History Film / Prey2022

** The Predator leaves a pile of explosives behind for the trappers to puzzle over. Several of them gather around to watch the unknown devices hum and levitate before exploding.

* LostTechnology: It's implied that the Predator doesn't understand how its own targeting system works. When its helm is first knocked off, it repeatedly tries to shoot at Taabe, seemingly unaware that it's only hitting what the laser sight is pointed at. In the end, it makes the exact same mistake, as Naru tricks it into shooting at her with its helm off, unaware that it will actually hit what the laser is pointed at. It seems as though the Predator is accustomed to hitting whatever it's looking at without ever understanding why.

** Initially played straight, but soon subverted. The Feral Predator starts off using mostly its wristblades and guided arrows until [[spoiler:the French trappers start using muskets, leading to it deploying more lethal tech such as the net gun, collapsible shield, and long-range bombs. It never loses this equipment afterward, however, using it to fight against Naru who is at most, armed with an axe, though only after she shot it in the head and stole its mask]]. For perspective, other Yautja (Predators) will usually even the odds and ''remove'' most of their gear when going mano-a-mano with a human opponent.

* SchrodingersCanon: The film observes false a previous piece of ExpandedUniverse material related to ''Film/Predator2''. [[spoiler:It's the flintlock pistol that Mike Harrigan received, with engraving that reads "Raphael Adolini 1715". In the comic ''Predator: 1718'', this was owned by pirate captain Raphael Adolini, who forged a temporary alliance with a Predator and gave it to him before his death. In ''Prey'', Raphael is an ordinary French tracker and a translator who gives the pistol to Naru in exchange for medical treatment, rendering the events of the comic non-canon.]]

* {{Retcon}}: The film makes a minor reference to ''Film/Predator2'' that, while not contradicting that movie, does contradict the previous ExpandedUniverse material. [[spoiler:It's the flintlock pistol that Mike Harrigan received, with engraving that reads "Raphael Adolini 1715". In the comic ''Predator: 1718'', this was owned by pirate captain Raphael Adolini, who forged a temporary alliance with a Predator and gave it to him before his death. In ''Prey'', Raphael is an ordinary French tracker and a translator who gives the pistol to Naru in exchange for medical treatment, rendering the events of the comic non-canon.]]

* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:Taabe and Naru]] both get traditional ceremonies and celebrations when each receives their warchief totems.

** While French voyageurs were usually at the forefront of European incursions into the North American inland, they would not have gotten as far west as the Great Plains by 1719. They also would have been fur ''traders'', not trappers. In fact the first reported contact would be in 1739 with two french brother.
** Further more they where absolutely no reported conflict between french expedition and the commanche. In fact there only real conflict during this time period would be against the spanish and new mexico trying to expend into their territory and latter on with the United state during their expansion.

** While French voyageurs were usually at the forefront of European incursions into the North American inland, they would not have gotten as far west as the Great Plains by 1719. They also would have been fur ''traders'', not trappers.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The timeframe established by the title card of 1719 doesn't completely jibe with the way the Comanche environment and culture in real life would have been at that time. In 1719, the Comanche Nation primarily lived in modern day Texas, which at that time was being encroached on by Spain. The Comanche made the transition to a nomadic horse culture after moving north into Colorado in the 1830s. The original script actually didn't include horses at all, but this was changed after producer and cultural consultant Jhane Myers, who is a member of the Comanche Nation, [[https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/predator-prequel-prey-real-history-exclusive/ insisted upon their inclusion, saying that "You can't have Comanche without horses!"]]
** Likewise, while French voyageurs were usually at the forefront of European incursions into the North American inland, they would not have gotten as far west as the Great Plains by 1719. They also would have been fur ''traders'', not trappers.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: [[spoiler:Taabe and later Naru]] become warchief of the tribe when they successfully prove their prowess as a hunter by killing a threat to the tribe and bringing its head back as proof.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Before it meets any humans, the Predator spends its time hunting Earth's own predators, each more dangerous than the last; a snake, a coyote, a bear, and finally the Comanche hunters [[spoiler: and the French trappers.]] Appropriately enough, it goes for the kill when its prey are in the middle of their own hunts.

