I appreciate that you often take the time think about a movie for a while and then give us your final verdict. I felt the way you initially did when I first saw this movie. On a second watch, it clicked how Naru is scared and not the best warrior, but she is attentive and soaking up everything she can from others. And that's what makes her strong. The payoff at the end is great, and that doggo is the best.

The laser lights that came off the helmet. They showed where the arrows hit. At the end Naru set the helmet to point the laser at the predator in the quicksand. So the predator shot himself.

The dog is actually a period dog - that is, it is one of the oldest breeds that still exists and one of the few that were in North America at that time. The natives are all played by actual native peoples. In fact, even the technical crew was mostly native.

Holy smokes Bunny! Your final analysis of the movie was spectacular. I think even the actual makers themselves of Prey would have been most impressed with that concluding piece you put together about their movie. Wow!

I think this is my favorite of the Predator films. Aliens is my favorite of the Alien films. In the tree, she was ready for the lion when the predator's noise & light distracted her. The cigar is the fur trader calling card. Yuck. What happened is she positioned his helmet aimed at his own head, so when he fired. . . {Edit to add: You addressed the last point in your review afterward}

After a series of Predator sequels that were, in my opinion, quite disappointing, I liked this one. Grazie gorgeous Bunny

He had to cheat to beat the brother, going invisible the ultimate anti flex.

Naru was very observant. She was a descent fighter, however, she watched and studied how the Predator went about going after its prey. She was actually learning how to defeat the Predator. She definitely wasn't a better fighter than her brother, but she actually applied the Sun Tzu strategy of learning about her enemy and was inspired from her brother. You stated a very good observation of how Naru grew as a warrior.

I think you are spot on with your breakdown as to what enabled the main character to win, but the one thing that I think you missed was her mother's words about it being about survival, and not about hunting. Once everyone who could save her had died, it became a matter of survival for her. All the death around her, and loss of her brother changed how she looked at the situation. So yes, it was as much as she needed to really belive in herself in spite of what everyone else was saying, and that she needed to hear her brother, who she obviously looked up to, even as they had their sibling rivalry, once it became a matter of it being her own survival all her instincts kicked in, and was able to use her innate powers of observation, and intelligence, that enabled her to overcome her fears and obstacles. I think once you realized how much of this you identified with you were able to see how great this story was, and appreciate it that much more. I think this is also why I identified with this story so much, though likely for somewhat different reasons, but still relatable.

She did put up a good fight against the bully. In that case it wasn't life and death like it was against the French and the Predator.

In terms of the CG work in this film, keep in mind that it was a low budget direct to streaming title. I work in VFX, and can assure anyone, that if you don't like or are bothered by CG, keep in mind, that it is rarely the result of bad artists, or a bad company, and 99% of the time the result a time and budget issue, and keep in mind that because VFX artists do not have union to represent them in the industry (some companies have unions, but those unions only interface with the VFX house that those artists work for, which is not the same thing), VFX artists are massively mistreated by the industry, yet produce a massive percentage of what puts people in seats to watch the content.

