Prey

2022 - 8 - 5

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Image courtesy of "Decider"

PSA: The Dog In 'Prey' Doesn't Die (Decider)

The fifth installment in the Predator franchise, Prey, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, serves as a prequel to the first four films. The movie takes place in the ...

At the movie’s end, Naru and Sarii return to their community together, as two triumphant victors who have just saved the day. But at least the dog doesn’t!) Later, during the final battle, that good, good doggo literally brings Naru her ax at the pivotal moment, allowing Naru to chop off Predator’s head. But shout-out to Trachtenberg, who has a story by credit in addition to directing, and screenwriter Patrick Aison, because Sarii does not, in fact, die in Prey. There are several close calls, first when Sarii distracts a grizzly bear to help Naru escape attack—again, the absolute best dog—and disappears in the aftermath of the bear fight. Sarii is more than just a good dog. Personally, I spent the entirety of Prey‘s one hour and 27-minute runtime was spent in a state of low-level anxiety over the fate of the protagonist’s very good doggo. The movie takes place in the year 1719, in the Northern Great Plains of North America, where the Comanche Nation lived and prospered.

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Image courtesy of "Cinema Blend"

Prey Cast: Where You've Seen The Stars Of Hulu's Predator Prequel (Cinema Blend)

Amber Midthunder (Naru). The role of Naru — a Comanche warrior who comes face-to-face with the Predator in Prey — is one that Native American actor Amber ...

See how Amber Midthunder’s Naru measures up against Dane DiLiegro’s Predator by streaming Prey (opens in new tab), which is available on Hulu now. In November 2021, Kipp won Best Actor at the American Indian Film Festival for his lead role in Sooyii — a 2021 drama co-written and directed by stuntman Krisztian Kery about a young Pikuni man who mysteriously becomes the only survivor of a deadly curse that spreads throughout his village. Among the other beastly acting credits DiLiegro has under his belt so far are his uncredited debut role as “Hero Walker” on Season 10 of The Walking Dead and the “Muscle Monster” on Netflix’s South Korean post-apocalypse drama, Sweet Home, from 2020. However, artistic performance is not lost on Beavers, who is also a successful musician and has been active in the art since he was 13. The role of Naru — a Comanche warrior who comes face-to-face with the Predator in Prey — is one that Native American actor Amber Midthunder was born to play, marking her first time leading an action movie after years of supporting roles in the genre. Midthunder made her acting debut at 4 years old alongside her father, Westworld’s David Midthunder, in 2001’s The Homecoming of Jimmy Whitecloud before landing her first speaking role in 2008’s Sunshine Cleaning and later earning more prominent starring spots in movies like the 2016 drama, Priceless, the horror movie 14 Cameras in 2018, and the thriller Only Mine from 2019.

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Image courtesy of "Inverse"

How 'Prey' invents a new Native sign language to fight the Predator (Inverse)

Amber Midthunder stars in Prey, a standalone prequel to the 1987 classic Predator, as “Naru,” a First Nations hunter who faces off with a Predator invader.

They started in the back of the room and moved stealthily through until they got all the way to the front towards me. “We created with Kevin a Native tactical sign language,” explains Myers. “Even in their off time [the cast] would go down the river and use it to talk to each other. In the middle of the conversation, the entire tribe shot up and had bows and arrows pointed at me. “I walked over after the first take and said, ‘Maybe do a little shh.’ We do a take and it was awesome. I turned to the DP [director of photography] next to me and I was like, ‘This feels familiar. In the middle of Prey, a “mud pit sequence” mirrors another scene from Predator which Trachtenberg says was an unintentional parallel. “We created a sign language,” Midthunder says. “That's what links them, on top of the obvious things we sought after to include in the movie.” Producer Jhane Myers, a Comanche and Blackfeet American film and TV producer, says the production worked with Kevin Starblanket, a First Nations individual with a background in military, law enforcement, and survival tactics. We had it on a hard drive and dissected certain points and took a lot of inspiration from it.” Naru is eager to prove her worth as a hunter for her village despite the sexist assumption that a young woman can’t assume such a role in her community. Naru is a total badass in her own right as she studies the Predator’s advanced tools and uses them to fight back against her adversary.

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Image courtesy of "USA TODAY"

'Prey' breakout Amber Midthunder talks axe throwing, outwitting the ... (USA TODAY)

Native American actress Amber Midthunder on tomahawk skills, Indigenous representation, her breakout role in 'Prey' and which film changed her life.

