Prey

I have no problem declaring that I'll probably still like the first one better. But the comparisons that an awful lot of people are wallowing in this case will only serve me further to argue how great Prey is as a completely different and separate work that could have been a great original to the whole series. While the original Predator carved out an almost individual sub-genre in which 80s blowhards stumble upon a space villain who unexpectedly kicked their asses (it was more of a humorous inversion of the established action patterns of the time), Prey takes a bite out of various genres within its narrative and historical lineage. It is a precursor to the colonial western, when the indigenous inhabitants were far from facing only wild animals and were confronted with a far more dangerous invader, the white man. It's a smart emancipation horror film, where the teenage heroine has to slay the scariest creature imaginable to prove to the cocky guys that she's a force to be reckoned with anywhere but in the kitchen. And unlike the first film, in which the dense jungle was for most of the time a rather anonymous backdrop from which the Predator gradually emerged, Prey is a film about the hard hand of Mother Nature. The female lead literally flounders and nearly dies in the mud and is almost torn apart by a bear, as she is far from being the master of creation from the start. The fearless macho narcissists in the first film played at being such masters and would probably have punched the lion, here the nervousness is built up during the initial walk through the forest and the "hunter-prey" motif is developed on both sides – in the wilderness of that time you were both hunter and victim at the same time and you only came of age when you set out to take down an opponent who could just as easily have taken you down. In this regard, the introduction of the Predator is also great, including an endearing and at the same time disturbing scene where the top link of the food chain is corresponded (a rodent eats an ant, a snake eats the rodent and the snake is eviscerated by a watching Predator). The first one was probably more entertaining in sum, more uncompromisingly directed and the final confrontation was more thrilling, but Prey is at least a more complex and better paced film. At the level of scenes, the sub-psychology, relationships or impulses that will soon play a key role in the heroine's decision-making are well established. The rather bland plot sparks a gripping survival storyline, supported by the aforementioned approach to the setting and director Dan Trachtenberg's precise eye. It makes the most of the beautiful scenery, presents the action in a variable way, and personally gave me no room to moan about the weaker CGI or the improbability of the young girl's encounter with the alien giant, because the film is so consistent in its handling of important motifs that no physical confrontation and its development feels silly. Though it doesn't look as majestic, and the smaller budget is probably noticeable in places, Predator: Prey is a better and more fulfilling film for me than the period-related The Revenant, which dabbled more in pretty pictures and told less of a worthwhile story. And I really find strange the dismissive reception from some people, who have probably already bought into the idea that Girl vs. Predator is stupid and that the first two episodes are just classics. The stubborn attitude of this era is really fucked up sometimes, and the thing I regret the most is that it's me, born in 1995, writing this. (08/10/2022) (less) (more)