The issue with the Predator movies and how 2022's Prey fixed it.

"Get back to the choppa!"

The original film is a master class in filmmaking. It ratchets up the suspense and horror in almost every scene and keeps the Predator's goal a mystery. Why is Predator hunting? What is it truly and where does it come from?

Well, we don't get an answer to every question but at least the final act of the first movie sheds light on Predator's motivations and appearance. One could describe the Predator's goal as an alien sport of hunting for skulls, we even got to see this alien spray that melts the skin around the skull's surface, which keeps the narrative's mechanics at the heart of the film's mystery. It doesn't kill innocent and while the audience would describe it as the villain in the franchise, I would say it is its hero. Still, the predator's true motives in the Alien vs Predator movies sort of explain how they were setting up their hunting grounds and why the Xeno aliens are their enemies.

However, humans are finding both of these alien species a threat, and the predators quite like it. Yes, I know, it may sound like a fetish. But only because they have a reason to hunt them after becoming hazardous. That's the issue, the mystery that was at the core of Predator's story was fading away by creating action sequences and trying to explain everything in the process. In the Predator movie, we see an elite group of soldiers getting hunted by an unstoppable force. Knowing that soldiers were dying mysteriously, it brought up questions such as: What does the creature want out of this situation? or Why does it kill soldiers only? After explaining that is considered a sport, we see a camouflaged creature that comes and goes in the whole movie with hints here and there. That was scary, i remember as a child closing my eyes whenever the Predator was in sight, knowing what's coming to them. A bloody massacre.

Predator (1987)

Imagine walking into a jungle, you hear these scary, alien noises coming from deep in the woods behind you or a red three-dot laser aiming at your forehead. These sorts of details create a flood of emotions that make your heart flutter, resulting in a very, very uncomfortable feeling.

2022's Prey revived all of these emotions and told the story of a young girl trying to survive a Predator hunt. And that was okay, considering that we see the predator going after these native American hunters with less equipment than its predecessors. Nonetheless, I found this feeling of uncertainty coming right back at me. The creature was still camouflaged for the majority of the movie's runtime which brought back the narrative mystery from 1987's Predator film. The characters were quite engaging and I liked the chemistry between Naru and her brother, Taabe. Although I found strange the fact that Naru's dog survived the hunt knowing that it was aggressive towards the alien. Prey managed to create a mosaic of nostalgia, the same emotions that made the first predator feel original and distinct. It added an amazing and intense horror story to the already huge catalog of powerful narratives of its lore.

Prey (2022)

Now, let's step into the studio's shoes for a moment. You have to create a sequel and tell more stories in this universe, you would have to reinvent the narrative reel to create new, compelling questions for your audience. You will have to entice the already existing fans to watch your movie and allure newcomers to this enormous universe.

Surely, Predator 2 wasn't enough to tick the box and worked out as a predator albeit violent haunted house. The key features of the first Predator movie are completely gone with the alien founding himself in a colossal city with no hills or huge tree trunks to climb onto. It focused on the Predator's gore by avoiding to build upon the already cool main protagonist of the film, LAPD officer Mike Harrigan. Sadly, the next movies followed the exact same path, nothing was enough to satisfy the appetite of the already hungry fans.

At the end of the day, we haven't seen the last of the Predators' story, Prey proved there are so many narratives to explore. Unfortunately, we will have to wait and see where the latest movie's success leads and how it's going to expand on this amazing Predator/Alien universe.