Plot Summary: Naru sets about to prove her hunting prowess by taking out a threat to her tribe.
You know what’s frustrating? Knowing that you are capable of doing so many things but having people tell you that you must resign yourself to a particular role and take away any opportunities that come your way.
You know what’s even more frustrating? Being told that only certain people are going through hardships and the others are privilged enough to not even have to understand what going through a difficult time is.
Everyone has their own challenges to face and overcome so when some studios start producing movies that highlight the struggles of a particular group, they are not being inclusive even though they may believe themselves to be.
And then a movie like PREY comes along, that shows the struggle of a girl trying to prove to a tribe that she is capable of handling herself, and the story is told without much of an agenda.
We see her struggle, we see her fail, we see her being accepted as someone who is capable of so much more rather than fitting into a role set by someone else.
For a change, the focus isn’t on politics but the story, as should every movie be. It’s nice to be entertained for once without wondering if there is going to be a dialogue or a story line that is trying too hard to be neutral.
PREY Movie Plot
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman?
Nope.
The year is 1719 and a young woman is practicing her hunting skills, saving her dog and birdwatching.
Except what she thinks is a bird is actually a ship of a Predator.
The young woman is Naru and before she can shoot arrows at a bird, her brother Taabe comes along and shows off his hunting skill. Naru tries to explain she was waiting for the bird to circle around but Taabe said he had a clear shot.
Taabe and Naru, along with the other young men are practicing for the upcoming hunting ritual. While Naru is insistent on partaking in the rite, her mother reminds her she would be suit better in another role, making medicines.
Meanwhile we are introduced to the antagonist, the Predator. He wastes no time in showing how dangerous he is by attacking and skinning a poor snake.
While Naru is out looking for special medicinal flowers she finds the skinned snake and alerts her tribe but no one takes her seriously.
The young hunters then set about to search for a missing tribe member. Naru makes a fuss about joining them and Taabe is the only one who stands up for her and convinces the other that should they finds their friend wounded, Naru is good with medicines and can help.
Off they all go and as luck would have it they find their friend wounded. Luckily Naru is there to crush some flowers all over him. He immediately starts to feel cold and the other tribesmen grow dubious of Naru's abilities as a healer. She assures them that feeling chills means that a person is healing.
While the others are on the watchout for the lion that attacked their friend, Naru raises a question: would a lion really leave a man wounded? Lions are well-known for finishing what's served to them.
The tribesmen decide to trap the lion and Naru along with another trbe member take a spot on top of a tree.
The other tribe member is pulled down and ripped and Naru is left alone to fend for herself. The Lion, am expert at climbing trees, approaches Naru. That's when the Predator makes himself known. Distracted, Naru plunges the spear into the lion but then falls off and hits her head on a rock.
When she comes too, she is back home with her mother looking over her. She learns that her brother had been the one to carry her back. She goes outside and finds that Taabe has slain the lion, thus completing the ritual and becoming the new War Chief.
Naru gets a twinge of sibling rivalry and decides to go off on her own to prove herself a worthy hunter. The dog accompanies her and watches as Naru practices hitting a tree repeatedly before deciding on an invention. She collects and ties together twines to wrap it around her axe so that once she strikes with her weapon, she is able to pull it back.
On the other side, the Predator is practicing ripping poor animals apart and wearing their skulls as trophies.
On the other side, Naru slips into some quicksand but luckily has her newly designed weapon to pull herself out. That's when a bear comes over. Naru manages to hide in a perfect spot so that she can witness the bear being attacked by something invisible. Just before the bear is defeated, its blood drenches the predator and Naru is able to see the threat to her tribe.
She manages to get away before the predator notices her but Naru's day is just about to get more eventful.
She is found by tribesmen who were looking for her on Taabe's orders and as she puts up a fight the predator steps in to slaughter everyone in the area.
Naru manages to escape yet again but her foot gets caught in a trap. This time its some French people who are looking for fur.
They are just awful to her but one of them is able to speak English so that we can understand what is going on. Taabe has also been caught and brought forward. The siblings are tied to a tree so that they can attract more animals as well as the predator.
The predator doesn’t care much for people who are tied up and starts attacking all the French hunters. Naru and Taabe manage to escape.
Naru then attacks the other men but shows mercy to a wounded man who promises to show Naru how to use a gun if she administers medicine to him. She shows pity and crushes flowers on him which immediately makes him cold. When the predator roams about the area in search of more things to rip apart, he barely pays attention to the man resulting in Naru getting the idea that the Predator cannot sense people who are feeling cold.
But it's just not his day as the Predator accidentally comes across him and the man screams. The man is instantly killed.
PREY Ending Explained with Spoilers!
Taabe comes on a horse to rescue Naru but senses the predator. He gives an emotional speech before the predator impales him. Horrified, Naru is frozen but the predator's lack of attention to his surroundings, lets Naru make her escape.
Naru is broken-hearted but revenge is on her mind. She finds the leader of the french trappers and severs his leg to use as bait for the predator. She then uses it to lure the predator into the quicksand after taking his mask. Without its helmet, the predator is vulnerable and Naru manages to defeat him.
Bright green blood splatters all over. She takes the severed head of the predator back to her tribe who hail her as the new war chief.
Naru will need to use all her smarts as the war chief as more alien ships arrive.
The movie ends.
Prey is a wonderful addition to the Predator franchise and is high on thrills and momentum. Good acting by the cast is just a plus to this gripping movie.
Scare Scale: 3.5/5
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