Midthunder “really enjoyed that experience” and hopes to do more in the future. She and director Dan Trachtenberg figured out a trick by tying a rope to it (so Naru can throw the axe, pull it back quickly and then toss it again) and from there “it was just honestly a lot of experimenting,” she says. “How many times can you throw it up in the air and twist it? “Prey” filmed on Stoney Nakoda land near Calgary, with a primarily Native American and First Nation cast, and placed a spotlight on Comanche lifestyle and history. A bear attack on Naru meant performing with a stuntman in “a not particularly great bear suit,” Midthunder says. “I always have intentions in that realm of things when I'm working, but they're not necessarily everybody's focus.”

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Image courtesy of "Den of Geek"

Prey Review: Predator Franchise Finally Hits Its Stride (Den of Geek)

The Predator series goes back in time and back to its roots for an old-fashioned monster hunt in the gripping Prey.

Prey is a modest sci-fi action thriller, a return as we said in many ways to the series’ simple roots, and largely successful on its own terms as a result. While the film is in English with a few Comanche words here and there, the young actors make no attempt at all to sound like humans from an earlier era; much of the dialogue is delivered as if they’re twentysomethings living in 2022 who are doing some cosplay in the woods. There’s been some grumbling among fans about the fact that 20th Century Studios (a subsidiary of Disney) has chosen to premiere this film on Hulu rather than as a theatrical release like every previous Predator movie. For one thing, Prey takes the franchise back to nature, in this case a forest and plains, which is where it belongs. Prey is the fifth installment in the Predator franchise (and seventh if you count the two Alien vs. The protagonist is a young woman named Naru (Amber Midthunder), a highly proficient tracker and hunter who is nevertheless dismissed by the male members of her tribe, including her own brother (Dakota Beavers), especially when she warns that the threat they face is much more dangerous than a lion or other wild animal.

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Image courtesy of "CNET"

Prey: Ending, Post-Credits Tease and Predator Easter Egg Explained (CNET)

Prey includes some fun links to previous Predator movies. 20th Century Studios. Predator prequel Prey -- that's fun to say out loud -- came to Hulu ...

Prey apparently overwrites the events of the 1996 comic Predator: 1718, in which one of the aliens teams up with a pirate captain to battle his mutinous crew. After the human triumphs, a bunch of other Predators decloak and seem ready to murder him. The final image pans to show a Predator ship coming out of storm clouds over Naru's camp, implying that the aliens attacked again. It mirrors the sequence in which her brother Taabe ( Dakota Beavers) did so with the lion earlier in the movie, after she failed to. Having seen her fellow Comanche Nation warriors and the deeply unpleasant French poachers slaughtered by the Predator, Naru lures the beast into a trap in the dark forest. It pits one of the alien hunters against Comanche Nation tribespeople like Naru ( Amber Midthunder), and it's absolutely excellent.

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Image courtesy of "TIME"

How <i>Prey</i> Puts a Fresh Spin on the Predator Franchise (TIME)

As a movie villain, the Predator has pretty basic motivations. He's an alien who comes to Earth to hunt for fun with some cool gadgets.

She’s an anti-Arnold in the best way, the kind of heroine who knows she can be underestimated and uses that to her advantage. “This movie resets a whole lot of paradigms, and one of them is the language component,” Myers told ComicBook.com in an interview. No one—including her brother (Dakota Beavers)—believes her, so she heads out with her loyal pup Sarii (a Very Good Dog) to take down the Predator on her own, and achieve what is called Ku̵htaamia, a rite of passage where a hunter is celebrated for besting a large beast. Predator spinoffs, and then rebooted twice with 2010’s Predators and 2018’s The Predator. The latter film—directed by Shane Black, who appeared in 1987’s Predator—was clearly designed to produce sequels that never actually came to fruition after controversy, bad reviews, and a mild box-office take. The Predator first started prowling in the 1987 film directed by John McTiernan and starring, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bulky Austrian action star plays Dutch, a commando who is part of a team dispatched in an unidentified but coded as Central American jungle to handle a Communist insurgency that goes awry when, surprise, there’s an alien on the loose, skinning people alive and murdering for fun. It’s an archetypal narrative—almost Disney Princess-esque—thrown onto a Predator movie with all the green goo and ridiculous kills that entails.

