Prey (2022) - New Predator movie

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Timeline Man, Jun 7, 2022.

  1. Turnaround

    Turnaround Senior Member

    Location:
    -
    Franchises like the Predator are basically monster movies, where the monster doesn't talk and just consumes, kills, mates or whatever because its purpose is to be evil to humans. You can lump in that "monster" category things like Alien, Riddick, Godzilla, Jason Voorhees and Resident Evil. You're not going to get something like Killmonger (Black Panther), an evil force expressing some Shakespearean, conflicted character to create drama.

    What makes monsters movies fun is interesting kills that make you throw your popcorn, seeing how the humans outwit the monster, and whatever mythology they can build behind the monster. If they can do any of that well in this movie, I'll be happy!

    A streaming service like Hulu is sort of a studio, and sort of a distributor. It has a hand in creating or commissioning some original content. But it also buys existing content that someone else already developed and completed to sell to a distributor. I think the quality problem these days is that streaming services can pick up some very good stuff (say, an indie movie that got raves on the festival circuit) or some very bad stuff (like a big studio dumping onto streaming a movie it decided won't do well theatrically). The latter is basically today's version of direct-to-video titles from the VHS and DVD eras.

    Disney, which owns a majority stake in Hulu, has also tended in the US to put its more family friendly stuff on Disney+ and its more "adult" stuff on Hulu.

    Prey seems to have wound up being developed directly for distribution on streaming. Maybe the studio wasn't so hot on the financial prospects of the franchise for theaters.
     
    jwstl likes this.
  2. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    I saw the original in a theatre on Times Sq. when it opened. The only time the audience shut up was when there was killing. Thankfully, there was a lot of killing.
    This actually looks good-- the premise is interesting. I might just watch it. :)
    thanks.
     
    Chrome_Head likes this.
  3. Rich-n-Roll

    Rich-n-Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    Still it's going straight to a streaming service which tells me all I need to know "PASS"
     
  4. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Only value big screen or media content ( I own ) .. so pass.
     
  5. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Heh. Reminds me of that bonus Thermian audio track on the GALAXY QUEST DVD. Tricked a bunch of my home theater clients back in the day with that!
     
  6. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Wonder what happened to the follow up to Predators (2010) Royce /Isabelle still stuck on the Pred gaming planet.
     
  7. Timeline Man

    Timeline Man Time Traveler from Naples Thread Starter

    Location:
    Naples
    VERY COOL!

    By the way, do the two ALIEN VS PREDATOR movies fit into the continuity set by THE PREDATOR? Just wondering.
     
  8. jwstl

    jwstl Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    It doesn’t tell you anything. Lots of quality films go straight to streaming including the most recent Best Picture winner. Sounds like you don’t know current streaming or are just biased against it. Having said that, this is a Predator movie; it would be bad no matter where it showed.
     
    BeatleJWOL and SmallDarkCloud like this.
  9. SmallDarkCloud

    SmallDarkCloud Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I agree. Plenty of good movies have gone directly to streaming in the past two years, for obvious reasons. That's not to say that terrible movies aren't dumped to streaming either, because, yes, that is sometimes true (the latest Texas Chainsaw movie was a dump, after disastrous test screenings).

    Hulu is really promoting this one, which I don't think they would be bothering to do if they knew they had a flop on their hands.
     
    Timeline Man and BeatleJWOL like this.
  10. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    Looks like a fun take on it. I'm in.
     
  11. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Why is it called “Prey “?
    It’s as if it’s an native American Indian thing with Predator tagging along.
     
  12. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    A predator hunts prey. :) Purely riffing on the use of the biological term "predator" as the series/character name.
     
  13. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Stating the obvious.
    Just not a catchy name “ Prey”
    This is “ Predator “ we’re talking about.
    Not a Richard Attenborough documentary.
     
  14. Rich-n-Roll

    Rich-n-Roll Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington State
    Took the words right out of my mouth... exactly why it's going to straight to streaming because like you said "this is a Predator movie; it would be bad no matter where it showed. It's comparable to a new movie going straight to cable tv back in the day
     
  15. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Hollywood doesn't mind spending a lot of money on movies - so it sure would be nice if they spent more on the writers, because whilst monster movies have their own tropes, that doesn't mean it has to be that way. Alien is actually an example where they've tried different things to fill in the back story. Friday the 13th they've done a lot less than that, but let's be honest, there have been some really bad F13 movies. It's this lack of adventure that ruins the franchises, imo.

    Predator have a handful of movies now, and the story hasn't moved an inch. It's a great creature, but it's long worn out its welcome for me. The entire thing is going nowhere.
     
    Chrome_Head likes this.
  16. Johnny66

    Johnny66 Laird of Boleskine

    Location:
    Australia.
    I had zero interest in the film, and watching the trailer had me snorting in derision - largely because I knew that no Hollywood creature-feature targeting a 15 year old audience would dare have characters speak in Native American (even with subtitles). That they actually did shoot sequences in Comanche is really quite surprising, and providing an optional Comanche dub when streaming is certainly an impressive step. Round 1 to Prey. Here's hoping the film itself is equally thoughtful... :rolleyes: :D
     
  17. SmallDarkCloud

    SmallDarkCloud Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    To be fair, Shane Black tried to move the story forward with the 2018 movie. His original idea was to have a civil war between two different classes of predators, with the "old school" predators making a reverse heel-turn and deciding to help out the humans. The studio-demanded reshoots made hash of this idea, and what was left didn't make much sense.
     
    Chris DeVoe and Chrome_Head like this.
  18. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Yeah, I get it. I'm sure plenty of good ideas have been wasted by execs looking for something that appeals to everyone. That's how the industry works, I'm afraid. I do think the 2018 movies is more than just bad as-is. It's truly horrendous cinema.
     
  19. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    "Eat Prey Love"
     
  20. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    What should they do with the Predator creatures and the lore?

    Each movie has been something different—a different setting, a different hunted protagonist.

    They’ve tried a lot of different things, even the first AvP played off the story connections to Aliens (the Weyland/Yutani corporations)—what should they do to move the story forward in your opinion?
     
  21. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    They're trying to expand the franchise character into something an average(?) Disney+ consumer might want to try. The same way Ridley Scott didn't make a "Prometheus" film with the word "Alien" in the title.

    Disney's whole schtick has been about both exploiting their brands, and expanding on them.
     
  22. Looks like it was made on the cheap. Got to give them credit for trying something a little different.
     
  23. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Cool.
    Looked like they had a weird way of pulling the bow.
     
  24. Rick Bartlett

    Rick Bartlett Forum Resident

    I'm in, quite easily!
    Love the whole franchise.
     
    Chrome_Head and Timeline Man like this.
  25. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Oh hell, don't ask me, I ain't paid their wages.

    What I'd like to see is some back story, some new angle. Changing location and lead is not truly different. I'd of hoped for something a lot more significant. That said, how about their home planet? How about we (humans) go on the offensive? I don't know man, I look for creative people to be creative.

    I hated the AvP movies. That was partly due to way they were made, with everything so damn dark. But mostly I thought they were made simply because the comics existed, and they were out of ideas for Predator.

    Unlike some, I've really liked the Alien franchise arc. The first movie, the second as an out and out action flick, the prison planet, and then the cloning of the fourth is a great run. Then we got the two additional movies, and the first at least made me curious - the second..... ouch.
     

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