** The signature triple laser sight on the Predator's mask targets a Comanche hunter, leading one to expect the poor bastard to be reduced to superheated plasma. One of the three dots then changes position and the guy is struck down by three small arrows, revealing that the targeting system is for a different weapon.

* AnAxeToGrind: A French hunter tries to run up and attack the Predator with a hatchet after pinning one of his hunting buddies. The Predator just grabs it right out of his hand, flips it around with a toss, and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard brings it right down on the hunter]] instead in just a second.

* DeathByRacism: The French fur traders all suffer terrible deaths at the hands of the Predator. They use Naru and Taabe as bait while waiting for the Predator with weapons, not realizing this makes Naru and Taabe ''safer'' than them.

** Dan Trachtenberg has admitted that Naru's tomahawk and the Predator's retractable shield were inspired by Kratos' Leviathan Axe and shield in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4''.

** At the beginning of the film, Naru mistakes the Predator's ship for the Thunderbird and takes it as a sign that she's ready for her kühtaamia.

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[BadassBoast "If it bleeds, we can kill it."]]'']]

-> ''"They hunt to live. It lives to hunt."''

* ChekhovsGun:

* SeriesContinuityError:
** The Predator's cloaking system does not short out in water, as it did in the previous films.
** No mention is made of the temperature, and it seems an average spring/summer, whereas the first two films established the Predators prefer to hunt when it is uncomfortably warm for humans.[[note]]Some EU materials credit Predator armor with advanced climate control, meaning they could theoretically hunt anywhere under any temperature conditions, but this is not confirmed in the films.[[/note]]
** The Feral Predator wears a mask that does not cover its mouth or obviously attach to its armor. In the first and second film, at least two hoses that released gas when disconnected linked the armor and mask, and in the second film the City Hunter visibly struggled to breathe in Earth's atmosphere after Harrigan removed its mask (and Harrigan seemed to find the air on the Predator ship disagreeable), and several times used what appeared to be a small breathing mask, indicating Predators and humans require slightly different atmospheric mixes. However, given that the Feral Predator is supposed to be a different subspecies of Yautja than the City Hunter, perhaps this can be HandWaved.

** Naru uses her tomahawk, with a line tied to it, like [[Franchise/MortalKombat Scorpion]] doing his trademark move when she takes on several trackers.

* StayInTheKitchen: Downplayed. The young Comanche hunters aren't too thrilled with Naru not gathering roots and herbs or preparing meals with the other women in their tribe as she was in the start of the film. Naru's mother tells her her father gave her his weapon so she could cut vegetables. Young Comanche hunters insult, question her worth, demean, rough up, sucker punch her in the head from behind, and tie Naru's hands together when she tries to warn them of the monster which killed the bear and is spooking the animals. However, though their actions fit the trope very well otherwise, none of the hunters ever explicitly demean her for her gender, rather than because [[StrawmanHasAPoint she]] ''[[StrawmanHasAPoint is]]'' [[StrawmanHasAPoint an inexperienced hunter]]. It helps that [[BigBrotherInstinct Taabe]] is their leader and actively praises her talents in tracking, observation, and healing.

''Prey'' is a 2022 ActionHorror film directed by Creator/DanTrachtenberg (''Film/TenCloverfieldLane''). The film stars Creator/AmberMidthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, and Dane [=DiLiegro=], the latter of whom plays the main Predator. The film is the fifth installment in the ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' film series, serving as a shake-up for the franchise as it focuses on a time period in the distant past rather than the modern-day, and is also the first in the series to be produced by [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios Disney]].

** As always, the Predator's array of bladed weapons slice through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter, easily lobbing off limbs [[spoiler:(including his own)]] and heads every fight. Bonus points goes to his Absurdly Sharp ''shield'', which not only cuts straight through tree trunks like nothing, it can cut through ''solid stone''.
** Naru's tomahawk deserves an honourable mention too, considering it effortlessly buries itself in her enemies every strike and throw. Granted, a significant portion of the movie emphasises her diligence in sharpening it.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Taabe's mother laughs with Naru as she makes a joke at Taabe's expense.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Before it meets any humans, the Predator spends its time hunting earth's own predators. Each more dangerous than the last; a snake, a coyote, a bear, and finally the Comanche hunters [[spoiler: and the French trappers.]] Appropriately enough, it goes for the kill when its prey are in the middle of their own hunts.

