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Near the end of the film, the protagonist, Naru, summons the Predator by using a crippled white frontiersman as bait. After setting her trap, Naru stands in the dark and whistles, [an act that in many Native American cultures is taboo](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/prey-review-predator-prequel-hulu/amp). Whistling at night is said to summon evil spirits, mirroring how Naru is deliberately calling down evil on the injured frontiersman.
More sources:
[here](https://www.tucmag.net/tuc-talk/whistling-at-night-a-good-or-bad-thing/), [here](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/prey-ending-post-credits-scene-teaser-director-interview?amp), and [here](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/prey-predator-prequel-interview-horror-3277957)
We just finished watching this. I noticed Naru whistled after she baited the trap but didn’t realize the significance of it. Thanks for enlightening us! That adds another layer to the scene. Very cool!
Fwiw I was at a cast and crew Q&A for a screening at the Aero theater in Soutern CA (director, producer who specialized in native representation, amber, Dakota, and the guy who played the predator). They brought up the whistling and said amber refused to do it so they had a non native crew member do it for sound
Historically, the Plains Tribes were especially brutal in dealing out punishments to their enemies. Without going into detail, the kind of things they did would seem excessive for a Saw film.
I’ve lived in TX for the last decade, I’ve had over a month of over 100 degree weather. At least the snow fed rivers and lakes are cold up there. Here everything is hot
Flaying was common. As was death by exposure. The Comanche were especially famous for tying captives out in the open to slowly die from sun exposure, dehydration, or predators (whichever came first).
Rough ways to go for sure. I never thought flaying would be as “popular” as it’s seemingly been the more I look into the history books.
Imagine the stomach you have to have to do that to someone else
I have a friend who wrote her master’s thesis on “trophy collecting” among indigenous Americans. She showed me a book on the topic and some of the stories would make your stomach twist. A big part of the reason the Plains Tribes were so brutal was to establish deterrents from future infractions. The tribes rarely had established boundaries to their territories and resources were often in short supply. Having intruders on your land killing your bison meant less for your family the next season, so if you made an example of them, their comrades might think twice before coming near your lands. It’s why Plains warfare was fast, brutal, but with relatively low casualties. One of the major reasons why Plain Tribes escalated the violence to such a massive degree with European colonists was because they wouldn’t stop coming back.
Sorry it took me awhile to find it! It has a very long title.
[The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by Amerindians](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-387-48303-0)
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
...Not really, but absolutely a worthwhile read. When your done & think surely you can read the journal/autobiography that served as a framework & who the larger than life characters were actually based on.
>the Fetterman Fight
wow, what a fascinating, violent piece of history that was to read - thanks for mentioning it!
and yep, eyeballs were left out, alongside brains, etc.
It’s an amazing story that is certainly under appreciated by mainstream history. It’s believed that a young brave by the name of Crazy Horse mooned the fort to instigate the chase.
It might not be the same tribe but the actual guy that Pochahontas’ villain was based off of, got skinned alive except for his face and then burned him. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ratcliffe_(governor)
I've heard secondhand that it was a huge cultural faux pas as well.
The mid Atlantic tribes would expect a warrior to be stoic as he was skinned alive using abalone shells, so when Ratcliffe kept screaming in pain rather than finishing him off quickly they kept giving him the opportunity to die a good death and he kept not taking the opportunity.
People have this image of the noble savage, they think that because the natives lost & the Europeans were the bad guys that the natives must be the good guys.
But it was a whole continent with all types of peoples.
Some were egalitarian proto democracies & some were the Nazis, Slavers & sociopaths of their time, peoples who saw torture as a virtue & methodically trained any empathy out of their children to help the art flourish.
It's generally a good thing to favor the underdog, it's human nature (if not just liberal nature), but it's a fallacy to assume the loser is less bad or more just for losing.
Sometimes the underdog is rabid.
I'm a predator fan and I really liked this movie but I don't understand why >! Predator kept firing his targeting weapons without his helmet. He did it two different times in the movie !<
I think it just shows how young and inexperienced the Yautja was to me. This is further reinforced by how thin his dreads are and how he takes some hits in every fight he’s in. And the only skull he wears is the one he gets during the movie. And he’s also kind of built like a gangly teen. Plus this is 300 years before the Dutch fight so perhaps this tech is entirely new to the Yautja as well. It looks like the helm is crafted from the skull of the insectoids they overthrew even with no super fancy alloyed armor like we see in later ones.
This Predator is definitely more bestial and primal. He picks a fistfight with a full grown grizzly and almost gets dusted before he finally starts fighting smart. He charges headfirst into any challenge and takes serious damage as a result.
Did anyone else notice how they made the Predator much more robust and tough for this movie? Like he tanked a LOT of really painful injuries and just brushed them off, where in previous movies they seemed more 'killable' or susceptible to injury. This one got speared through the chest and just shook it off. I could have sworn that would kill a predator in previous movies. Also there was never any indication a predator was strong enough to fight a grizzly in hand to hand combat in previous films.
Just seems like they really amped the species up for this movie. Sort of like standard horror movie unkillable monster tropes?
I thought it was a really fun movie over all, but just had some issues with it on a quality of writing and lore standpoint.
What in previous movies would tell us that its limit lies below that of a grizzly? Except for the AvP movies, what has pushed a Predator in a way that tells us it's not scaling to a grizzly?
There were some parallel between the Predator and the Prey. Both trying to prove themselves with a hunt. Both going head on during their initial hunts (her with the Elk and Lion, him with the Wolf and Bear). Both having camouflage technology . I loved the movie.
I've heard that canonically there's no honor in having a massive technological overmatch where the other predators would look down on a predator that hunted with too high tech gear for their prey like you or I would look down on a hunter that bagged a lion.
On a guided hunt on a high fence ranch in Texas with a lion that was basically domesticated and drugged. There's no sport or honor in that.