I love "Prey". The story showed our lead learning from the Predator by watching it. All those who were killed by the Predator never studied him...because they were too busy attacking him. They had no strategy, other than to blindly attack. It had always worked against humans, and predatory animals - but not against something that they did not expect, an alien with advanced weapons. If you are not perceived as a natural predator, the Predator will not attack you. This was our heroine's greatest weapon, one of observation. The Predator looked past her, as it viewed her as being weak - as did the Native American Braves and the French trappers. They all looked past her, as a non-threat. The story begins with our heroine...worshipping her big brother - the War Chief. She wants to be just like him, but she is dismissed because she isn't a boy - so the braves will not train her to fight, nor will they allow her to fight. They want her to take care of the sick, the wounded, cook food, eventually get married, and take care of children. She has a station in life that has been imposed on her by others because of her gender and youth, however...she wants more - for she isn't just a woman; she is a warrior and leader at heart, mind, and spirit. Because our heroine was failing, she got to see the Predator up-close and personal. When we look at her strengths, she never gave up - she kept practicing, learning, and getting better. Her brother lauded her as a strategist, previously. He knew that she was smarter than him. She conceived how to kill the mountain lion, and fashioned a plan - but her brother didn't credit her, after using her plan. He pretended that he did it all on his own. Men sometimes do that to women. Later, when facing death...he would admit it to her. Most men will not admit to stealing another person's valor - especially to stealing a woman's valor. Our protagonist is a medicine woman and tracker, someone who talks to spirits and who studies animals and nature - thus she studies others as a way of life; and is patient and methodical in doing so. She is 1 of the 4 most respected people in the tribe, but she is young...so they take her for granted and view her as a princess and the baby sister of their greatest hero. In witnessing others failures against the Predator, both human and animals, and their small successes against it - she learned that the alien's helmet was key to its survival, as well as its offense and defense. She also learned that it was blind without its helmet, and relies on sound to hunt - when deprived of the helmet. When her brother, who was her hero, died...and she witnessed his death...she lost all fear - and that was her moment of transformation. She became an adult, and a warrior as she no longer had a fear of death. Our protagonist is on the classic heroine's/hero's journey - starting out lesser than, before going on a journey of self-discovery. Amid the heroine's/hero's journey, she/he must learn to fight, go to war, walk-through minefields, slay a dragon, win her/his fortune and/or love, and transform into a confident well-evolved and mature person - who is lauded and respected. All human beings are asked to go on that heroine's/hero's journey in life...metaphorically - if only to get an education, get a good job with benefits, find a mate, buy a house, pay your bills, raise children, defend your family, provide for your family, teach your loved ones, and pay your taxes. This is why we relate to the heroine's/hero's journey. You experienced your heroine's journey, upon your cathartic revelation about looking past a woman's worth - and understanding therein, that stereotypes are not true of all people. Some of the greatest warriors in history have been women.

I've actually never seen any Predator movie other than this one, and I like this one. I like how you changed your mind on the movie and then probably scrapped whatever you initially thought of it.

Next to the remains of the Baffalo are Traps and that was a Cigar that they were looking at. Even the Predator noticed the Cigar.

I found this to be a great prequel to the original Predator as the predator's tech isn't as advanced and that actual native americans played the tribal members.

This was a very underrated movie. After the dumpster fire that was "The Predator" (2018), the franchise needed a good one, and this one had everything we needed. Good story, a lot of heart, and good old Predator action. The Predator himself having different weapons was great to see. And yes, the parallel to the tribe hunting is there... great observation :) I hope they do more in other time periods... it's rumored that they want to do more, but we'll see. Predator is very conducive to that!

You described the movie perfectly and unfortunately many who didn’t like the movie is because they don’t understand why a girl like this can beat a Predator. They didn’t call the movie “Prey” for nothing. The other half who didn’t like the movie is because they don’t like the design of this Predator and prefer the original one.

What I like about this is how it shows her growing over time - observing, eventually becoming a hunter. She always thinks things through, but she's green at the beginning - because they've never given her a chance. As she gains that experience by failing she learns what she needs to know. She is, above all else, a SURVIVOR.

The predator wasn't at 100% capacity by the time it was just the girl and it.

Taabe might have had something to do with the mountain lion dying but it was Naru's spear that made the killing blow.

“ ma’am, I am a dog” lol OK, that got me. I am subscribing.

Roy Batty vs the predator would be interesting..

I'm definitely a fan of Naru, but I'd love to see a film about Taabe. That dude was an apex warrior and went out like a champ.

I love this movie just as much as the original Predator followed very closely by Predator 2. I also agree with your commentary on the movie afterwards. One part a really liked is that this movie is they have dubbed it in Comanche too.

36:20 This is the start of the story of the gun. Who knows how many times it will change hands until it gets to a Predator.

She was protecting her dog, Sari who is a girl. Impressed that you didn't say nothing better happen to that dog like every other reactor!

