the hand-held, in your face style of the original action-heavy movie with something more claustrophobic and psychological.

With Prey, he subverts expectations again by avoiding the type of outlandish scenarios that marked Predators and The Predator out (bigger guns, more and larger Predators) in favour of a back-to-basics approach that skilfully references the first two films, while also delivering something new.

Set in the year 1719 and in the Comanche Nation, the story follows a young woman Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled hunter and tracker who possesses a warrior’s spirit. Alas, she’s female - so continually overlooked and ignored by her male peers (even though her brother, Dakota Beaver’s Taabe recognises her potential).

It is Naru, however, who notices a new kind of predator - one that can’t be hunted as a bear or a lion, and who finds a way to slay the creature and save her people.

En route, Naru is also pitted against the elements as well as rogue settlers: most notably a grizzled group of French fur traders who have a penchant for slaying vast herds of buffalo.

Part of the pleasure of watching Prey lies in the setting. Trachtenburg’s direction owes as much to films as diverse as The Revenant and Apocalypto as it does the Alien genre; which helps to make the stakes seem even higher for Naru.

There’s real delight in seeing how she will outfox her adversaries, coming up with several ingenious ways of making herself more hard to kill, while frequently using both her agility and her environment to outwit her pursuers.

Midthunder is, by turns, feisty, resilient yet prone to vulnerability and doubt. She’s a live wire presence and a great anchor for the film - both in the way that she represents her people and her sexuality. It’s a progressive role - and one that she heartily embraces.

But there’s decent support, too, from her fellow Native Americans, and particularly her brother - with Beaver also making a mark as both a dedicated brother and a strong warrior in his own right.

As ever, the series remains unflinching in its depiction of violence and unsparing in its kill count - but, again, this works to the film’s overall advantage, enabling it to maintain a strong sense of peril and a consistent level of uncertainty and tension.

There’s so much to admire - most notably, the ability to have refreshed a franchise that was threatening to run out of steam and go through the motions.

This has bite, invention and a genuine ability to exhilarate.

Certificate: 15

Running time: 1hr 39mins