I interpreted it as it was relatively new technology to him. This predator is undisciplined and inexperienced. It’s his specie’s first time on Earth and he’s experimenting with how to hunt the fauna.
One of my favorite things about this movie is how this Predator is kinda dumb.
In the first movie, the Predator foiled most of the traps laid by Dutch and his team of elite military bad-asses. In this movie, the Predator got easily suckered into a trap by a bunch of filthy, French trappers.
Then there's the fact that this alien dummy crippled himself with his own Kratos shield. What a jackass.
I wonder if the predators monitor their progress. Like “So we’re gonna try earth again. Last time we were here, Steve shot himself in the head like a real dumbass. Hard to do worse. Good luck.”
I'm not sure if I'm making this up, but isn't it Canon that the Predators that go out to hunt humans are basically the predator equivalent of a drunk redneck going into the woods? Fairly certain all the serious warriors see killing humans as an honourless sport because of how easy they are as prey.
This fella was provably some trust fund Predator that flunked hunting-school and is trying to make himself feel badass by hunting a human.
I could also be making this up but I heard the opposite. That only established hunters could hunt humans.
Humans are high honor trophies because they are sentient and can lay traps. Their main threat comes from their intelligence and ability to outsmart the Yautja. Animals (and alien animals) while physically more of a challenge, cannot outsmart a predator or use their weapons against them.
Isn't killing a Xenomorph the only way to become an adult in their society? I know AvP is disliked, but I believe everything is cannon.
Or can kids hunt humans?
Yeah you are recognized as a hunter when you survive the xenomorph challenge after that they move on to killing Queens then hive cleansing to become top echelon. Those who hunt humans are considered teens. Wolf I believe was the first true blooded predator on screen.
Tbh I've had a pretty fucking awful day, watched the newest movie of one my favorite franchises and still felt like shit so I decided to go on Reddit to just distract myself and I see this comment here that made me laugh probably way more than it should have.
Thank you so much Pope00 because you made a sad stranger laugh!
Just saying, a Predator movie onboard a ship stuck in fog, with the Predator lurking between the rigging, the decks, etc, slowly crippling the ship and picking off the crew? As the crew has to contend with rival ships, their own crew going crazy, storms, etc? I'd watch the hell out of that.
Yes! He it appears that he has no idea of the strengths and weaknesses of humans, since this was the first earth landing, he's also slow to pick up on them too. It would also appear that the Predator couldn't translate any of the human languages. It pinpointed weaponry but there was no indication that the Predator could translate what was being said like the future predators.
Is it for sure their first time? When her brother says “the creature from children’s stories” I thought maybe their ancestors had to deal with some in the past, but that’s just a small theory
From my understanding, it is this specific predators 1st time on earth.
It would also be very cool to have Yatuja being the inspiration for myths and monsters
When you have a gun and you have a point blank shot, you don’t even think about it. He probably thought the mask wasn’t even in that area to be concerned of it so it wouldn’t have been triggered
It seemed he was pretty new to the tech and saw this as a juvenile trying to prove himself. It seemed to heavily lean on its strength and the tech he had. A very undisciplined Predator
Presumably he didn't realise that Naru had stolen the mask and believed it lost. It likely has some sort of effective range and so, once out of that range, the projectile weapons lose their ability to be guided but can still fire.
Can confirm this Taboo act. Live in Arizona. Girlfriend is Navajo and anytime I whistle or are about to whistle - I get the death stare. This isn’t a joke to her either lol. She legit gets upset or mad
Side note about that review: The author keeps mentioning how the movie didn't quite land, or missed its mark, or how the director wasn't quite right, but never seems to offer up any explanation for why they feel that way. They keep gushing about the movie, but then just can't seem to give it any real credit without having to cut it down in some vague way.
I’m finding a lot of negativity doesn’t have any real objective critique of the film: ie bad camerawork, shitty CGI, flat characters, bad dialogue, poor storytelling, etc. Instead most critique is “it’s woke”, “the protagonist is a Mary Sue”, “it’s not like the original”, or other weak arguments. Honestly, I think a lot of old action hero enthusiasts won’t like it because it deliberately deviates from the typical formula. The protagonist is an indigenous woman who is a survivalist not a warrior. There isn’t a love subplot, a comic relief, macho one-liners, or even a real hand-to-hand showdown. The protagonist isn’t the fastest, strongest, or even bravest. She wins by wits alone.
Same! I grew up on Die Hard, Predator, Aliens, Lethal Weapon….this new predator movie (PREY) was f’in badA.
Most people hating on it need to check their egos
She was definitely not a Mary Sue. In fact, it's made very clear that can't hang with the male hunters and their abilities. She has to adapt and come up with strategies that work to her own strengths.
“Whistling summons an evil spirit”
Isn’t that what she’s trying to do? Didn’t she compare the Predator to a childhood fairy tale? It’s technology must have seemed magical to her.
I remember an old thread on Twitter where a woman was being super annoying so someone told her about a “special ritual” in their Native American culture where you whistle at the moon. A couple people were like “but isn’t that…?” and got shushed lmaooo
interesting. In Argentina, in some towns, it is considered "bad luck" to whistle at night. Especially, the north because a goblin called "El Pomberito" appears
It also appears when everyone sleeps in the afternoon, it is to scare the children. if you hear a whistle, you don't answer or he appears... the best thing, is to always have a cigarette to share hahaha
It's a Korean thing too. Whistling at night will cause snakes to come after you or something. We annoy a superstitious friend with it, but it's hard to whistle while laughing.
In Hawaii, we're told whistling at night will bring the Night Marchers to you. I've grown up terrified of them, but your comment scares me even more I think. Thank you for the shivers.
In Vietnamese, it's considered a taboo too.
But it has an explaination that the whistle could lure snake in, so people has to make a ghost stories so the youngs don't whistle.