I think this movie is actually more accurate to how things are in real life than a lot of different movies. The action genre has shown everyone over the past 40-50 years that the hero is always an invincible bad ass, but in real life that’s usually not how it works. In boxing they have a term called “the puncher’s chance”. It means a boxer who is heavily out skilled and out matched can still win the day if they’re able to land some clean heavy blows. I think that’s what this movie shows. She’s not a match for the predator, but she has enough intelligence and knowledge of the terrain that she’s able to bring it all to bear to defeat the predator.

Your commentary gave me a new appreciation for this movie

The French armed or not were Hunters, which made them a threat and also Prey.

I've waited forever for your Prey reaction! Easily my favorite in the franchise besides the original. I'm glad during editing you noticed the parallel between Naru and the predator. When I saw her pick up the cigar by the dead bison and then the predator did the same thing, the connection snapped in my head. In the scene with her and the mountain lion, she hit it with her spear as she fell. It is hard to notice, because the scene is so dark. If she hadn't been distracted by the explosions in the distance, she would have succeeded. When the predator leaves the bomb that kills the Frenchman, you can notice she isn't distracted a second time. She is always learning......There are so many call backs to the other films. I really enjoyed this movie!

Imagine watching ms flight simulator for 5 min and then fly an airplane perfectly. Basically this movie.

Fighting with her people is different than life or death with the enemy.

The grizzy skull is the best predator mask of all

You and I had the EXACT same reaction when we saw the slaughtered bison for the first time. I also was immediately reminded of the scene from Dances With Wolves.

i love the score by sarah schachner, it's perfect

The pistol came from the man in the camp with his leg gone. He showed her how to load it. Then she gave the same pistol to her father at the end. She used the oredators helmet to kill it because whatever the masks red lights are focused on is where its arrows go. She had the mask facing the quick sand where the predator was and the mask focused on him.

As to Predators vs. Aliens, who builds the starships?...

If youve seen the first 2 and even PvA the Predators have displayed a level of Honor, the first letting Arnold know it was a bomb so he could run, the seconds crew giving Danny a momento and letting him go for suviving the hunt, I won't spoil PVA. In this when the credits roll it depicts the Predators retaliating on the tribe, which makes absolutely no sense and goes against established character tropes making them look petty. Also at the end of the first 2 both Arnold and Danny survived and you could see the exhaustion and numbness from what theyve lost and what theyve just seen. When she returns to the village after just witnessing essentially all of the villages hunters including her brother be slaughtered right before her eyes she seems almost happy because for some reason despite all of that loss she still only cares about finally being recognized as a Hunter by the remaining elderly, which was simply ridiculous, they just lost like 5 guys, nobody is gonna give a rats ass about dubbing her warrior chief, that whole scene just wouldnt happen and was essentially a replacement for the scene thats taken place in multiple predator movies now where the other predators show up collect the body and gear and honoring the human with a token of some sort, if they had done that in this it would of taken the movie into the top 3 predator films. But everything that happened after the killing the Predator was just awful

She wounded the cat. The other dude was cat dinner.

Tell me I can't do something and (physics limited) I will probably do it. No other reason. Sometimes a higher physics guides my intent and magical things happen. I'm 70, I can start bragging now (matter-of-fact casual style) just to dare folk to dare me to do something. I carry a bare (no case) Ovation Applause AA-10 guitar (tiny and light), in tune, just to prompt interest. In ten years of carrying this guitar in Hollywood one (big!) dude at Trader Joe's finally (3 years ago) said "do you actually play that thing?" and I whipped up a 13-second rocking version of Zep's No Quarter (didn't want to attract the management) and he smiled. Predator got the gun from the French trappers.

Taabe is the only person to force a predator to cloak during a fight as far as I’m aware.