** Naru does this to [[spoiler:the French captain, using him as bait for the Predator so she can shoot it in the head and using the trapper's severed leg to lure the Predator into an ambush after that]].

** One of the [[spoiler:Comanche hunters that are tasked with finding her, Wasape,]] is nothing but an asshole to Naru, so naturally, you won't shed a tear seeing him him getting massacred by the Predator. Unlike the other hunters he doesn't even go down fighting.
** The [[spoiler:French tracking leader]] is a massive sack of shit who [[spoiler:leads a party to massacre the bison only for their pelts, cages both Naru and Taabe, tortures the latter and later abandons his men]]. After [[spoiler:Naru captures him and cuts off his leg and then uses him as bait, as his men had previously cut Taabe and tied him and Naru to a stake as Predator bait,]] it's damn satisfying to see him get cut down by the Predator.
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The timeframe established by the title card of 1719 doesn't completely gibe with the way the Comanche environment and culture in real life would have been at that time. In 1719, the Comanche Nation was primarily in modern day Texas, which at that time was being encroached on by Spain. The Comanche made the transition to a nomadic horse culture after moving north into Colorado in the 1830s.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Befitting Native American tribal practice, [[spoiler:Taabe and later Naru]] become warchief of the tribe when they successfully prove their prowess as a hunter by killing a threat to the tribe and bringing its head back as proof.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Naru's main strength as a hunter is her ability to learn things about her prey by observing them in the field. She learns multiple things about the Predator by watching how it interacts with the environment, namely: [[spoiler: how it only goes after armed/dangerous prey after it doesn't attack her while caught by a bear trap, how it sees via heat due to how it initially can't see Raphael because his body heat has been lowered, and how the arrows it fires will always follow the red dots on its mask]].

** After Naru escapes from the quicksand, she ends up covered in mud, which one might expect to lead to her discovering the Predator can't see through it, just like how Dutch did in the first ''Predator''. Not only does the Predator not show up, Naru never thinks to exploit mud in this fashion. [[spoiler:Naru instead uses a special flower petal to lower her body temperature, with the bog instead serving as part of her final trap for the Predator.]]
** Naru happens upon a herd of skinned bison. As this is not the usual Predator MO, a quick examination of the nearest corpse reveals a bullethole in the skull and a discarded cigar, showing that French hunter/trappers skinned the beasts for their hides.

** During the fight with the [[spoiler:French trackers]], the Predator deploys its gauntlet on the ground in their midst, much to the confusion of the group. As [[Film/{{Predator}} prior]] films have demonstrated the gauntlets to contain a potent SelfDestructMechanism, one could expect the gauntlet to explode. Instead, the gauntlet deploys {{Attack Drone}}s that tear through the party with ease.

* BearsAreBadNews: Naru finds a bear while in her quest to find the Predator. It catches her scent in the wind and she nearly dies in the process. [[AlwaysABiggerFish The Predator doesn't have nearly as hard a time dealing with it,]] despite taking a bloody mauling.
* BearTrap: The French hunters have strewn these all throughout the wilderness to catch whatever animals happen to come by. They're fairly dull, so they don't cause serious injuries when they catch something/someone. The Predator even gets caught in two, not that it helps and [[spoiler:it effortlessly uses one against the trappers as a throwing weapon]].
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Naru is able to kill the Predator and gain the respect of her village, but many of the tribe's warriors are dead, including her brother, and the fate of the village is up in the air due to the mid-credits tease that more Predator ships arrive with unknown intentions, not to mention the fact that the pistol she is given ultimately ends up in the hands of another Predator [[Film/Predator2 years later]]]].

* BladeOnAStick: Many throughout the film wielded by both the Comanche warriors and the Predator.
* BoomHeadshot: A twofer. [[spoiler:First is when Naru uses the flintlock pistol to shoot the Predator in the head, which damages him non-fatally and knocks his mask off so she can steal it. The second example is when she tricks the Predator into firing off an arrow while the sights on the stolen mask are aimed at his head. The ensuing headshot is much more of a boom]].

