An Average Movie-Goer’s Review
No spoilers! If you would like spoilers – check out the Spoiler post
I love horror movies and if I’m going to watch them anyway, why not write an entertaining/funny review from the POV of an average movie-goer and not a professional critic.
Today we’re looking at 2022’s Hulu Original, Prey.
Taking place on the Northern Great Plains in 1719, Naru of the Comanche tribe attempts to prove herself as a hunter but comes face to face with the one of the deadliest predators in the galaxy.
Is it Scary?
There are maybe two jump scares in the whole movie but it also feels like Prey was going for the more suspense kind of scares. Although after a certain point in the movie it drops all that and leans into the action. Prey can also get a bit gory at times but nothing too over the top, in some scenes the movie does cut away before we see the worst of its kills.
In the end you won’t leave the movie scared unless you’re planning on fighting an alien race of intergalactic warriors who kill for fun.
Review:
Prey is great. The acting is good, I mean there’s nothing amazing but that’s mainly due to how the story plays out. There’s not much any actor could do better with what was given. But, the very few scenes where a character plays off another, or gives emotion, are well done.
The story is very tightly written with some heavy foreshadowing for plot points, it leaves you with barely any questions at the end about how certain scenes played out or how characters knew what they knew. It does become a bit of a detriment because it gets a bit predictable and the few details the movie skips feel more vital than the ones it chooses not to.
Prey also does a great job at showing us that the Predator isn’t unstoppable and the humans from 1719 might have a chance. Nothing that happens will leave you questioning or confused at the ‘power levels’ of characters.
There’s not a lot to dislike about this movie but some character motivations could have been shown more effectively. We get the basic gist on why characters are motivated on doing things but we’re told it more than shown it.
The only other negative I can see some people having is if you’ve seen other Predator movies you know how some ‘hinted at’ scenes are going to play out. This added with the heavy foreshadowing makes the movie a bit more predictable than it should be, nonetheless it’s still extremely entertaining and there are a few subversions.
Overall, I highly recommend giving Prey a watch (which is exclusive on Hulu in the US and Disney+ elsewhere). It’s a great addition to the Predator franchise and gives hope about the future of it. Here’s to hoping they visit a new time period every film.
Cast IMDB