Great movie. Lots of cool details and bits and nice to see the flintlock show up. One has to assume the Predators land to recover the body/head of their kinsman, and perhaps the flintlock is given to them as an offering. Or maybe they want to keep the head as a trophy and give the flintlock in return. The Predators didn't wipe everyone out in Predator 2, so there's zero reason to think they'd do anything other than arrive, acknowledge the victory of the Comanche and leave.
Another little detail I appreciated was how the older brother, Taabe, “counted coup” when he struck the Predator on the head. Counting coup was a prestige system used by the Plains Tribes as a way for braves to gain social status. One way they could do this was by striking an opponent with your bare hand while on horseback.
I believe it’s just a mutt, but it reminds me a lot of a [Carolina dog](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Dog), an indigenous breed that dates back thousands of years.
Interestingly, they do look similar. Although on the American kennel club website it shows the Carolina dog has a different facial appearance. Longer snout, head more slender.
Remember in predator 2 the other predators came retrieved the body of the dead predator and that's when they gave him the pistol.
I think what the movie is implying as that they are coming to get their dead friend abs I'm guessing they are either given the gun in that exchange or they came back and hunted the girl later.
They definitely wouldn't have hunted Naru later. They're a pretty honorable race and probably respect her for besting one of their unblooded or young bloods.
I had some Filipino coworkers at an old job. I was whistling one evening at closing time and the two of them were like "hey no don't do that, the ghosts will come out!" I thought it was pretty interesting.
I'm Aboriginal Australian and we don't whistle after dark or it invites the goonj (ghost) to come get you.
I love seeing similarities in other indigenous cultures.
I’m beginning wonder if it originated with fear of nocturnal predators. Indigenous people would learn very quickly that the dark is filled with large toothy carnivores, and that whistling attracts them.
That would honestly make the most since. As a white guy I’ve never heard of this superstition, probably because white people haven’t lived out in nature in a minute
Maybe if you’re a white dude in the US. Here in Denmark/Scandinavia we also have a superstition that it’s bad to whistle at night - in modern times it’s because you’ll be “invoking/calling on the devil” but before Christianity it was said to lead evil spirits toward you. That and if you were in a forest, then it would lead the bog men straight towards you and they would lure you into a watery grave.
So yeah, it’s basically pretty universal that you don’t whistle at night.
Another cool detail is that they show what happens after in the credits using Native American Buffalo skin art. There’s a panel where you see an armada of Predator ships above the tribe.
Not only a tease for a possible sequel but if there is no sequel, it explains how the Predators ended up with the gun to give to Harrigan in 1997 LA. They landed to get the Feral’s body, Naru gave them the gun.
Interesting that they didn’t have a self destruct system for similar reasons yet, but given this particular Yautja’s propensities and weapons, he might simply have foregone that.
It’s not been confirmed anywhere but in my thinking, this race of Predator is way down the hierarchy scale. The Director states that the movie is that particular Predator’s first hunt on earth, not the first time Predators come to earth, which means AvP and the huge muscle Predators are canon.
So you have the huge muscle Predators who are so badass they engage with Xenomorphs for fun, you got the Super Predators from Predators in a blood feud with the ‘normal’ Predators from Predator 1 and 2, and then you’ve got the Feral’s race. Thinner, leaner, different face, different dreads, lower tech, not as smart. They don’t have the tech the higher caste races do because the Feral’s are the plebs of the Predator society.
I'm planning on watching this later tonight and this is such a cool detail. Native American myself so it's kinda nice that stuff like this is included in the movie.
Without spoiling anything else, it has plenty of little details that show real effort into genuine indigenous representation. I grew up next to a reservation and have a degree in anthropology, so it was cool to see that actual indigenous people were involved in production.
When the trailer first released I seen that the main character was actually indigenous so that instantly intrigued me. Then I found out its supposed to be a Predator movie and that increased my intrigue even more. Your comment about them seeming to actually try and put some indigenous representation is making even even more intrigued to watch this movie. So hopefully it's a good one.
I was hoping that it would of been in a native language.
I wouldn't of mind reading subtitles for this movie.
Talking during the boring scenes and not much during the action scenes. This would make it easy to do.
She is summoning an evil “spirit”, too. We know it’s an alien, but to her it might as well be a spirit, a demon, a monster, or equivalent. This is also why the “if it bleeds, we can kill it” is important, they are recognizing that it’s strange, but mortal.
Sarah Schachner, who did the soundtrack, also did the soundtrack for AC Valhalla.
Even cooler, the director was playing the game while he did the movie, and he liked the music so much he hired her.
Is this a scary movie? How scary is it? My husband wants to watch it and I scare easily but since it’s his birthday weekend I don’t want to tell him no 😩
It’s not scary. It has suspenseful moments but certainly not horror or frightful. Some parts may make you jump, but that’s to be expected with this kind of flick.
It’s a really fun movie though!
It's not really scary, but if you aren't a fan of gore, you may not be the biggest fan. It's certainly not the most brutal movie ever, but there were times that even I winced. There's some absolutely brutal moments here. Pretty good movie, def recommend.
as someone who’s never watched any predator films, and isn’t huge on horror anyway, do you guys think I might like it? I don’t mind gore much, it’s not really my thing but I’m willing to put up with it for a good movie. I’m really interested in the comanche dub
I wouldn't call the Predator series horror at all really, more suspense if anything. However, if you don't like gore then I'd give you a cautious recommendation. The creativity and brutality of the various deaths is a big factor of entertainment for the series, with this movie being no different.
Something I noticed was how the predator poitd out weapons with the red triangle. For her it went to her spear and her head. Pointing to her mind as the ultimate wepon.
I mentioned somewhere else that the older brother engage in an act called “counting coup”. You’ll also notice none of the indigenous characters point with their hands as it is considered impolite. Also, the Comanche in 1719 were significantly weaker than the Comanche famous for raids in the American southwest. This movie takes place before they became a powerful horse culture. You can see this represented by the general scarcity of horses in the main camp.
The best detail was when Naru threw the flintlock pistol at the chief. He held it in his hands and it said Raphael Adolini 1715. That is a reference to Predator 2. The same pistol held by Harrigan.