** The first film established that the aliens have been coming to hunt humans on Earth for a while, and the second film confirmed that they've been coming since at least the 1700s, when at the end an elder Predator rewards Danny Glover's character with a trophy: a flintlock pistol with the engraving "Raphael Adolini 1715". The later-day ''Alien vs. Predator'' spinoffs went farther and said the Predators have been coming for over a thousand years. This film takes the reference from the end of the second film and runs with it: showing a Predator hunting humans in the early 1700s. [[spoiler:This particular flintlock pistol is shown to have been the property of a French tracker, who gave the gun to Naru in exchange for her helping him.]]

** While tied up by the trappers, Taabe tells Naru "If it bleeds, we can kill it."

* CastingGag: In the Japanese dub, Creator/MutsumiTamura (Naru) previously voiced another BadassNative before, except the last time, [[WesternAnimation/MayaAndTheThree it was a Aztec princess rather than a Comanche warrior]].
* CentralTheme: Through its multiple factions, this movie explores the fundamental concept of the predator and prey relationship, examining the contrasts between the 3 main forms of hunting; for sport and glory (the Predator), for money and profit (the French fur traders), and for survival (the Comanche warriors).

** Early in the film, the Predator kills a coyote and takes its skull as a trophy on its belt. [[spoiler:As the Predator is about to kill Naru, Taabe is able to turn its attention back to him by grabbing the skull while its distracted and stabbing the alien's leg with the skull's teeth, giving Naru a moment to escape.]]
** Naru's skill with medicine saves one of the warriors after he was mauled by a mountain lion. [[spoiler: She later realizes that her concoction makes people invisible to the Predator (by lowering their body temperature) and eats it herself so that she can lure him in close enough for a headshot]].

** During [[spoiler:Taabe's BigDamnHeroes moment, Naru takes note of the fact the arrow-like projectiles follow the targeting system on the Predator's helmet. She later steals the helmet and sets it up so when the Predator takes aim, he ends up firing a projectile that just circles back around and hits him in the head]].
** Naru uses the flintlock pistol she is given by one of the French trappers to later ambush the Predator and shoot him in the head, dislodging his mask that has the targeting system for his darts. [[spoiler:This same pistol is implied via having the same inscription and date to be the one given to Harrigan as a reward for surviving in ''Predator 2''.]]

** Naru is not nearly as big as either the Predator, or the other Comanche hunters, but she makes up for it with smarts and guile. She modifies her tomahawk with a rope to make it easier to retrieve and usable as a grapple, she uses bait to hunt predators, she uses ambush tactics against the [[spoiler:French Trackers]], and she makes use of other weapons (including the Predator's own discarded weaponry [[spoiler:as well as the French pistol]]), as well as unconventional tactics (like using a poisonous flower to lower her own body heat and render herself relatively invisible to the Predator). She outlines it later, that others perceive her as not a threat because of her size, which is ''exactly'' what makes her so dangerous.
** The Predator themselves, who though still mostly an honor-bound warrior as is typical for the series, shows themselves in this one to be not above their own underhanded tactics. He uses his own gear in unconventional ways (such as using their shield as a bladed tool), targets predators in the middle of their own hunts to catch them off-guard, and makes full use of his arsenal while fighting the French Trackers. He's also not above using his camouflage for tactical advantages in single-combat, either.

* CoverDrop: One of the covers is [[https://resizing.flixster.com/pbJEPbmzbJO7G6_fE7Sij-2rMuY=/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvbW92aWVzLzYzMjg3YWE5LTMxOGEtNDYyYi1hY2I2LTI1MGZhOGU1MzBkNi5qcGc= Naru with fluorescent Predator blood as warpaint]]. Take away the laser sight in her eye, and this does happen in the final scene when she returns to her tribe.
* CreativeClosingCredits: The first part of the credits retells most of the movie in the style of Native American cave paintings. [[spoiler:[[TheStinger It continues after the final scene, showing more Predator ships arriving.]]]]
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Befitting the R rating, the film doesn't shy away from showing the brutal ways the Predator employs his exotic arsenal.

