Movie Details
Movie: Prey (2022)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers and Dane DiLiegro
Genres: Action/Sci-fi
Release date: 21 July 2022
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
Languages: English and later dubbed in Comanche,
Duration: 1h 39m
Trailer
Synopsis
Of course, the concerns were justified, especially after Shane Black’s The Predator: for which the review community was as excited, only to enthusiasm end in a matter of minutes and a cruel sobering up took place. I’m talking about Black, to be clear. The same awkward humor fill the entire film. Director Dan Trachtenberg somehow hoped to keep the little project under wraps until the premiere and present it as a Native American indie (heh) called Prey,
Understandably, the first few minutes of his film look like something from Alejandro González Iñárritu. A young Indian woman tries to fight within her tribe with the classic division into “men-hunters” and “women-gatherers”, everyone speaks the Comanche language and virgin nature plays a role everywhere, in which the rule is that whoever has no muscles or brains, he will be eaten as he deserves. Sooner or later, of course, the heavens will part, but in the first half of the film, the presence of the new top of the food chain is served up in subtle hints, not unlike the first Alien. Although the Indians smoothly transition into English (by the way, there is also a dubbing version completely in the Comanche language, since the cast consists of native actors), the tone of the film does not change even for die-hard fans of the previous four Predator solos, who have long guessed who is rustling the leaves in the background,
Trachtenberg patiently prepares the ground for his big hunt and doesn’t allow himself to be pushed around too much, which allows him the intimate spirit of the whole project. No one here is saving the planet from an alien invasion, no one is trying to start a multiverse. And he manages to tell everything in a pleasant 99 minutes, which is an almost unheard of phenomenon nowadays. That’s why I’m not ashamed to call Predator: Prey. We live in a time when short footage almost arouses suspicion in some fans. I, on the other hand, was excited, because it signaled a clear focus and goal, however much the initial winding may seem to the contrary,
Trachtenberg’s conscientiousness is the final blow which is triggered until the moment when we have already spent enough time with the main character and the predator and therefore feel that we know them a little. The film is strong in subtle moments, such as when the protagonist Naru tries to improve her hunting technique or add muscles to her brain. These are almost Zen-like moments, during which she is witnessed not only by the untouched nature (plus a few million stares at the VOD screens), but also by an invisible voyeur who at first does not see her as an adversary, but just as easily broken prey.
The director manages to convey a lot of information to the viewer in subtle nuances and practically without words. When they are already talking and some familiar situation or message creeps into the dialogue (when it bleeds, we can kill it), it happens casually. Nobody winks at the camera, nobody waits for applause. It’s hard to say if these homages to the original were imposed by the producers, or if Trachtenberg wrote them there himself, but fortunately, they are very decent and even the number one in the finale itself, or other references (Naru falls into a swamp and is subsequently covered in mud, etc.), does not have any disruptive effect. Likewise, the bet on a female protagonist is a sincere homage, not a casting calculation and an attempt to reach a different target audience. Naru is as cunning as a fox, sharp as nails, and deserves the respect of both the predator and the audience themselves, regardless of what is between her legs.
. For this, Trachtenberg has to chase a limited bag of money in front of the camera, although it is never signed by the effects of the predator itself (a few excessively digital animals can be found, however). But this franchise needed a chamber canapé, and I would like to hope that it will continue to develop in this direction. It’s wishful thinking, though, because we all know that under Disney, this project would never have gotten the green light. And maybe not even at Fox, if Shane Black hadn’t shot himself in the foot with his nearly one hundred million dollar buddy movie, in which a predator also happens to appear. Phew. Unfortunately, for big studios, Prey only has a chance as a diluted series or, on the contrary, as a big blockbuster, which threatens to decapitate itself with excessive ambitions.
I’m doubly happy that Prey passed the studio screen. It’s an anomaly, which success will condemn it to remove itself from the category of small but sincere films in the future but let’s be happy about it because the more such anomalies arise every year, the more often than not, you can hope that there are still people with the vision and passion to materialize.
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