Prey on Hulu

Prey, a Hulu original movie sequel to the “Predator/Alien vs. Predator '' franchise, was released on July 21st, 2022. It goes all the way back to 1719 in the Northern Plains, where the predator, also known as the feral predator, is dropped off by a spaceship. The alien species is called a Yautjia. They have human-like characteristics, dreadlocks, and human-like bodies. But the thing that separates the human and the Yautijas is the skin; Yautijas with more scalish, dark red, and green-like skin. And they are clearly much larger and taller than humans. But the most unique difference is in the facial features. When they don’t have their masks on, they have four mandibles, no lips, usually six teeth, two big ones on the top and four smaller ones on the bottom of their jaw, and small eyes in front of their skull.

Looking into the full-on design of the predator, director Dan Trachtenberg wanted a more appropriate design for the iconic alien hunter. He wanted a more primitive, feral, and leaner look. But, this predator looks different from the original predators, face-wise. The predator in prey has a wrinkly look, and the eyes are more on the side of the head and sunken in. The head shape is much longer and thinner. And the teeth are much different, more teeth and sharper. And the iconic dreadlocks are much thinner and longer than the other predators. The clothing and weapons are very different as well. Starting with the iconic mask that all predators wear, the feral predator has a skull mask that hides everything but his mandibles which stick out. Then on the body, there is no armor, but there is a loincloth and a piece of metal around his waist. The weapons for the feral predator were a shield, an arrow-like gun that would track the target with the mask of the predator, and a wristband that can produce three bombs.

     Now actually looking into the actual plot of the movie. The main character Naru, is a Native American woman and an inspiring young warrior. She is also teased by the males of the tribe, including her brother, Taabe, who is a well-respected warrior. Naru wants to prove that she isn’t scared of hunting and can do the same things that the males of her tribe can do during hunting. But then, while hunting a lion with her brother and another male from her tribe, she hears the predator's roar while in the tree with the lion, startling her, and making her fall to the ground. Naru wakes up in her bed to see her mother. Her mother said that Taabe had brought her back and went back to kill the lion. She tried to leave and tell her mother that there was something else, but Naru’s mother didn’t believe her. Moving forward, Naru tries to convince everyone that there is something else in the wood that is extremely dangerous, but no one believes her. So she leaves with her dog to hunt it down. The movie is available to watch on Hulu. It's rated R and has some gore that others might find disturbing. 

     The movie has an overall 4.3 stars. Fans say that finally, after 35 years, they made a decent sequel that isn't considered “mediocre.” The movie is overall a decent movie that you won’t get bored of easily. Including the Alien vs. Predator movies, there are seven predator movies. The movies are loved by the young and old and are some sci-fi horror classics. The franchise is so popular and has no chance of stopping soon. The first Alien vs. Predator movie is $80,282,231in lifetime gross. Some of the lore is interesting as well. For example, it's revealed that the Yautijas arrived in ancient Egypt and helped humans construct the pyramids. In exchange, the people provided sacrifices as hosts for the Xenomorphs so that the Predators could routinely return to Earth to hunt them as some kind of twisted rite of passage. But the lore is extremely long, and no one wants to read all of it since it would take a while. But for the people that are interested in it, some of the lore is on youtube, and if you really want to get into it, there are plenty of comic books on the lore as well also on youtube and google. And the last thing to mention is that they really did amazing on Native American representation in the film.  We usually don't see this in movies, and so many people are thrilled that they decided to do it. The movie itself is pretty good, and I would recommend it to anyone who is into horror and sci-fi!