* CurbStompBattle: The Feral Predator vs. [[spoiler:the French trackers. It isn't so much of a fight rather than an excuse to see the Predator go nuts on the hunters]].
* CurbStompCushion: The Feral Predator's fights always show that for all the tech and superhuman strength it has it can still be hurt and bested -- however briefly -- by its opponents. To note:
** Its fight with the bear is the most telling, as the bear actually gets him on the ground for a bit. Seeing that it can be hurt is what gives Taabe the confidence to say that it can die.
** During its fight with the trackers, it is briefly slowed down after getting caught in a bear trap, netted, and surrounded. Emphasis on "briefly" as it survives their initial volley of rifle fire, escapes the net, and resumes its curb-stomping in short order.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Tone-wise, the film is far more suspenseful and dramatic compared to the action-oriented/comedy of ''Film/ThePredator''. In fact, the first half an hour or so focuses more on Naru, with brief glimpses of the Predator's hunt before the two even meet.

** [[spoiler:Naru returns triumphant to the village at the end of the film in similar fashion, the Predator's head in her hand.]]
* DefiantToTheEnd: [[spoiler:Taabe]] goes down stabbing the Predator in the leg, though still gets bashed in the head with the Predator's spear.

* DualWielding: The Predator wields a spear that splits into two shortspears, one sword-like and one mace-like.
* EgomaniacHunter: It's a ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' movie, so yeah. Applies to the proud Comanche hunters, the arrogant French trappers and to the Predator, who hunts to gain status and glory in his culture.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Taabe and Naru are preparing to shoot down a hawk. After some lighthearted ribbing from Naru, Taabe expertly shoots it down from a fair distance. Naru then points out she was waiting for it to circle back so she wouldn't have to cross the river to pick up the body. This establishes that while Taabe is the more skilled warrior, Naru plans ahead and observes the behavior of her prey to anticipate its next action.
* EvilIsBigger: The Predator (played by the 6'9" basketball player Dane [=DiLiegro=]) towers over most of the rest of the main cast.

** Initially played straight but soon subverted. The Feral Predator starts off using mostly its wristblades and guided arrows until [[spoiler:the French trappers start using muskets, leading to it deploying more lethal tech such as the net gun, collapsible shield, and long-range bombs. It never loses this equipment afterward, however, using it to fight against Naru who is at most, armed with an axe, though only after she shot it in the head and stole its mask]]. For perspective, other Yautja (Predators) will usually even the odds and ''remove'' most of their gear when going mano-a-mano with a human opponent.
** The biggest point of subversion is with [[spoiler:its fight against Taabe. Despite Taabe having the potential to be [[WorthyOpponent a worthy game]] for any other Predator for being able to keep up with and even do some noteworthy damage to it, the Predator chooses a rather uncharacteristic DirtyCoward move by cloaking in the middle of their fight and stabbing him InTheBack while distracted, implying that it's only willing to play fair to a point before going full CombatPragmatist.]]
* FinalExamBoss: Naru's final confrontation with the Predator plays out this way, with her putting in play everything she has learned throughout the movie watching the Predator hunt.

** The Predator uses the trees to chase prey. [[spoiler:Naru places stakes on certain trees so the Predator impales itself when it lands on these.]]

** The Predator's metal bolts track [[spoiler:its helmet's laser dots. Naru traps it in quicksand she discovered earlier, then baits it into using its bolt launcher, causing the bolt to fly along the helmet's laser she planted earlier to strike it in the head.]]

