‘Predator’ Prequel Gives Needed Resolution To A Struggling Series.

By John Hammon

An unfortunate trend with most of the more recent Predator films – for instance Predator (2018), and Predators (2010), is that their scores and ratings vastly pale in comparison to the original Predator (1987). However, this trend was recently broken by Hulu’s new original movie Prey, and although it made no box office ticket sales, it scored higher than both Predator (2018) and Predators (2010), whose  scores were both under 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Prey even exceeded the Rotten Tomatoes score of the original Predator, (80%) by 13%. Popular critics’ consensus also reflected the movie’s great performance. 

For instance, top critics Eric Francisco and TT Stern-Enzi, both said things such as ¨This is a multifaceted experience ripe with the kind of blood-pumping adrenaline common in action movies of the VHS era, but elegiac compositions put it in league with today’s progressive arthouse trends.¨ and ¨It’s a fascinating film¨

With a runtime of one hour and 39 minutes, Prey stands as a fantastic tribute to the rest of the Predator series by both redeeming the previous predator movies, and by adding a nice needed backstory for the first movie. 

Prey, in case you were unaware, is the movie prequel for the original Predator movie which was released in 1987. Prey was released only on Hulu streaming services on July 21 2022, making it the first Predator installment in 4 years, and the first Predator movie to be released directly online, before reaching theaters. 

It follows the story of a young Comanche warrior (Amber Midthunder) who fights to protect her tribe from the incredibly adaptive space alien, the Predator (Dane DiLiegro), during its first hunt on earth. Fantastically, the movie presents thrills and nerve racking scenes time after time, along with dramatically strong performances from lead actor, Amber Midthunder, and their costar Dane DiLiegro. And despite DiLiegros face never being shown, his performance as the Predator is nothing short of excellence. 

Although the movie does have its faults, such as its so-so effects quality, The movie overall makes for a fun and entertaining watch, as long as you take into consideration that the movie is rated R. No young children!