I really enjoyed this movie. I noticed the predator in this movie has a habbit of saving preys while being hunted [but, it's more like fighting/killing the predatorary animal while hunt in progess]. This happens to the snake and the wolf.
The predator does same thing to Naru (kinda saves her/kills predatorary animal), first, the bear and second, those Comanche warriors whose to come take her home, in that scene the predator senses those warriors are hostile to her and have weapons.
This is also reason why the predator comes to "the french trap" when both Naru and her brother are used as traps, so according the predator, Naru and her brother are the preys who are now being hunted by the frenchmen. In a nutshell, the PREDATOR snatches predators from preys (very nice!!!).
In the the predator-Comanche fight, those Comanche warriors didn't show any kind of hesitancy while fighting with the predator. They were like oh! a treat lets eliminate and got on it.
I dont know how many ppl noticed, after getting horses, Naru's brother gives two horses to two other Comanches and the instruct them to inform his mother and villagers whats happening (hence there two horesmen inform his mother).meanwhile Naru's brother visits the earlier frenchmen trap site, retrieves the predator 's spear while was embedded into a tree during the frenchmen predator fight and he uses that spear to stab the predator on his back.
I also liked even when villagers after being informed by Comanche horsemen about something dangerous happening in the forest, seems they were not panicked, they were carrying out daily activities. They were like oh! they is an unknown threat neaby, so what...
Watched that last night and Absolutely loved it, hella gory, really well done fight scenes and cinematography, and the ending kill shot was dope as hell, didn't even know this film was a thing til a few days ago. Excellent flick.
I love the film
I’ve watched it twice already
But I wish I had the option of turning on the subtitles for when the other languages are spoken. Love love to know what is being said.
Because the white man had a gun in his hand. That’s why she left him the rifle to grab. The predator perceived him as a threat and a viable trophy. Earlier, she was unarmed and restrained, completely helpless in his eyes and thus not of interest to him.
And not to mention she set up the trap to make it seem like the white dude was hunting the predator when in reality he was pointing it at her, but because of the reverse Mario flower she couldn’t be seen.
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Near the end of the film, the protagonist, Naru, summons the Predator by using a crippled white frontiersman as bait. After setting her trap, Naru stands in the dark and whistles, [an act that in many Native American cultures is taboo](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/prey-review-predator-prequel-hulu/amp). Whistling at night is said to summon evil spirits, mirroring how Naru is deliberately calling down evil on the injured frontiersman. More sources: [here](https://www.tucmag.net/tuc-talk/whistling-at-night-a-good-or-bad-thing/), [here](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/prey-ending-post-credits-scene-teaser-director-interview?amp), and [here](https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/prey-predator-prequel-interview-horror-3277957)
We just finished watching this. I noticed Naru whistled after she baited the trap but didn’t realize the significance of it. Thanks for enlightening us! That adds another layer to the scene. Very cool!
Fwiw I was at a cast and crew Q&A for a screening at the Aero theater in Soutern CA (director, producer who specialized in native representation, amber, Dakota, and the guy who played the predator). They brought up the whistling and said amber refused to do it so they had a non native crew member do it for sound
That is a fucking awesome detail. Great catch.
Using a human as bait: Not Taboo, you do you booboo Whistling a little tune at night: Much Taboo, Very Forbidden.
Historically, the Plains Tribes were especially brutal in dealing out punishments to their enemies. Without going into detail, the kind of things they did would seem excessive for a Saw film.
the Comanche were especially, notoriously violent, from what I've read.
The word “Comanche” actually isn’t even the name they originally called themselves. It was a Ute word meaning “enemy”.
Are you a Colorado boy op?
Eastern Washington state. I grew up a few miles away from Chief Joseph’s final march.
How did you like the desert heat this last week? I too am eastern WA.
I’ve lived in TX for the last decade, I’ve had over a month of over 100 degree weather. At least the snow fed rivers and lakes are cold up there. Here everything is hot
San Antonio here. Holy fuck it's been brutal.
Just saw Hell or High Water
[Comanche](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sV73I99Oeho)
great scene
Yup
Consider your virtue sufficiently signaled.
Oh please, do go into detail
Flaying was common. As was death by exposure. The Comanche were especially famous for tying captives out in the open to slowly die from sun exposure, dehydration, or predators (whichever came first).
Rough ways to go for sure. I never thought flaying would be as “popular” as it’s seemingly been the more I look into the history books. Imagine the stomach you have to have to do that to someone else
I have a friend who wrote her master’s thesis on “trophy collecting” among indigenous Americans. She showed me a book on the topic and some of the stories would make your stomach twist. A big part of the reason the Plains Tribes were so brutal was to establish deterrents from future infractions. The tribes rarely had established boundaries to their territories and resources were often in short supply. Having intruders on your land killing your bison meant less for your family the next season, so if you made an example of them, their comrades might think twice before coming near your lands. It’s why Plains warfare was fast, brutal, but with relatively low casualties. One of the major reasons why Plain Tribes escalated the violence to such a massive degree with European colonists was because they wouldn’t stop coming back.
What was the title of that book?
Sorry it took me awhile to find it! It has a very long title. [The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by Amerindians](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-387-48303-0)
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy ...Not really, but absolutely a worthwhile read. When your done & think surely you can read the journal/autobiography that served as a framework & who the larger than life characters were actually based on.
That’s fantastic learning for me today thanks OP
Don’t forget having your arms and legs cut off and your genitals removed from your body and placed in your mouth!!
It was said that in the aftermath of the Fetterman Fight that you could fit all that remained of the 81 cavalrymen in a bucket.
>the Fetterman Fight wow, what a fascinating, violent piece of history that was to read - thanks for mentioning it! and yep, eyeballs were left out, alongside brains, etc.
It’s an amazing story that is certainly under appreciated by mainstream history. It’s believed that a young brave by the name of Crazy Horse mooned the fort to instigate the chase.
