Prey  ★★★

PREY is the latest film in the Predator franchise and, against all odds, it’s actually pretty good.

The main reasons are a simplicity of plot and the location and time period – on the Northern Great Plains of North America in 1719.

The latter enables two things to occur – pitting great warrior/hunters of the past against one from the future and giving the franchise new life to explore multiple settings and time periods in future instalments.

Amber Midthunder plays young Comanche Naru, a skilled hunter trying to also prove herself as a warrior. She lives in the shadow of her older brother Taabe, who is likely to be a future leader of their tribe, and the general view that, while her hunting ability is recognised, she can’t join the warrior men.

When one of the tribe’s hunters is taken by a lion a group led by Taabe and including Naru sets off to track the animal down.

At the same time a Predator arrives unseen by spaceship from the future, perhaps the first of its kind to land on Earth.

We follow the Commanche hunting party as well as the Predator slowly adapting to its surrounds and taking on larger prey, starting with a rabbit and eventually fighting to the death with a giant bear.

A group of French fur traders enter the mix, brutally slaying the buffalo that the Commanche rely on for their survival.

Inevitably the three groups come together with Naru at the centre of efforts to understand what the Predator is and how it can be defeated.

A few aspects of the plot don’t hang together as well as they should, but the interaction between Predator and humans is well-staged and the entire  approach seems fresh and interesting

It was filmed in Alberta, Canada and the vistas are beautiful.

As far as throw-away action movie franchises go, Prey is a welcome addition and invigoration.