Even as Naru goes about normal tasks (like setting up camp and picking up trails), there’s a sense of something being out of place, a constant tension as you’re never quite sure when the Predator will strike. As we saw in his debut film, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Trachtenberg manages to elicit a great sense of tension out of the mundane. In this way, Prey manages to bring the franchise back to its original creature feature/horror roots, which plays to Dan Trachtenberg’s strengths as a filmmaker.
Either way, the story finds itself intersecting with one mean-violent-alien, at which point the focus shifts to something more akin to a mystery.īy bringing the overall scope of the story to a more intimate level, it makes the threat of the Predator feel all the more pressing. Both movies tell their own story, something that would have its own outcome and conclusion if you took the alien out of the equation entirely. Like the original film, Prey takes a slow-burn approach to dealing with the alien/sci-fi elements.
Instead, it keeps things personal-a move that puts it more in line with what made the original Predator so fantastic. It’s not as concerned with expanding the mythos, or teasing global level threats. Unlike the last few films in the Predator universe, Prey actively works to bring the scale of that encounter down a few notches. To do this, she’ll need to complete the “kühtaamia,” or the big hunt-a sort of rite of passage to be accepted as a warrior and hunter, and she’s eager to participate in it. Naru knows she can help her tribe in ways beyond gathering and medicine, and is desperate to prove herself capable of doing so. While Taabe has accrued renown through his prowess, Naru feels constantly in the shadows of her more famous warrior family. Her father was known as a great warrior who passed his skills on to her and her older brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers). The story of Prey centers on Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Comanche Native American on the Great Plains who is disillusioned with her current role in the tribe. It’s a subtle bit of worldbuilding the film continually excels at. The tech is still clearly ahead of the times compared to humans, but shows how the aliens have also evolved throughout the years. It’s still part of a highly advanced race able to travel through space, but the technology he uses still manages to feel “dated.” From donning a bone-skull mask that still features a heads-up display, to changing the iconic tri-laser targeting weapon we all know so well, to arrow-based ammunition.
That context is important, because not only does Prey give us a set of protagonists who are distinctly different from any we’ve seen before, it gives us a different Predator as well. We’ve seen a Predator kill unsuspecting people before, but not in this kind of context. It infuses the story with a fresh perspective that keeps you engaged, even as it hits familiar beats. Taking the setting back to the days of yore is definitely something the franchise needed. Prey flips the script, however, by taking the story back roughly 300 years to 1719-giving us the story of (presumably) mankind’s first encounter with the spacefaring trophy hunters. The original takes place in the ‘80s, the sequel in the ‘90s, and so on, allowing the franchise to grow into the modern era along with audiences. The end result is a film that manages to capture the old-school “creature feature” vibe while providing modern thrills.īy and large, the Predator films have kept up with our current timeline. Where the past few films have seen the franchise more fully embrace the action side of things, Prey finds its footing by returning to the horror roots of the original. Like any good horror/science fiction property from the ‘80s, however, it manages to keep coming back in various new attempts.
The Predator franchise has seen its share of ups and downs.
0 kommentar(er)