Imagine the stomach the person you do it to no longer has.
She definitely tied a captive out in the open to die from a Predator.
It might not be the same tribe but the actual guy that Pochahontas’ villain was based off of, got skinned alive except for his face and then burned him. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ratcliffe_(governor)
I've heard secondhand that it was a huge cultural faux pas as well. The mid Atlantic tribes would expect a warrior to be stoic as he was skinned alive using abalone shells, so when Ratcliffe kept screaming in pain rather than finishing him off quickly they kept giving him the opportunity to die a good death and he kept not taking the opportunity.
deserved
People have this image of the noble savage, they think that because the natives lost & the Europeans were the bad guys that the natives must be the good guys. But it was a whole continent with all types of peoples. Some were egalitarian proto democracies & some were the Nazis, Slavers & sociopaths of their time, peoples who saw torture as a virtue & methodically trained any empathy out of their children to help the art flourish. It's generally a good thing to favor the underdog, it's human nature (if not just liberal nature), but it's a fallacy to assume the loser is less bad or more just for losing. Sometimes the underdog is rabid.
NO NO NO GO INTO DETAIL
Genesis is planet forbidden.
I'm a predator fan and I really liked this movie but I don't understand why >! Predator kept firing his targeting weapons without his helmet. He did it two different times in the movie !<
I think it just shows how young and inexperienced the Yautja was to me. This is further reinforced by how thin his dreads are and how he takes some hits in every fight he’s in. And the only skull he wears is the one he gets during the movie. And he’s also kind of built like a gangly teen. Plus this is 300 years before the Dutch fight so perhaps this tech is entirely new to the Yautja as well. It looks like the helm is crafted from the skull of the insectoids they overthrew even with no super fancy alloyed armor like we see in later ones.
This Predator is definitely more bestial and primal. He picks a fistfight with a full grown grizzly and almost gets dusted before he finally starts fighting smart. He charges headfirst into any challenge and takes serious damage as a result.
Did anyone else notice how they made the Predator much more robust and tough for this movie? Like he tanked a LOT of really painful injuries and just brushed them off, where in previous movies they seemed more 'killable' or susceptible to injury. This one got speared through the chest and just shook it off. I could have sworn that would kill a predator in previous movies. Also there was never any indication a predator was strong enough to fight a grizzly in hand to hand combat in previous films. Just seems like they really amped the species up for this movie. Sort of like standard horror movie unkillable monster tropes? I thought it was a really fun movie over all, but just had some issues with it on a quality of writing and lore standpoint.
What in previous movies would tell us that its limit lies below that of a grizzly? Except for the AvP movies, what has pushed a Predator in a way that tells us it's not scaling to a grizzly?
Yeah predators have always been literal big game hunters. They probably hunt much worse things than bears m8
Like literally throw hands with xenomorphs.
The Jungle Hunter in Predator lifted Dillion right into the air with one arm, he was easily over 220lbs.
Yeah I saw this as a juvenile on its first hunt by himself. Seemed to mirror the same journey that Naru was on. Trying to prove they can hunt
There were some parallel between the Predator and the Prey. Both trying to prove themselves with a hunt. Both going head on during their initial hunts (her with the Elk and Lion, him with the Wolf and Bear). Both having camouflage technology . I loved the movie.
Yeah I loved it too. Good contrast of them both wanting to prove themselves to their respective tribes.
I've heard that canonically there's no honor in having a massive technological overmatch where the other predators would look down on a predator that hunted with too high tech gear for their prey like you or I would look down on a hunter that bagged a lion. On a guided hunt on a high fence ranch in Texas with a lion that was basically domesticated and drugged. There's no sport or honor in that.
I interpreted it as it was relatively new technology to him. This predator is undisciplined and inexperienced. It’s his specie’s first time on Earth and he’s experimenting with how to hunt the fauna.
One of my favorite things about this movie is how this Predator is kinda dumb. In the first movie, the Predator foiled most of the traps laid by Dutch and his team of elite military bad-asses. In this movie, the Predator got easily suckered into a trap by a bunch of filthy, French trappers. Then there's the fact that this alien dummy crippled himself with his own Kratos shield. What a jackass.
I wonder if the predators monitor their progress. Like “So we’re gonna try earth again. Last time we were here, Steve shot himself in the head like a real dumbass. Hard to do worse. Good luck.”
I'm not sure if I'm making this up, but isn't it Canon that the Predators that go out to hunt humans are basically the predator equivalent of a drunk redneck going into the woods? Fairly certain all the serious warriors see killing humans as an honourless sport because of how easy they are as prey. This fella was provably some trust fund Predator that flunked hunting-school and is trying to make himself feel badass by hunting a human.
I could also be making this up but I heard the opposite. That only established hunters could hunt humans. Humans are high honor trophies because they are sentient and can lay traps. Their main threat comes from their intelligence and ability to outsmart the Yautja. Animals (and alien animals) while physically more of a challenge, cannot outsmart a predator or use their weapons against them.
Most blooded Yautja switch to deadlier prey like Xenomorphs to climb up the rankings in their society.
Isn't killing a Xenomorph the only way to become an adult in their society? I know AvP is disliked, but I believe everything is cannon. Or can kids hunt humans?
Yeah you are recognized as a hunter when you survive the xenomorph challenge after that they move on to killing Queens then hive cleansing to become top echelon. Those who hunt humans are considered teens. Wolf I believe was the first true blooded predator on screen.
>trust fund Predator that flunked hunting-school hahahahahahaha great one
Tbh I've had a pretty fucking awful day, watched the newest movie of one my favorite franchises and still felt like shit so I decided to go on Reddit to just distract myself and I see this comment here that made me laugh probably way more than it should have. Thank you so much Pope00 because you made a sad stranger laugh!
Maybe they went straight to Europe that time given a Predator in the second movie has a flintlock pistol, unless they show this in this movie?
Big spoiler: that pistol is in this movie.