Two callbacks I loved in this story (though maybe callforwards would be a better term as it's a prequel?) are the pouch of herbs that 'cool' the blood and the trappers. The pouch is a reference to Billy in the very first Predator movie when he knows what's tracking them and fingers the pouch because he's been told that it helps defeat them, but the actual method got lost somewhere along the way. The trappers are a reference to the second Predator movie with Danny Glover and the prize of the antique pistol he was given for defeating his Predator.

Humans aren't good hunters because of our physical abilities (although we do have some, like the ability to sweat) but because of our brains. Humans have to win against stronger and faster animals and the only way is to outthink them. I thought that over and over the movie shows that Naru understands this. She knows her mind is her strength. I feel like the predator in the movie forgot about using his brain. He had so many physical and technological advantages that he forgot to think.

If you watch The Edge, with Antony Hopkins, they used a trained bear.

Finaly female character i trully love. More movies like this please.

I really enjoyed this film & just wish it had been given a theatrical release. What’s also impressive about Prey is the fact that a full Comanche language dub was provided for the film, with the cast reprising their roles, thus making it the first feature film to do so. History Fun Facts: As well as French Fur trappers, US Army sanctioned and actively endorsed the wholesale slaughter of bison herds towards the later part of the federally endorsed genocide that was The American Indian Wars which took place between 1609-1924. The federal government promoted bison hunting for various reasons, primarily to pressure the indigenous people onto the reservations during times of conflict by removing their main food source. Without the bison, indigenous people of the plains were often forced to leave the land or starve to death. One of the biggest advocates of this strategy was General William Tecumseh Sherman. On June 26, 1869, the Army Navy Journal reported: "General Sherman remarked, in conversation the other day, that the quickest way to compel the Indians to settle down to civilized life was to send ten regiments of soldiers to the plains, with orders to shoot buffaloes until they became too scarce to support the redskins." Similarly, Lieutenant General John M. Schofield would write in his memoirs: "With my cavalry and carbined artillery encamped in front, I wanted no other occupation in life than to ward off the savage and kill off his food until there should no longer be an Indian frontier in our beautiful country." Later, President Ulysses S. Grant vetoed the act of Congress HR 921, which would have implemented protections against white overhunting of buffalo. Fewer than 100 Buffalo remained in the wild by the late 1880s, with the population of wild buffalo literally on the brink of extinction. No consensus exists on how many people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, but extensive research continues to be conducted. Contemporary estimates range from 2.1 million to 18 million people living on the North American continent prior to European colonization. The number of Indians dropped to below half a million in the 19th century because of Eurasian diseases such as influenza, pneumonic plagues, and smallpox, in combination with conflict, forced removal, enslavement, imprisonment, and outright warfare with European newcomers reduced populations and disrupted traditional societies. The 2010 United States Census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being American Indian or Alaskan Native, about 0.9% of the US population. The Canada 2011 Census found 1,836,035 Canadians who identified themselves as being First Nations (or Inuit or Métis), about 4.3% of the Canadian population. If you want to know more about possibly one of the darkest chapters in Americas history, I can highly recommend the book ‘Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee’.

Very good thoughts at the end!!! Naru had two weaknesses; she had no confidence in herself because nobody believed in her and she let her fear rule her. She had the skills but no confidence in them or in herself. When Taabe told her that HE believed in her, with her dog in danger, she finally let her fear go and just acted. She took out the Frenchmen and saved her dog. When Taabe died, she grieved at the river, but then she realized that she was all that stood between the Predator and her people. The majority of the hunters were dead. She finally reached down inside herself, pulled that strength out of her, put her knowledge she had gained throughout the movie into a plan, and acted. She used the remaining Frenchman as bait to lure out the Predator who wasn't going to let one that attacked him go, which is why he killed him. She took the helmet with the targeting lasers and set the trap. All she had to do was lure the Predator into the bog and wait for him to activate the laser guidance of his bolt gun.