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Image courtesy of "Vulture"

Why That Old-Timey Pistol at the End of Prey Looks So Familiar (Vulture)

The 'Raphael Adolini 1715' pistol at the end of 'Prey' was once held by Danny Glover in the final moments of 'Predator 2.'

How did a Spanish pirate’s pistol end up in the hands of French hunters in America? Prey makes it clear that none of the Frenchmen had ever encountered a creature like the Predator before. If Adolini indeed gave the weapon to a Predator himself in this continuity, did that same Predator have another, later encounter with (possibly non-French) humans and lose it? The weapon’s backstory was fleshed out in the 1996 anniversary anthology issue A Decade of Dark Horse #1, in the story “Predator: 1718” by Henry Gilroy and Igor Kordey. The tale opens on Spanish pirate Captain Raphael Adolini, whose crew mutinies against him when he seeks to return stolen gold to the church for which it had been destined. It isn’t until the very end of the film that we glimpse our first and only real Easter egg: a flintlock pistol engraved with the words Raphael Adolini 1715, hinting at an entire potential timeline leading up to 1990’s Predator 2. Aboard their spaceship, just before they fly off, one of them throws the pistol to LAPD Lieutenant Mike Harrigan, played by Danny Glover, perhaps as a sign of respect. During her escape, she finds a pistol which she’s taught to use by one of the injured hunters.

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Image courtesy of "Screen Rant"

Is Prey's Orange Flower Real? And How Dangerous Is It? (Screen Rant)

A mysterious orange flower becomes Naru's secret weapon in Prey when she gets hunted down by a Predator – here is everything we know about the medicinal flower ...

Naru becomes invisible to the Predator when she ingests the orange flower because the flower reduces her body temperature. Since Naru and her mother use a local name, "orange tutsia," to describe the flower, it is hard to determine whether it is real or only exists in Prey's universe. However, Naru later capitalizes on her sharp wit and survival instincts and deduces a perfect plan to overpower the fortress-like creature.

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Image courtesy of "/FILM"

The Significance Of The Raphael Adolini Pistol In Prey Explained (/FILM)

Note: this piece contains major spoilers for "Prey," so read at your own risk if you haven't seen it yet. Just when you might have thought that the movie ...

The same could very well have happened here, with the elders giving the Predators the pistol as a sign of respect instead, as why would they want to keep the gun given to them by colonizers? The Predator being given the gun by Adolini is all fine and good, but the problem is that there is no way that this origin for the gun can be possible now. When taking the comic into account, it's pretty implausible how Waxed Mustache was able to have the gun in the first place to give to Naru. As one may recall, that movie took place over two centuries after the events of the comic in the "futuristic" war zone of 1997 Los Angeles. He dies of the gunshot wound and gives the Predator his engraved gun as a sign of respect. However, it isn't long before the Predator returns to the French campsite, killing Waxed Mustache and leaving Naru with the gun.

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Image courtesy of "Collider.com"

'Prey' Ending Explained: Who Wins the First Human vs. Predator ... (Collider.com)

Predator prequel Prey features the creature's first visit to Earth — and a surprising tie-in to the original films.

And as for the connection to the Predator mythology at large...well, that's revealed during Naru's encounter with the fur trappers. With the pistol now appearing in Prey, it's a clever way for Trachtenberg to pay homage to the previous Predator films while also staying true to the film's time period. If Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison return for a sequel with Midthunder, the idea of Naru having to fend off multiple Predators could definitely make for great sequel fodder. Victorious, Naru returns to her tribe with the Predator's head and is made the war chief. Despite Naru's efforts to warn them, the members of her tribe fall to the Predator's superior weaponry. This has led to critical acclaim, and is extremely fitting given that this year marks the 35th anniversary of the original Predator film.

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Image courtesy of "Den of Geek"

Prey Post-Credits Scene Moment Makes You Read Between the Lines (Den of Geek)

This article contains Prey spoilers. Who knew the secret to the Predator franchise's future was to always go back in time?