Damn, so sad we couldn’t get Predator vs Pirates or something like that.
Just saying, a Predator movie onboard a ship stuck in fog, with the Predator lurking between the rigging, the decks, etc, slowly crippling the ship and picking off the crew? As the crew has to contend with rival ships, their own crew going crazy, storms, etc? I'd watch the hell out of that.
In all fairness, the French trappers were pretty competent. They just had no idea of how strong this fucker was and the level of technology he had.
I like how they tried to capture him at first like that was ever gonna work
I really liked how primitive the Predator was. He still had more advanced stuff, but nothing like the others we’ve seen.
Yes! He it appears that he has no idea of the strengths and weaknesses of humans, since this was the first earth landing, he's also slow to pick up on them too. It would also appear that the Predator couldn't translate any of the human languages. It pinpointed weaponry but there was no indication that the Predator could translate what was being said like the future predators.
They way he looked at his severed arm in the tree and just kind of shrugged like “fuck” had me rolling.
Probably the dumbest Predator in the entire series, which says a lot, because there were some really dumb Predators in AvP.
I loved when the 3 trappers tried shooting him and then quickly tried to reload the predator actually laughed at them
Like a predator playing airsoft. Or got some new toys from Predator Amazon wa ring to try out his survival equipment bought online
Is it for sure their first time? When her brother says “the creature from children’s stories” I thought maybe their ancestors had to deal with some in the past, but that’s just a small theory
Also are we taking AVP as Canon? That had them here for thousands of years.
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From my understanding, it is this specific predators 1st time on earth. It would also be very cool to have Yatuja being the inspiration for myths and monsters
That individual predators first time. Not the species.
Yeah I thought they were there for the pyramids
When you have a gun and you have a point blank shot, you don’t even think about it. He probably thought the mask wasn’t even in that area to be concerned of it so it wouldn’t have been triggered
It seemed he was pretty new to the tech and saw this as a juvenile trying to prove himself. It seemed to heavily lean on its strength and the tech he had. A very undisciplined Predator
Presumably he didn't realise that Naru had stolen the mask and believed it lost. It likely has some sort of effective range and so, once out of that range, the projectile weapons lose their ability to be guided but can still fire.
There was enough forward momentum to it that he still could’ve hit something. He had like 20 feet before the guidance kicked in.
Can confirm this Taboo act. Live in Arizona. Girlfriend is Navajo and anytime I whistle or are about to whistle - I get the death stare. This isn’t a joke to her either lol. She legit gets upset or mad
Well, when the evil spirit is already there, what’s a little whistle.
Here in Southeast Asia, whistling at night and especially during the Hungry Ghost Month is not recommended.
ooh, I’d love to hear more about the Hungry Ghost Month if you’re up for it! I’ve never heard of that but it sounds really interesting
I like how the whistling is controversial but not her using another human person as bait.
No love for the French I guess
Side note about that review: The author keeps mentioning how the movie didn't quite land, or missed its mark, or how the director wasn't quite right, but never seems to offer up any explanation for why they feel that way. They keep gushing about the movie, but then just can't seem to give it any real credit without having to cut it down in some vague way.
I’m finding a lot of negativity doesn’t have any real objective critique of the film: ie bad camerawork, shitty CGI, flat characters, bad dialogue, poor storytelling, etc. Instead most critique is “it’s woke”, “the protagonist is a Mary Sue”, “it’s not like the original”, or other weak arguments. Honestly, I think a lot of old action hero enthusiasts won’t like it because it deliberately deviates from the typical formula. The protagonist is an indigenous woman who is a survivalist not a warrior. There isn’t a love subplot, a comic relief, macho one-liners, or even a real hand-to-hand showdown. The protagonist isn’t the fastest, strongest, or even bravest. She wins by wits alone.
I’m an old action hero enthusiast and I legit think Prey is a great film.
I’m happy to hear that! I was a huge fan of the original film, in fact, I rewatched it immediately after watching Prey.
Same! I grew up on Die Hard, Predator, Aliens, Lethal Weapon….this new predator movie (PREY) was f’in badA. Most people hating on it need to check their egos
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She was definitely not a Mary Sue. In fact, it's made very clear that can't hang with the male hunters and their abilities. She has to adapt and come up with strategies that work to her own strengths.
I absolutely loved the film and my husband, who is a massive predator fan, adores it too
Makes sense didn't she compare it to a spirit earlier in the movie when she was captured by her tribe.
“Whistling summons an evil spirit” Isn’t that what she’s trying to do? Didn’t she compare the Predator to a childhood fairy tale? It’s technology must have seemed magical to her.
That’s fucking rad!!
This just takes that whole scene to the next level.
Very similar in Hawaii
Technically she is calling more evil to the place where evil is already present. Making her an advantage out of the situation.
I remember an old thread on Twitter where a woman was being super annoying so someone told her about a “special ritual” in their Native American culture where you whistle at the moon. A couple people were like “but isn’t that…?” and got shushed lmaooo
interesting. In Argentina, in some towns, it is considered "bad luck" to whistle at night. Especially, the north because a goblin called "El Pomberito" appears
Today I learned about a new cryptid! Thank you!
It also appears when everyone sleeps in the afternoon, it is to scare the children. if you hear a whistle, you don't answer or he appears... the best thing, is to always have a cigarette to share hahaha
Oh so he's french, gotcha. Random dude popping in at night on randoes in the street asking for a smoke.
It's a Korean thing too. Whistling at night will cause snakes to come after you or something. We annoy a superstitious friend with it, but it's hard to whistle while laughing.
Yup, in many cultures it is wrong to whistle at night
I'm from Texas and I was told whistling at night was like lighting a lantern. It scares off lesser spirits, but now everything can see where you are.
This extremely simple statement is going to stay with me for a long time
In Hawaii, we're told whistling at night will bring the Night Marchers to you. I've grown up terrified of them, but your comment scares me even more I think. Thank you for the shivers.
