Prey is an action-packed sci-fi film that also acts as a prequel to the Predator franchise and highlights the first ever encounter with a Predator, set in 1719. The movie is now streaming on Hulu.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Prey largely centres around the life and efforts of Naru, a young woman a part of the Comanche tribe in 1719.
She is a skilled hunter and healer and wishes to join the ranks of the male hunters of her tribe. She sets out on hunts along with the insistence and guidance of her brother, Taabe.
He is the only one who supports her hunting, and even teaches her necessary skills, much to the chagrin of the others in the tribe who felt she would be better suited to other roles.
One day while hunting a deer, Naru encounters a storm. This marks the coming of an alien Predator, which she takes as a sign to continue on her journey to becoming a hunter and reversing expected roles.
Soon enough, the Predator begins by hunting small animals at first, and brutally killing them.
Naru finally gets Taabe and the rest of the tribe to agree to take her along with them for a hunt, and they then come across a wounded member of their tribe.
This is when Nuru begins to realise that there are larger forces at play, compared to what they have witnessed earlier.
Just like the other films in the franchise, the Predator descends onto new lands and hunts what it considers the top most organism in the food chain to emerge victorious as the strongest and most dominant force in the area.
The Predator in the film starts with first killing snakes, a wolf and a bear before realising humans would be the ideal target. It then begins a mission to hunt humans, through French fur trappers to members of the tribe.
Naru’s calls to stop the Predator go unheard at first, and she tries to take things into her own hands. Her brother eventually sees the Predator with his own eyes and regrets not believing her sooner.
They encounter a group of French fur trappers as well, and Naru cleverly uses the items around her to battle the circumstances.
The movie is equal parts a sci-fi hunt for survival and a coming-of-age story for Naru. She grows, develops and comes into her own by the end of the movie.
Prey (2022) ending explained in detail:
How does Taabe die?
After they leave the settlement, both Naru and Taabe are captured by the French fur trappers. They are both imprisoned within their camp, and the French aim to use Taabe as bait for the Predator.
The two siblings are tied to a post when the Predator comes forward and kills almost the entirety of the group of fur trappers.
The two free themselves and Naru rushes to find her dog. They then brush into an encounter with the Predator which does not point towards a great chance of survival.
In doing so, Taabe comes forward and asks Naru to run away to safety. He asks her to escape, and sacrifices himself to give his sister a better chance at survival.
How does Nuru manage to kill the Predator?
Much like the predator hunts for prey, Naru also begins to piece together hints that give away the Predator’s weaknesses.
After falling into the bog and getting covered with mud she realises that the Predator seeks out his prey via heat dynamics. She escapes to safety as the mud cools her body down, and gives her better leverage to battle the creature.
Naru uses this idea by creating a herb mixture that cools down the blood, and uses it to make herself invisible to the Predator’s heat sensors. She uses one of the fur trappers as bait and sets her target.
She also cleverly uses the Predator’s helmet to get it to attack itself on accident, thereby outsmarting the creature and claiming victory.
Just before she kills the Predator, she utters the words her brother had shared with her- ‘This is as far as you go. No more. This is it.’ This brings the emotional rollercoaster to its peak and comes full circle as she proves her worth as an efficient hunter.
Does the ending predict more Predator invasions?
The ending and scenes playing during the credits present a very ambiguous picture of what is to come.
Naru asks the members of her tribe to move away as there is danger nearby that could harm them. It is unclear if she is doing this for safety, or because of a genuine fear of more creatures returning.
The end-credits animation portrays a bunch of Predator spaceships, similar to the one the film’s creature had come in, moving together.
This could imply that more creatures were making their way for revenge, or it could be a homage to the rest of the Predator franchise as this movie acts as a prelude to it.
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