After 35 years and six increasingly mediocre films, the “Predator” franchise has long exhausted its ideas and probably its audience. Nevertheless, here’s Dan Trachtenberg’s “Prey,” a sort of prequel and attempted resuscitation of a monster who still wears the familiar dreadlocks, but whose flared oral cavity is denied the lingering, fleshy close-ups we’ve come to love. Perhaps this time the studio suits resist the blatant invocation of a vagina dentata in the opening.
In any case, this Predator (played with verve by former pro basketball player Dane DiLiegro) remains a translucent blur through a frustrating time. The beast was dropped from a spaceship in the Northern Great Plains in 1719 and continues to research the local wildlife. Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman, and her brother (Dakota Beavers), learn of the bloody remains and decide to track down the culprit. Fatherless and fearless, Naru wants nothing more than to become a respected warrior. Let the other women do the meeting; Naru is all about hunting.
But despite a female empowerment theme and an adversary that’s quite brimming with fancy weapons, “Prey” never builds a lead. Jeff Cutter’s beautifully green landscapes glide lazily by, and Midthunder (whose fine performances are too often buried in forgettable projects) is gutsy and wild. But pitting Naru against a series of pop-up threats—an enraged bear, deadly quicksand, thin French trappers—is hardly a conspiracy. Even if you count the six foot aliens.
With a cast composed almost entirely of Native American and First Nations actors, “Prey” is painstakingly attentive to the authenticity of its native setting. A similar focus on the script wouldn’t have gone amiss.
Prey
Rated R for carnivorous rats, predatory French and a thing from outer space. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. Check out Hulu.