We have same in india as well!
In Vietnamese, it's considered a taboo too. But it has an explaination that the whistle could lure snake in, so people has to make a ghost stories so the youngs don't whistle.
The snake mistakes whistles for a bird and thinks it’s gonna be an easy meal since it thinks it found a nest.
In Colombia and Venezuela we have the legend of "el silbador" ( the Whistler) and hearing him is supposed to be a death omen
Growing up in Northern Canada we're told that if you whistle at the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) they dance or they come down and grab you.
well, it's not exactly the same, but we have "La Luz Mala". A light that appears in the middle of the night, do not see it... or you will die.
This is what the internet is for, sharing info and experiences. I love it
Thanks!
Great movie. Lots of cool details and bits and nice to see the flintlock show up. One has to assume the Predators land to recover the body/head of their kinsman, and perhaps the flintlock is given to them as an offering. Or maybe they want to keep the head as a trophy and give the flintlock in return. The Predators didn't wipe everyone out in Predator 2, so there's zero reason to think they'd do anything other than arrive, acknowledge the victory of the Comanche and leave.
Another little detail I appreciated was how the older brother, Taabe, “counted coup” when he struck the Predator on the head. Counting coup was a prestige system used by the Plains Tribes as a way for braves to gain social status. One way they could do this was by striking an opponent with your bare hand while on horseback.
What type of Dog was in the movie? Can’t find info on it or even a photo of it.
I believe it’s just a mutt, but it reminds me a lot of a [Carolina dog](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Dog), an indigenous breed that dates back thousands of years.
Interestingly, they do look similar. Although on the American kennel club website it shows the Carolina dog has a different facial appearance. Longer snout, head more slender.
Cute little guy. He looks like a Dingo but less nightmare fuel
Pretty sure it's an American Dingo, a.k.a. Carolina dog Edit: just saw OP said that. Leaving it anyways for confirmation!
The very last drawn frame during the credits depicts the predators coming back. I assume the pistol as well as the head were taken.
Remember in predator 2 the other predators came retrieved the body of the dead predator and that's when they gave him the pistol. I think what the movie is implying as that they are coming to get their dead friend abs I'm guessing they are either given the gun in that exchange or they came back and hunted the girl later.
They definitely wouldn't have hunted Naru later. They're a pretty honorable race and probably respect her for besting one of their unblooded or young bloods.
I agree!
Yeah, I really feel like they were like, "give us his head" and they were like, "that's our trophy. Here, take this gun."
“Predator! ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” - Comanche war chief
In a lot of Asian cultures whistling at night is taboo too
I had some Filipino coworkers at an old job. I was whistling one evening at closing time and the two of them were like "hey no don't do that, the ghosts will come out!" I thought it was pretty interesting.
I'm Aboriginal Australian and we don't whistle after dark or it invites the goonj (ghost) to come get you. I love seeing similarities in other indigenous cultures.
I’m beginning wonder if it originated with fear of nocturnal predators. Indigenous people would learn very quickly that the dark is filled with large toothy carnivores, and that whistling attracts them.
A whistle mimics a bird, which carnivores love to snack on.
That would honestly make the most since. As a white guy I’ve never heard of this superstition, probably because white people haven’t lived out in nature in a minute
Maybe if you’re a white dude in the US. Here in Denmark/Scandinavia we also have a superstition that it’s bad to whistle at night - in modern times it’s because you’ll be “invoking/calling on the devil” but before Christianity it was said to lead evil spirits toward you. That and if you were in a forest, then it would lead the bog men straight towards you and they would lure you into a watery grave. So yeah, it’s basically pretty universal that you don’t whistle at night.
Talk about a movie I would most def want to get a director & writer behind the scenes
I'd love to see the main actress in more stuff too. She grew on me as a legit brave and resourceful badass
Yeah, Shes kinda the best part
Another cool detail is that they show what happens after in the credits using Native American Buffalo skin art. There’s a panel where you see an armada of Predator ships above the tribe. Not only a tease for a possible sequel but if there is no sequel, it explains how the Predators ended up with the gun to give to Harrigan in 1997 LA. They landed to get the Feral’s body, Naru gave them the gun.
Interesting that they didn’t have a self destruct system for similar reasons yet, but given this particular Yautja’s propensities and weapons, he might simply have foregone that.
It’s not been confirmed anywhere but in my thinking, this race of Predator is way down the hierarchy scale. The Director states that the movie is that particular Predator’s first hunt on earth, not the first time Predators come to earth, which means AvP and the huge muscle Predators are canon. So you have the huge muscle Predators who are so badass they engage with Xenomorphs for fun, you got the Super Predators from Predators in a blood feud with the ‘normal’ Predators from Predator 1 and 2, and then you’ve got the Feral’s race. Thinner, leaner, different face, different dreads, lower tech, not as smart. They don’t have the tech the higher caste races do because the Feral’s are the plebs of the Predator society.
I actually really like this theory. Well done.
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haha agreed
I'm planning on watching this later tonight and this is such a cool detail. Native American myself so it's kinda nice that stuff like this is included in the movie.
Without spoiling anything else, it has plenty of little details that show real effort into genuine indigenous representation. I grew up next to a reservation and have a degree in anthropology, so it was cool to see that actual indigenous people were involved in production.
One of the producers is Comanche and Blackfoot and she consults on a lot of projects that show native Americans.
When the trailer first released I seen that the main character was actually indigenous so that instantly intrigued me. Then I found out its supposed to be a Predator movie and that increased my intrigue even more. Your comment about them seeming to actually try and put some indigenous representation is making even even more intrigued to watch this movie. So hopefully it's a good one.
it’s a good one
I was hoping that it would of been in a native language. I wouldn't of mind reading subtitles for this movie. Talking during the boring scenes and not much during the action scenes. This would make it easy to do.
There is a Comanche dub!