** Naru is a young Comanche woman intent to prove herself as a huntress, and the Feral Predator is implied (and confirmed by the director) to be an Unblooded participating in its first hunt on Earth. Naru has some early missteps in the first act (in fact she nearly dies three times, which makes the male warriors' protesting her participation somewhat a case of StrawmanHasAPoint) but [[CharacterDevelopment demonstrates over the film]] that she is actually rather clever and resourceful, using AwesomenessByAnalysis to create new weapons and tactics on the fly based on what she learns over the story. The Feral Predator, on the other hand, just relies on its alien physiology and advanced technology to defeat its enemies and grows more reckless and arrogant with each kill; [[BloodKnight it eschews stealth and ranged weaponry in favour of direct confrontation in melee]], makes clear tactical blunders which allow its enemies to score multiple wounds against it, and seemingly does not understand how the laser targeting system of its speargun works. One prospective hunter grows and develops, the other doesn't.
** The French trappers serve as this for the Predators in general, at least from the Comanche perspective: "Alien" invaders with (comparatively) advanced technology, exploiting the native population's land to slaughter its fauna. That their dialogue is completely untranslated is potentially meant to further the comparison, as to the Comanche (and any viewer who doesn't speak French) it's nearly as incomprehensible as the Predators' clicking and snarling. As represented by Raphael, however, communication and the potential for sympathetic interaction is still completely possible as fellow human beings, as opposed to the ''true'' aliens who are completely removed from humanity.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: During her encounter with the mountain lion, Naru observes a far-off explosion in the distance. Given that the French trappers are already aware of the alien by the time she encounters them, that was likely their own run-in with the yautja.

* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: Naru is a heroic Comanche woman intent on earning respect in her tribe as a hunter. The Feral Predator is a vicious alien EgomaniacHunter. The French Trappers are, with the exception of Raphael, pure greedy assholes.

** A man is caught between a log and the RazorFloss net; the camera pans away and focuses on the net's base instead, which pulls the wires tighter until only a pile of wood-chips and LudicrousGibs remains.

** A French tracker tries hitting the Predator with an axe only for the Predator to catch the axe in its wristblades, wrench it into the air and bring it down onto his head.

* IShallTauntYou: [[spoiler:Naru taunts the Predator while he's stuck in the quicksand, forcing him to use his arrows which she has set a trap for]]. She also taunts the French captain when she's using him for bait to lure the Predator to her.

* JustHitHim: The Predator is strong enough to break a grizzly bear's neck with a single punch and spends most of its final fight with Naru doing everything it can to avoid killing her in a similar fashion.

** First, because that's what makes Naru realize that the Predator only hunts what he considers a meaningful prey and a dangerous opponent. Being tied up, she and her brother appear harmless, and as such below the Yautja's attention, which is then proven true as he starts attacking the French leaving the siblings alone.
** Second, when later in the movie Naru finds the French leader, knocks him out and uses him as bait. However, having learned her lesson, she actually conceals herself and leaves a rifle (which is empty) to the man so that he will appear dangerous. This time the bait ends up actually working.
* LifeOrLimbDecision: Defied. When Naru and Taabe are captured by [[spoiler:the French trappers to be used as baits for the Predator, Naru recalls a story of a beaver that got trapped in a flood and is forced to tear out its own limb to survive, before slowing moving her and Taabe's tied-up arms toward the nearby bear-trap. Taabe, thinking that Naru is about to invoke this trope, starts to panic, but Naru manages to find a way to free them both using the bear trap without losing their arms in the process. She then explains that she's smarter than a beaver.]]

* LostTechnology: It's implied that the Predator doesn't understand how its own targeting system works. When its helm is first knocked off, it repeatedly tries to shoot at Taabe, seemingly unaware that it's only hitting what the laser sight is pointed at. In the end, it makes the exact same mistake as Naru tricks it into shooting at her with its helm off, unaware that it will actually hit what the laser is pointed at. It seems as though the Predator is accustomed to hitting whatever it's looking at without ever understanding why.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: One of the Predator's toys is a retractable shield with sharp edges that effortlessly blocks bullets and slices through tree trunks.

* MeaningfulEcho: Naru repeats some of [[spoiler:Taabe's]] final words -- which he'd previously told her to say when she completed her Kühtaamia and said before his own death -- when she finally [[spoiler:has the Predator cornered and ensnared in a trap that results in its own arrow projectile getting launched into its head]].

* MeaningfulName: Naru means "Fight" in Comanche.
* MistakenForAliens: InvertedTrope that happens several times throughout the movie.
** At the beginning of the film, Naru mistakes the Predator's ship for the Thunderbird and takes it as a sign that she's ready for her Kühtaamia.
** Having no concept of aliens, Naru assumes that the Predator is a "Mupitsl" -- a humanoid monster from Comanche folklore. The other hunters laugh at her... until the Predator attacks them.
** The leader of the French trappers believes the Predator is a Christian demon.

