A skilled Comanche warrior sets out to protect her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal. A film by Dan Trachtenberg, starring Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Thrush, Julian Black Antelope, and Dane DiLiegro.
PREY
Dan Trachtenberg
(2022)
Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young woman from the Comanche tribe, has been trained by her mother in the traditional art of healing wounds and treating injuries. However, she dreams of becoming a hunter like her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers). So she secretly practices her hunting skills in the wilderness with her loyal dog, Sarii.
Comanche refers to a Native American tribe originally from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States, known for their horsemanship, military prowess, and nomadic lifestyle. The Comanche people call themselves Nʉmʉnʉʉ, meaning “the people,” and their language is a Numic language within the Uto-Aztecan family. The Comanche were organized into autonomous bands, with no centralized leadership, and were renowned for their skill in horseback warfare and buffalo hunting. Their culture was deeply connected to the land, and they played a significant role in the history of the American West, often clashing with settlers and other tribes. Historically, they were dominant in the southern Great Plains, controlling a vast territory known as Comanchería, which included parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.
One morning, she witnesses a strange sight in the sky: a cluster of clouds with flickering lights and two glowing red orbs drifting overhead. She’s convinced it’s the Thunderbird, a giant creature from Native American legend, giving her a sign.
In Comanche culture, the Thunderbird is a powerful mythological creature associated with storms and natural forces. It is described as a giant bird whose eyes crackled lightning and whose wings beat thunder. The Thunderbird was believed to be benevolent to humans but also fierce in its interactions with other powerful creatures such as giant snakes and killer whales. A story from the Comanche tells of a hunter who shot down a bird so large he feared it might be a Thunderbird; after the bird disappeared, the hunter was killed by lightning sent by the Thunderbird, indicating its supernatural power.
It’s time for her Kühtaamia, the tribe’s rite of passage where a hunter must prove themselves by tracking and killing a predator that is also hunting them.
Kühtaamia is a Comanche rite of passage that involves a young warrior proving themselves by hunting something that is also hunting them. It is a traditional ritual hunt by which a young Comanche individual must demonstrate their hunting skills and bravery to be accepted as a warrior in the tribe.
Later, Taabe lets Naru join the group to search for Puhi (Samuel Marty), one of the tribe’s hunters who was attacked and dragged off by a mountain lion. The other hunters object to her coming along, but her tracking abilities prove invaluable. She leads them to Puhi and they manage to save him.
Naru is certain there’s something out there in the woods. Whatever it is has been killing animals and leaving tracks that the tribe’s hunters think are from a big bear. But Naru believes it’s something far more terrifying. Nobody takes her seriously, not even Taabe. Determined to prove herself right, she ventures out alone to track the creature and gather evidence that the Mupitsl, a legendary monster from Native American stories, actually exists.
The latest film in the PREDATOR franchise takes us back to the 17th century (before the first PREDATOR movie) for the first encounter between the apex predator alien and a young Native American woman. It’s yet another movie trying to force a strong female character into the story, following the tired trend of this era. However, this approach has become exhausting and overdone.
The movie takes almost half an hour in the opening to establish the main character, and it feels sluggish. Naru is written to seem smarter than everyone else in the tribe, yet certain scenes make her look unexpectedly foolish, repeating the same stupid mistakes over and over. You’re left wondering whether you should be cheering for her to make it out alive or just let nature run its course. If it weren’t for her clever dog constantly saving her, she would have died several times over. Then by the end, she suddenly levels up and becomes incredibly competent, leaving practically no tension or suspense.
What I did enjoy was the production design of the Predator itself. This alien hunter looks more terrifying than in previous installments, and that signature nerve-rattling shriek is still as chilling as ever. If the Predator had won at the end, I probably would have liked it even more.
PREY premiered at San Diego Comic-Con on 21 July 2022. It was released as a Hulu original film in the United States and on Disney+ internationally on 5 August.
If you don’t know what to watch, give Pocahontas vs. Predator a try…