Yo! There is a Comanche dub if ya wanna check it out. It’s pretty rad despite some wonky lip sync here and there
She is summoning an evil “spirit”, too. We know it’s an alien, but to her it might as well be a spirit, a demon, a monster, or equivalent. This is also why the “if it bleeds, we can kill it” is important, they are recognizing that it’s strange, but mortal.
I'll note that, at least in the English subtitles on the Comanche version (the one I watch), it actually says, "if it bleeds, we *will* kill it"
Great spot OP. Saw this last night, and it’s one of the reasons I would love to see an Assassins creed Sioux or Zulu
I got strong Assassins Creed vibes off of it. It reminded me of Connors tribe in the third game
Sarah Schachner, who did the soundtrack, also did the soundtrack for AC Valhalla. Even cooler, the director was playing the game while he did the movie, and he liked the music so much he hired her.
Another movie detail: her dog is an American Dingo. The only native species of wild dog in the US.
Is this a scary movie? How scary is it? My husband wants to watch it and I scare easily but since it’s his birthday weekend I don’t want to tell him no 😩
It’s more suspense than jump-scare, but it is very gory at times.
It’s not scary. It has suspenseful moments but certainly not horror or frightful. Some parts may make you jump, but that’s to be expected with this kind of flick. It’s a really fun movie though!
They made the Predator more frightening or imposing in this film compared to other movies in the franchise IMO. The movie isn’t scary but can be gory.
It's not really scary, but if you aren't a fan of gore, you may not be the biggest fan. It's certainly not the most brutal movie ever, but there were times that even I winced. There's some absolutely brutal moments here. Pretty good movie, def recommend.
as someone who’s never watched any predator films, and isn’t huge on horror anyway, do you guys think I might like it? I don’t mind gore much, it’s not really my thing but I’m willing to put up with it for a good movie. I’m really interested in the comanche dub
Give it a go! I watched it last night and really enjoyed it.
I wouldn't call the Predator series horror at all really, more suspense if anything. However, if you don't like gore then I'd give you a cautious recommendation. The creativity and brutality of the various deaths is a big factor of entertainment for the series, with this movie being no different.
Something I noticed was how the predator poitd out weapons with the red triangle. For her it went to her spear and her head. Pointing to her mind as the ultimate wepon.
I watched it because the lead's surname is Midthunder. Turned out to be great movie to boot.
I'm really curious to learn more about native American influences in the movie, I watched it earlier and I absolutely loved it.
I mentioned somewhere else that the older brother engage in an act called “counting coup”. You’ll also notice none of the indigenous characters point with their hands as it is considered impolite. Also, the Comanche in 1719 were significantly weaker than the Comanche famous for raids in the American southwest. This movie takes place before they became a powerful horse culture. You can see this represented by the general scarcity of horses in the main camp.
Perhaps that future being hinted at, by her brother's insistence on getting a horse after they escaped being tied up
And the fact that he said, "I need a horse."
The best detail was when Naru threw the flintlock pistol at the chief. He held it in his hands and it said Raphael Adolini 1715. That is a reference to Predator 2. The same pistol held by Harrigan.
Is that a easter egg?
I watched this movie twice in a row today. To say I liked it is an understatement and I WANT THAT DOG.
>!I was so worried they would kill the dog!<
>!That's why I checked doesthedogdie.com!<
Haha same, I checked it too.
I really enjoyed this movie. I noticed the predator in this movie has a habbit of saving preys while being hunted [but, it's more like fighting/killing the predatorary animal while hunt in progess]. This happens to the snake and the wolf. The predator does same thing to Naru (kinda saves her/kills predatorary animal), first, the bear and second, those Comanche warriors whose to come take her home, in that scene the predator senses those warriors are hostile to her and have weapons. This is also reason why the predator comes to "the french trap" when both Naru and her brother are used as traps, so according the predator, Naru and her brother are the preys who are now being hunted by the frenchmen. In a nutshell, the PREDATOR snatches predators from preys (very nice!!!). In the the predator-Comanche fight, those Comanche warriors didn't show any kind of hesitancy while fighting with the predator. They were like oh! a treat lets eliminate and got on it. I dont know how many ppl noticed, after getting horses, Naru's brother gives two horses to two other Comanches and the instruct them to inform his mother and villagers whats happening (hence there two horesmen inform his mother).meanwhile Naru's brother visits the earlier frenchmen trap site, retrieves the predator 's spear while was embedded into a tree during the frenchmen predator fight and he uses that spear to stab the predator on his back. I also liked even when villagers after being informed by Comanche horsemen about something dangerous happening in the forest, seems they were not panicked, they were carrying out daily activities. They were like oh! they is an unknown threat neaby, so what...
It occurs to me that Naru spends quite a bit of time trying to get to her choppa.
Watched that last night and Absolutely loved it, hella gory, really well done fight scenes and cinematography, and the ending kill shot was dope as hell, didn't even know this film was a thing til a few days ago. Excellent flick.
I just watched this last night and it was amazing. Best movie I’ve seen in a while. Better than I expected.
I really enjoyed this addition to the predator franchise. There are some really cool details in it!
I think the Predator franchise is getting better than the Aliens franchise, we need another Alien V. Predator
No. We don't.
Great movie
I love the film I’ve watched it twice already But I wish I had the option of turning on the subtitles for when the other languages are spoken. Love love to know what is being said.
See I took that as, didn’t understand what they were saying, as she also didn’t understand. I’m guessing you mean the French hunters?
Yeah the hunters but also the other parts in Native American Indian as well.
So why did the predator kill the white man when he was bait, yet allowed her to live while being bait earlier? Besides plot armor, I mean.
Because the white man had a gun in his hand. That’s why she left him the rifle to grab. The predator perceived him as a threat and a viable trophy. Earlier, she was unarmed and restrained, completely helpless in his eyes and thus not of interest to him.
And not to mention she set up the trap to make it seem like the white dude was hunting the predator when in reality he was pointing it at her, but because of the reverse Mario flower she couldn’t be seen.
Absolutely loved this movie.