History Film / Prey2022

** Played with the Predator itself; while it strong enough to kill a bear that almost killed Naru and hold its corpse over its head and fast enough to grab a hunter's axe out of his hands, flip in the air, and then kill him with it in a few seconds, it is also wielding substantially weaker, primitive equipment, either due to not having their trademark advanced gear yet or to [[invoked]][[SelfImposedChallenge make the hunt more interesting]], than previous Predators in the franchise. It does nothing to really hinder its ability to hunt down it's prey with frightening efficiency, even when outnumbered, due to its usage of what gear it does has in more creative ways and [[CombatPragmatist even improvising with the far more primitive human weapons if need be]].

** FridgeBrilliance: It's a parallel with the Comanche main characters: there have been unfortunate stereotypes in media for decades that all "Native Americans" are homogenous, when they are actually hundreds of different cultures across two continents. Indigenous nations might have some similarities, but Comanche, Sioux, Cherokee, Apache, Algonquin, etc. are all distinct cultures, whose languages aren't even closely related. This Predator is from a different tribe/culture than we've seen before.

** The Predator itself is also wielding substantially weaker, primitive equipment, either due to not having their trademark advanced gear yet or to [[SelfImposedChallenge make the hunt more interesting]], than previous Predators in the franchise. It does nothing to really hinder its ability to hunt down it's prey with frightening efficiency, even when outnumbered, due to its usage of what gear it does has in more creative ways and [[CombatPragmatist even improvising with the far more primitive human weapons if need be]].

* PlanetOfhats: Played with. As the director explained in an [[https://gizmodo.com/prey-predator-new-creature-details-hulu-streaming-1849026344 interview]], their take on the new Predator in this film is that they are ''are not'' a homogenous single breed or culture across their homeworld. So there are some differences from the "Classic" Predators we've seen before, but still broad similarities (a culture of hunting sapient prey, heat vision, etc.)

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for - such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. The director confirmed in interviews that they took out the plasma caster for the out-of-universe reason that it would have been an "instant win button", making the fights so one-sided in favor of the Predator it wouldn't be a challenge. There are two possible ''in-universe'' explanations: either Predator tech wasn't as advanced 300 years ago, or the Predator itself didn't take energy weapons against targets armed with bows and arrows because [[SelfImposedChallenge there would be no sport to it]] (as prior films established they only want a challenging hunt). The director did go on to point out that their Predator is from a different part of their home planet, so his biology/culture/weapons are somewhat different.

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. This seems to even bleed over into its cloaking tech, which is more of a camouflage that is extremely sensitive and fragile to any rapid movement than true invisibility. This all implies that the later films in the canon are newer additions to their arsenal than first thought, subverting SpaceAgeStasis. Another possibility though is that some Predators ''intentionally'' use simpler weapons, just for a more challenging hunt - sort of like a human hunter going into the jungle armed with nothing but a combat knife. It's possible that Predators arm themselves with weapons ''proportionate'' to the threat level: humans in the 1700s armed with bows and arrows and at best a few flintlock weapons simply don't merit using a plasma caster, there would be "no sport" to it. Also, the few shots of the cloaking tech in the trailer might be points where it's shorting out due to damage.

** The Predator itself too is wielding substantially weaker, primitive equipment, either due to not having their trademark advanced gear yet or to [[SelfImposedChallenge make the hunt more interesting]], than previous Predators in the franchise. It does nothing to really hinder it's ability to hunt down it's prey with frightening efficiency, even when outnumbered, due to it's usage of what gear it does has in more creative ways and [[CombatPragmatist even improvising with the far more primitive human weapons if need be]].

* CallBack: The first film established that the aliens have been coming to hunt humans on Earth for a while, and the second film confirmed that they've been coming since at least the 1700s, when at the end an elder Predator rewards Danny Glover's character with a trophy: a flintlock pistol taken from Roanoke Island, made in 1715. The later-day ''Alien vs. Predator'' spinoffs went farther and said the Predators have been coming for over a thousand years. This film takes that reference from the end of the second film and runs with it: showing a Predator hunting humans in the early 1700s.