I just have knitpicky problems with it. She has rope attached to her throwing hatchets 🪓 this takes away their ability to spin while airborne. Then she pulls the ropes to make the hatchets return to her hand perfectly like Thor’s hammer. Go out and try that yourself. It won’t work 😅 The alien hunts small animals in the beginning 🤔 that wasn’t necessary to show

please help me what made the men who have fought and beat the predator believable cuz they didnt learn they use brute strength Naru outsmarted the predator

It's actually a simple pro essay to load a flintlock and takes less time than most people think

Dances With Predators. If it bleeds, we can kill it.

Great reaction - probably one of the BEST for this particular movie!! Have not seen this movie at all in its entirety so cannot/will not comment about it or other aspects. Have only seen this movie through these various reaction channels. Most of those other channels only show about 20-25 minutes of the movie, so sort of piqued my interest but not enough to actually want to see the movie. With you showing a longer and much better reaction to the movie - well, guess I will have to finally watch it now for am quite interested!!

When you hunt for food, that's one thing... When you fight to live? That's another...

Sarii is not the dogs name. Sarii is the Comanche word for dog

Loading a flintlock is actually quite easy and quick

26:45 “I’m smarter than a beaver” is an inside joke; the actor playing her brother is named Dakota Beavers.

I love this movie. For all the reasons you listed in your addendum. Plus one other element that I've never seen anyone remark on, so I'll do it here: the symbolism of the orange flower that cools the blood. Naru, at the beginning of the movie, is motivated to reject the traditional feminine ways of medicine and tracking, despite being the best in her village at them. These are skills she learned from her mother and, presumably, the other women of her tribe. She wants instead to excel at the more masculine coded pursuit of hunting. BUT... she doesn't succeed until she accepts the power of the feminine practice of medicine, too. She has to integrate it into her strategy in order to win, in the form of the orange flower. In other words, she must achieve a balance of masculine and feminine coded skills in order to become the person she was meant to be. Thanks for your fun reaction!

This theme that played is awesome one of my favourite themes

She speared the mountain lion in the hind quarters in front of left rear leg as she fell.

Not quick sand but a Peet bog ",bullets" for guns didn't exist at this time

Yes, the guy that got knocked out of the tree by the lion survived because of her medicine. -OG

The Rez Dog is my favorite character in this movie 🐺

Don't think the bear wrangler is the real cost, it's the Insurance.

A group of experienced wolves of the secret wars died almost in full force, in fact accidentally destroying the Predator, and here 50 kilograms of pathos and rage easily extinguishes the Predator. A teenage slasher was made out of a fantastic action movie

Part II 😁 Also add the Predator was fairly cut up when it became one on one! ☮️

Tabi's death sparked her determination to really fight

I loved this one. I loved seeing her grow from beginning to end. I loved seeing the predator move it's way up the food chain trying to find the apex predator, a worthy prey. This is likely the first Predator to arrive on Earth so it doesn't know yet that humans are the ultimate challenge on this planet. It had to learn. I liked the foreshadowing and they way the whole movie builds on itself. I love the callbacks. I thought they were done tastefully. I liked the settler element and seeing them get theirs. I liked that this was a less evolved Predator with bone armor. I loved the teamwork with her brother. I loved how everyone including the Predator underestimated her and how that was it's downfall. She didn't brute force it or beat it with fighting skill. She outsmarted it and used it's own tracking laser against it. Absolutely awesome. Great movie for how short it was. They did good with the budget they had.

Old guy review here. Definitely my favorite since the original. Also one of the strongest, most believable female leads of such a movie since Aliens and Terminator for me. I love how the movie took its time too. Great audio and cinematography. Nice reaction btw.

Prey was previewed at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con to a well-received audience reception. It was probably mishandled when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, as it did not get a theatrical release but instead premiered as a Hulu Original (though it did get high viewership, much through word of mouth). Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (Cloverfield 10), The Commanche Tribe provided technical advice, assistance for cultural authenticity during production. Though some presumed faults in the movie, it went on to find much favor with audiences and renewed opportunity in the Predator franchise. :)

What happened at the end there was that she had the mask and it has a targeting device - that laser targeting system. She set it up so it would target whoever was in the spot she lured him to, so when he tried to fire on her, the targeting system re-aimed it at him.

