I had high hopes and expectations before watching Prey as a part of my assignment for the American Indian course. As a fan of classic horror sci-fi franchises like Predator and Alien, I was hoping to see a decent movie after the somewhat underwhelming outright bad sequels. In addition, I was excited about the setting since the plot was going to feature Comanche, a Native American nation, instead of the usual commandos or futuristic marines and scientists. I expected a refreshing experience, given the relatively high scores awarded to Prey by Hollywood critics and the media.
However, my final impression was rather mixed, which I reflected in a short poem composed soon after watching the closing credits. In the first two stanzas, I expressed what I hoped to see. I remembered the original 1987 movie Predator, where a group of battle-hardened commandos led by Vietnam War veteran “Dutch” Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was slaughtered by a single Predator, a mysterious alien hunter. I remembered the suspense, the horror, as those elite soldiers were slowly picked off one by one. While the Dutch eventually defeated the Predator, all his comrades died, and he was deeply traumatized by the brutal massacre. So, I hoped to see a heroic struggle of the Comanche, a story full of well-crafted Comanche characters, the warriors, who sacrifice themselves to stop the murderous invader from outer space.
Instead, I saw a mediocre story where everyone — the Comanche, the despicable French fur traders, and even the mighty and brutal Predator merely served as props for Naru’s character arc. I expressed my feelings of disappointment in the third stanza. In particular, I was baffled by the depiction of the proud and brave Comanche who dropped like flies while such an inexperienced huntress as Naru miraculously survived despite taking one wrong decision after another. In my opinion, Taabe, Naru’s brother, was the only decently crafted Comanche character in the film focused on this Native nation. I also did not understand why the director portrayed the Comanche society as a stereotypical patriarchal system when Native American women were highly respected in their nations. I had a feeling that Comanche men were shoehorned into the modern-day sexist type simply to set Naru’s quest in motion.
I realize that the protagonist’s mysterious survivability is an old trope, but in my opinion, Dan Trachtenberg could have invested more in side characters, especially the Comanche. The thickness of Amber Midthunder’s character’s plot armor was unbelievable, even by movie standards. Ironically enough, the same sci-fi action genre offers wonderful examples of strong female characters in Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor. However, the screenwriters turned Naru into a glaring example of Mary Sue — an inexperienced character who becomes a master of their trade in a few days. As a result, I caught myself thinking that I care more about the fate of Naru’s fellow tribespeople than about her. My disbelief suppression abandoned me well before the closing credits.
In the end, I had quite a sour taste in my mouth after watching Prey. Do not get me wrong, some aspects of the film were decent, even excellent. The beautiful, majestic scenes of nature make viewers understand why the Comanche loved their land and fought to protect it from colonizers so bravely and fiercely. Action scenes were dynamic and impressive, which required turning a relentless, calculating Predator from the original film into a brutal butcher. However, the questionable plot and underdeveloped characters, especially among the Comanche, lowered my opinion of Prey. While I cannot consider this film terrible, I reckon it did not quite fulfill the promise of proper Native American representation in Hollywood.