--> ''"It lives to hunt."''

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. This seems to even bleed over into its cloaking tech, which is more of an camouflage that is extremely sensitive and fragile to any rapid movement than true invisibility. This all implies that the later films in the canon are newer additions to their arsenal than first thought, subverting SpaceAgeStasis. Another possibility though is that some Predators ''intentionally'' use simpler weapons, just for a more challenging hunt - sort of like a human hunter going into the jungle armed with nothing but a combat knife. It's possible that Predators arm themselves with weapons ''proportionate'' to the threat level: humans in the 1700s armed with bows and arrows and at best a few flintlock weapons simply don't merit using a plasma caster, there would be "no sport" to it. Also the few shots of the cloaking tech in the trailer might be points where it's shorting out due to damage.

* WeakButSkilled: the Comanche hunters compared to the alien Predator. Not just physically, but in terms of the alien's more advanced technology. The Comanche are still skilled trackers, however, and can figure out basic rules about the alien through observation (i.e. in the trailer it shows Naru eventually figures out their vision is based on heat like a snake, so she hides in a pile of cold mud to ambush it).

* BearsAreBadNews: Naru attempts to hunt down a bear to prove herself, only to end up irritating and nearly dying in the process. [[AlwaysABiggerFish To the Predator however]], the bear is barely even an inconvenience as it does it in with a OneHitKill.

* WeakButSkilled: the Comanche hunters compared to the alien Predator. Not just physically, but in terms of the alien's more advanced technology. The Comanche are still skilled trackers, however, and can figure out basic rules about the alien through observation (i.e. in the trailer it shows Naru eventually figures out their vision is based on heat like a snake, so she hides in a pile of cold mud to ambush it).

* BearsAreBadNews: Naru attempts to hunt down a bear to prove herself, only to end up irritating and nearly dying in the process. [[AlwaysABiggerFish To the Predator however]], the bear barely even an inconvenience as it does it in with a OneHitKill.

* TranslationConvention: Averted. The director actually [[https://www.slashfilm.com/886791/prey-will-give-viewers-the-option-to-watch-the-film-in-the-comanche-language/ explained]] that at first they struggled with doing "''The Hunt for Red October'' thing" of having the cast speak a little in Comanche at first before switching to English for the rest of the movie, but felt it didn't really work. But because the movie was being released on the streaming platform Hulu, they realized they could just do ''both'': there are two alternate versions of the movie, one all in English, one all in Comanche, and the audience can just pick which version they want to see on the streamer (apparently he meant the full cast recorded an alternate ''dub'' of the film in Comanche, not alternate takes).

''Prey'' is a 2022 ActionHorror directed by [[Film/TenCloverfieldLane Dan Trachtenberg]] and distributed by Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios. The film stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, and Dane DiLigero, the latter of whom plays the main Predator. The film is the fifth installment in the ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' film series, serving as a shake-up for the franchise as it focuses on a distant time period rather than the modern-day.

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. This seems to even bleed over into it's cloaking tech, which is more of an camouflage that is extremely sensitive and fragile to any rapid movement than true invisibility. This all implies that the later films in the canon are newer additions to their arsenal than first thought, subverting SpaceAgeStasis. Another possibility though is that some Predators ''intentionally'' use simpler weapons, just for a more challenging hunt - sort of like a human hunter going into the jungle armed with nothing but a combat knife. It's possible that Predators arm themselves with weapons ''proportionate'' to the threat level: humans in the 1700s armed with bows and arrows and at best a few flintlock weapons simply don't merit using a plasma caster, there would be "no sport" to it. Also the few shots of the cloaking tech in the trailer might be points where it's shorting out due to damage.