** At one point, Taabe proclaims that "if [the Predator] bleeds, we can kill it". A pretty obvious nod to [[Film/{{Predator}} Dutch's]] line from the original.
** [[spoiler:After trapping the Predator in quicksand, Naru attempts to bait it into shooting her with its arrow-launcher in the same way Dutch tried to taunt the Jungle Hunter into triggering the trap he'd set up. Unlike the Jungle Hunter, the Feral Predator falls for it and ends up killing himself.]]

** You'd think when Naru is caked deep in mud after escaping the quicksand that it would play a pivotal role in circumventing the Predator's vision [[ContinuityNod like the other films all had]], but the mud camouflage never plays a role in the entire movie [[spoiler:as the herb that lowers body heat fulfills that role in it's place, instead ''the quicksand'' itself is more pivotal as it's the main component for ensuring Naru's able to pull off her BatmanGambit by submerging the Predator deep enough in it as to prevent it from moving to ensure its projectile doesn't miss [[HoistByHisOwnPetard its own head]].]]

** [[spoiler: Another French trapper gets pinned to a tree by the Predator. When he pulls a knife, it deploys its wrist shield into his neck, cutting off his head and the tree in half]].

** [[spoiler:The Predator itself is killed and Naru decapitates it afterward]].

** Naru has a nonverbal example of this as she witnesses the Predator raising the bear carcass above its head with ease, drenching itself with blood to reveal its form beneath the InvisibilityCloak.
** One of the French trappers simply says "mierde", French for shit, when he sees the Predator is about to attack him after quietly killing everyone else that was with him.
** [[spoiler:The Predator itself also has a moment like this when it realizes Naru had played it, lining up its own mask to trace its homing arrows [[YourHeadAsplode back into its own head.]]]]

* OnlyAFleshWound: Naru gets her leg caught in a trap but is able to move and run with no limp or anything else which could impede her. She eventually treats it, but only after a fair bit of action.

** Played with. As the director explained in an [[https://gizmodo.com/prey-predator-new-creature-details-hulu-streaming-1849026344 interview]], their take on the new Predator in this film is that they are ''are not'' a homogeneous single breed or culture across their homeworld. So there are some differences from the "Classic" Predators we've seen before, but still broad similarities (a culture of hunting sapient prey, heat vision, etc.) [[spoiler:This is seen in the film itself, where the Predator's mask is knocked off and it roars at Taabe. Compared to previous Yautja (the Predator species), this hunter has a more flattened face and reddish skin. Its mouth is also significantly larger, to the point where its mask doesn't cover its lower jaw]].

* RealityHasNoSubtitles: The French trappers' dialogue isn't subtitled, leaving most of what they say a mystery to those who don't understand French. Some unsubtitled Comanche is also spoken.

* RetractableWeapon: The Predator is seen with a device that extends into a shield, and is also capable of cutting through flesh. It's also seen with the franchise staple, the Wristblades. Plenty of other weapons that retract are shown, like a blade that opens up like a whip, the razor net from previous films, and a Combistick spear that can be retracted for transport or split into two for DualWielding.

* RiteOfPassage: Naru is eager to have her "Kühtaamia", a rite of passage involving hunting something which is hunting you, that will have her recognized as a full-fledged hunter. She finally does this when [[spoiler:she brings back the Predator's head.]]

** The Predator's cloaking system does not short out in water, as it has in the previous films.
** No mention is made of the temperature and it seems an average spring/summer, whereas the first two films established the Predators prefer to hunt when it is uncomfortably warm for humans.[[note]]Some EU materials credit Predator armor with advanced climate control, meaning they could theoretically hunt anywhere under any temperature conditions, but this is not confirmed in the films.[[/note]]
** The Feral Predator wears a mask that does not cover his mouth or obviously attach to his armor. In the first and second film, at least two hoses that released gas when disconnected linked armor and mask, and in the second film the City Hunter was visibly struggling to breathe in Earth's atmosphere after Harrigan removed his mask (and Harrigan seemed to find the air on the Predator ship disagreeable), and several times used what appeared to be a small breathing mask, indicating Predators and humans require slightly different atmospheric mixes.

