At the beginning of the XVIIIe century, Naru, a young Comanche, dreams of becoming a warrior-hunter. She is gifted in this case, in addition to being an outstanding tracker. Unfortunately, his community in general and his older brother in particular, Taabe, do not see things that way. But then, while on a hunt, Naru witnesses a terrifying attack, as a grizzly bear is torn to shreds by an invisible predator whose silhouette gradually takes shape as the beast’s blood coats it. . This is just one of the many gripping sequences contained in Prey (Prey), a more than conclusive ante-episode to the classic of the genre predatorreleased in 1987.
“There was a kind of confluence of several things”, explains Dan Trachtenberg, to whom we owe the effective 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), during a virtual conference at which The duty was invited.
“I really wanted to make a movie that would be mostly action-driven and visually told, but I didn’t want it to just be fun: I wanted to inject heart and emotion into it. »
The director also wanted to tell a story of ” underdog », a champion in whom no one believed at the start. Unable to decide between a sports drama and an action film, Dan Trachtenberg decided to merge the two, in a way. Then, while he was maturing the project, a memory unexpectedly came back to haunt him: when he was a child, his parents had refused to let him see predator in the cinema, so his friends had told him about the film afterwards, describing among other things a scene involving the native guide played by Sonny Landham. It was the trigger.
“I thought to myself that we had seen a lot of these movies centered on Arnold Schwarzenegger as a hero. What if, I said to myself again, I focused on another type of character instead? A character like that of the guide. All of this swirled around in my head, forming the genesis of the film. »
In view of the result, it is clear that this approach has proven to be judicious. In fact, of Predator 2 (1990) to The Predator (The predator2018) through Predators (The predators2010), without forgetting, even if it would be better, Alien vs. predator (Alien vs Predator2004) and Alien vs. Predator. Requiem (Alien vs Predator. Requiem2007), the series has only gone from bad to worse since the original opus, one of the biggest hits of Arnold Schwarzenegger and director John McTiernan, to whom we owe another classic of the action movie, diehard (crystal trap1988).
very physical
As Naru, Amber Midthunder, as seen in The Ice Road (ice trap, 2021), is fabulous and has nothing to envy to its muscular predecessor. The actress embodies a heroine who has to fight two battles: one against the a priori of his own, and the other, against a fearsome alien creature who has made the surrounding forest his current hunting ground. However, like the community of Naru, the predator errs in taking the young woman for negligible quantity.
“The film was very physical. We did a four week training camp, Dakota [Beavers], me and the other guys, before we started filming. »
It should be noted, moreover, that in the role of Taabe, this big brother torn between his need to impose his male authority and his desire to recognize the obvious although insecure talent of his sister, Dakota Beavers proves to be as convincing as charismatic.
“The stunt team was there, they were preparing the fights, continues Amber Midthunder. We worked closely with them. And there was training for weapons: Comanche-style archery, spears, tomahawks…”
Concern for authenticity
In this regard, Prey displays a concern for historical authenticity that is unusual, and all the more welcome, for this type of Hollywood action blockbuster. The reason essentially comes down to one name: Jhane Myers, the film’s producer.
“The film is as historically accurate as possible. You should know that we did not have many relevant photographs or paintings. And some of these paintings have long been despised. Being a traditional artist myself, as a producer, in addition to all the other hats I’ve worn, I’ve been able to really soak up [le film] about everything Comanche: the color of the earth we used, the visual design, the twisted fringe, the fighting style, the language…”
It should be noted in this regard that if Prey was mostly shot in English, a Comanche dub, with the voices of the original performers, will also be offered.
Prey on Disney+ from August 5