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. This seems to even bleed over into it's cloaking tech, which is more of an camouflage that is extremely sensitive and fragile to any rapid movement than true invisibility. This all implies that the later films in the canon are newer additions to their arsenal than first thought, subverting SpaceAgeStasis. Another possibility though is that some Predators ''intentionally'' use simpler weapons, just for a more challenging hunt - sort of like a human hunter going into the jungle armed with nothing but a combat knife. Also the few shots of the cloaking tech in the trailer might be points where it's shorting out due to damage.

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. This seems to even bleed over into it's cloaking tech, which is more of an camouflage that is extremely sensitive and fragile to any rapid movement than true invisibility. This all implies that the later films in the canon are newer additions to their arsenal than first thought, subverting SpaceAgeStasis. Another possibility though is that some Predators ''intentionally'' use simpler weapons, just for a more challenging hunt - sort of like a human hunter going into the jungle armed with nothing but a combat knife.

* SchizoTech: The Predator itself funny enough, compared to the ones we see in the other films, is seemingly using much more simplistic technology than the more advanced, deadlier stuff they are known for such as a retractable spear launcher instead of their famous PlasmaCannon. This seems to even bleed over into it's cloaking tech, which is more of an camouflage that is extremely sensitive and fragile to any rapid movement than true invisibility. This all implies that the later films in the canon are newer additions to their arsenal than first thought, subverting SpaceAgeStasis.

* TranslationConvention: Averted. The director actually [[https://www.slashfilm.com/886791/prey-will-give-viewers-the-option-to-watch-the-film-in-the-comanche-language/ explained]] that at first they struggled with doing "''The Hunt for Red October'' thing" of having the cast speak a little in Comanche at first before switching to English for the rest of the movie, but felt it didn't really work. But because the movie was being released on the streaming platform Hulu, they realized they could just do ''both'': there are two alternate versions of the movie, one all in English, one all in Comanche, and the audience can just pick which version they want to see on the streamer (apparently he meant the full cast recorded an alternate ''dub'' of the film in Comanche, not alternate takes). They were so proud of this that the first full trailer presents the Comanche version, with English subtitles.

* RevisitingTheRoots: The director [[https://www.slashfilm.com/886791/prey-will-give-viewers-the-option-to-watch-the-film-in-the-comanche-language/ explained] that a major premise behind the film was to get back to the roots of the franchise with the first film: a tense horror movie in which humans with comparatively primitive weapons are being hunted by an alien with advanced technology, but the humans are skilled trackers, and fight back with ingenuity and resourcefulness to outwit the superior foe. Recall that in the original ''Predator'', in the final fight Arnold defeated the Predator mostly by setting traps made of logs and vines, and in the end mortally wounded it with just a deadfall log trap instead of modern weapons.

:''"The ingenuity of a human being who won't give up, who's able to observe and interpret, basically being able to beat a stronger, more powerful, well-armed force."''

:''"The ingenuity of a human being who won't give up, who's able to observe and interpret, basically being able to beat a stronger, more powerful, well-armed force."

* DarkerAndEdgier: Tone-wise, the film seems to be more suspenseful and dramatic compared to the prior action-oriented films, as seen by the trailer, which focuses more on Naru.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[[[BadassBoast Whatever did this, I can kill it.]]]]

''Prey'' is a 2022 ActionHorror directed by [[Film/TenCloverfieldLane Dan Trachtenberg]] and distributed by Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios. The film stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, and Dane DiLigero, the latter of whom playing the main Predator. The film is the fifth installment in the ''Franchise/Predator'' film series, serving as a shake-up for the franchise as it focuses on a distant time period rather than the modern-day.

''Prey'' is a 2022 ActionHorror directed by [[Film/TenCloverfieldLane Dan Trachtengerb]] and distributed by Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios. The film stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, and Dane DiLigero, the latter of whom playing the main Predator. The film is an installment in the ''Franchise/Predator'' series, serving as a splinter from the main set of films as it focuses on a distant time period rather than the modern-day.