In essence, the animated sequence suggests that Naru’s victory over the Predator became the stuff of legend and oral tradition: a story that was passed down from one generation to the next, including eventually on ledger paper. And given how the lone Predator in Prey can be viewed as a metaphor for European incursions into this land… At most, we’ve reached a kind of intermission before the real test comes when the Predators return to Comanche lands in force. This weekend’s Prey is the culmination of years of passion, and years of planning, from the filmmaker who wrested the Predator movies away from their recent and failed experiments of franchise-building in the future. The “post-credits scene” in Prey is technically neither after the credits or a full scene. however there is more to the story if you paid close attention to the end credits…

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Image courtesy of "Deadline"

'Prey' Film Review: This Is How You Reboot A Horror Franchise (Deadline)

The Predator franchise is the ugly step-child of horror monster cannon. Fans know about it, are aware of it, but don't necessarily give it the credit it ...

The director puts his faith in a relative newcomer to shoulder the movie. At every increasing moment of this journey, Naru experiences a change in front of the camera, and it’s not just talked about in passing. Naru (Amber Midthunder) is a Comanche woman who aims to become a warrior by embarking on the “kühtaamia,” a rite of passage ritual where the hunter hunts the hunter who hunts them.

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Image courtesy of "Winter Is Coming"

Prey ending hints at a dark fate for Naru's tribe (Winter Is Coming)

Dan Trachtenberg's new Predator prequel movie Prey is out now on Hulu, and it's getting rave reviews. Set 300 years before the iconic 1987 original starring ...

And that is an ominous sign for the Comanche who have it at the end of Prey. This means that another Predator visits the Great Plains where Naru’s tribe is located at some point in the future. The pistol proves a vital tool in Naru’s fight against the Predator, and when she returns victorious, she gives it to the former war chief of her settlement. But once you stop to think about it a little bit more…this has some seriously dark implications for the future of Naru and her companions. During the course of her adventure, she and her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) run afoul of poachers in the wilderness. While Prey is a groundbreaking film that keeps viewers on their toes, it still adheres to the structure of most Predator movies: the Predator (Dane DiLiegro) kills a lot of people until only Naru remains to face it on her own.

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Image courtesy of "Collider.com"

Why 'Prey' Should Have Been Released In Theaters (Collider.com)

For a striking film like Prey, a highly anticipated entry in the Predator series, to be relegated to streaming is a grave disservice to cinema.

The closer and closer the film was to its release, the more strange of a decision this became. While it certainly seems like Prey will thankfully get some sort of physical release later this year, it is hard to shake the feeling of how quickly this could change if a streaming service decided to prohibit that. While you should absolutely still take in the viciously vibrant experience of Prey, its lackluster release serves as the most present and profound example of why solely streaming is not the best path forward. While this is by no means the first time that something like this has happened in the streaming age, there still is the unshakeable feeling that this was a missed opportunity. Lean and mean with a sharp eye for striking visuals, it is a genuinely outstanding work that demands to be seen on the biggest canvas possible. It features a riveting performance from Amber Midthunder as Naru, a resourceful hunter who is seeking to somehow track down the infamous Predator and kill it.

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Image courtesy of "INSIDER"

'Prey': How 'Predator 2' Easter egg got in movie, how pistol was made (INSIDER)

Insider spoke to "Prey" director Dan Trachtenberg about a moment in the movie that "Predator" fans will really enjoy.

"On the shelf behind him in the shot was the 'Predator 2' gun. "The pistol might have even been in my initial pitch to the studio." "I was expecting when we got the go-ahead that we would get the 'Predator' bible. In the movie's final sequence, Naru returns to her tribe with the severed head of the Predator, showing that the threat is over. After Naru helps a White settler who is also hunting the Predator, he gives her a flintlock pistol in return. Hulu's "Prey" is a worthy addition to the franchise as this bloody look at the alien killer's first journey onto Earth delivers ultra-violent action and a powerful story about one woman's quest to becoming a leader.

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Image courtesy of "Forbes"

Hulu's Predator Prequel 'Prey' Is An Absolute Must-Watch (Forbes)

I have no idea what sort of strange process has led a blockbuster-caliber Predator movie, Prey, to land itself an exclusive debut on Hulu, of all places, ...

It’s a classic, but nostalgia does some amount of work here looking back, and I can’t say for sure because I haven’t seen Arnold’s version in probably 15 years. I cannot speak highly enough about the two central performances from Prey’s indigenous actors, Amber Midthunder and Dakota Beavers, where this should be a star-making turn for both of them. Danger lurks nearby as French trappers are starting to harvest game for skins, and only Naru seems to understand that an even greater threat looms, the mysterious, unseen, intergalactic stalker.

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