Don't worry about the face paint "You Look Marrrvelous" just as you are. You got that modest but very beautiful barmaid thing going driving all the young guys crazy and making the older guys like me daydream.

Its a cigar

They just don't know about the technology that they're up against

I found Prey to be an excellent movie. The acting was top notch, the scenery was gorgious and the plot well done.

This might be my favorite Predator movie and "Prey 2" is rumored to already be in the works! I do agree that some of the animal CGI does look...well... CGI. But tbf Jurassic Park had twice the budget and a lot of it's CGI scenes were taking place in the dark or in rain, which hides a lot of flaws.

I'm very glad you watched this movie. And I *very* much would love to see you watch "Alien vs. Predator".

You hit all the important points about the discourse on this film in your final thoughts. No notes. You knocked out if the park.

Great reaction to this movie that is not just about action. The girl won through her smarts. Prey was also fully dubbed in the comanche language, would have been interesting to hear. Alien vs. Predator will give you new insights, i liked it a lot.

I love the final hunt and how she uses the French guy’s belligerence against both him and the Predator. We’ve seen time and again, including in this movie, that Predators have no interest in killing something that’s not fighting back, and there’s surely no sport in shooting a wounded animal…. But Naru knew the guy just couldn’t resist pulling his gun in a fight he had no chance of winning. Perfectly observed on her part AND one last bit of karma for the assholes invading her land.

I watch it on dvd and it is really good than I thought. I enjoy it and I was surprised to see easter egg to connect to Predator 2.

I loved your review of the movie! I think this is the second best movie in the franchise. Your reactions were great, but you really did a great job finding the deeper meanings of the movie. That you for sharing your review!

Reviewer is not a fan of the movie maybe watch another Prey Review.

i don't understan anyone who dosn't love PREY. IT ROUNDS OUT THE PREDATOR STORY.

Those of you who watched the reaction, i strongly urge you to stick around for the analysis afterwards, fantastic

You're one of the few who realized the gun the french guy gave her is the same in Predator 2.

The predators got the gun according to the story you saw in the closing credits. I'm sorry you didn't show us that story and comment on the next wave of predators coming!

Wow! Some incredible insights in your review. As much as I enjoyed the movie myself on first and second watch, I didn't pick up on half of what you uncovered. Super smart work.

YAYYY

The way you've enjoyed the other movies you will enjoy Alien versus Predator.

Makes me wonder if this tribe faced another Predator not long after this movie since they still had the gun from Predator 2 at the end. I thought this movie wouldn't be that good when I first started watching it. I was surprised how much I liked this one. It would have been interesting if they connected this tribe with Billy from the first movie. Great reaction Bunnytails!!

Lol your tactical awareness is lacking. She lasered the Predator with its own targeting system, which guided the projectile right back at him.

Summary of the film: she just wanted her brother's "war chief" position and she got it, she's even happy with her brother's death hahaha in the next film it will be a child who will kill the "predator" hahaha

Bullets, cigars, same thing.

It seems to me that there are a few Alien movies that are not quite in your list. Or of the other franchises films. Some of them are actually watchable, you know :)

Wrong lion vocalization too deep sounded like a an African lion…or tiger

What she picked up next to the skinned buffalo was a spent casing, probably from a 45-70 Springfield or something like that.

Wow great reaction! You grew as much as Naru did after watching a second time! Thats a great reaction! Took me a few watches also! I did like it from the start and the story was good! Luv the callback to the original movie! Can't wait to see you react to AVP! One of my favorites in the series!

Teenage girl outperforms Dutch's elite team (including Billy), experienced Green berets, alien xenomorphs and grizzled veteran police officers 🤣

I love this film and how it mirrors the first one in that raw strength is shown off and championed (and in Prey she clearly covets it.) but compared to the Predator its meaningless. The Predator is faster, stronger, more technologically advanced in every way. In both films its when they stop trying brute force and use their smarts that they overcome it.

Not quicksand it's a bog