** The script was rewritten by two Comanche activists to ensure its depiction of Comanche culture wasn't inaccurate or stereotypical, and the movie was praised for it. Among other changes, they insisted on giving every character (Comanche and French) a name in their language, even if it wasn't stated onscreen.
** There are indeed some herbs in real life that can lower blood pressure enough to [[spoiler:reduce considerable body heat (albeit not to the degree shown or as quickly)]], in fact, the herb in question shares characteristics to ''Calendula officinalis'', or pot marigold, which is used all over the world throughout history to lower blood pressure explicitly to prevent further blood loss in a victim, something shown both with the tribesman injured by the lion and Raphael Adonlini's leg after Naru treats them with the orange plant to keep them stable.

* SingleStrokeBattle: The Predator and the coyote. They each get introductory blows in before hand, with the Predator kicking a coyote away from the rabbit it's chasing and the coyote charging and biting the Predator's thigh. Afterwards, though, the hunt concludes with a duel out of a samurai movie [[spoiler:that ends with a gutted coyote and the Predator taking its head by the vertebrae, like others did with human victims in previous films.]]
* StayInTheKitchen: Downplayed. The young Comanche hunters aren't too thrilled with Naru not gathering roots and herbs or preparing meals with the other women in their tribe as she was in the start of the film. Naru's mother tells her her father gave her his weapon so she could cut vegetables. Young Comanche hunters insult, question her worth, demean, rough up, sucker punch her in the head from behind, and tie Naru's hands together when she tries to warn them of the monster which killed the bear and is spooking the animals. It helps that [[BigBrotherInstinct Taabe]] is their leader and actively praises her talents in tracking, observation, and healing.
* StupidCrooks: The trappers are thoroughly evil and comically stupid, providing easy chaff for the predator to cut through during the middle act.
* TheStinger: At the end of the cave drawing style credits, [[spoiler:we see a continuation of the end of the film, with numerous Predator ships descending onto Naru's village]].
* SummonBiggerFish: [[spoiler:The French trappers inadvertently pull this on ''themselves'' when they use Naru and Taabe as bait to lure the Predator into a trap. It backfires horribly when the Predator easily thwarts their capture attempt, and massacres the entire trapping party almost to a man.]]

** As usual, the Predator. This one in particular is bitten by a coyote, mauled by a bear, stabbed and slashed and hit with arrows by the Comanches, shot several times [[spoiler:by the French trappers]], and during its showdown with Naru [[spoiler: she shoots it in the head with a flintlock pistol, stabs it several more times, tricks it into jumping into a bunch of sharpened stakes and cutting off its own arm, and ''finally'' puts it down with one of its own guided arrows]].
* TapOnTheHead: Naru falls from a tree during the encounter with the lion, and [[spoiler:is knocked out when her head lands on a rock, something far more dangerous than the film portrays. She also gets knocked senseless by a musket butt before waking up with only a mild headache.]]

** [[spoiler:Raphael is the only one of the French trackers to actually try and talk with Naru about how they can all kill the Predator together, even handing over his gun to get her to nurse his wounds. It helps that he's the only character in the film capable of speaking both languages.]]
** Taabe has shades of this with the Comanche hunters who, while not villainous, [[spoiler:are actively disdainful of having Naru around, constantly boast and make fun of her, and even beat her and tie her up to attempt to take her back home. While Taabe is around, he protects and justifies Naru's presence, and while he initially takes credit for killing the lion, he admits he couldn't have done it without her plan which is why he recognizes her skill as a hunter.]]

* TranslationConvention: Any and all English spoken in the movie -- [[GratuitousEnglish barring a brief moment of the French trappers talking to each other in English for some reason]] -- is actually Comanche, as demonstrated by Raphael stating that he speaks multiple languages and recognizing that Naru is of Comanche descent. That being said, a substantial amount of untranslated Comanche still features in the film. Almost fully averted by the Comanche dub of the film, barring the few English lines used by the trappers.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Naru spells it out in her speech to the French captain, explaining that the fact that no one, not her fellow Comanches, not the French trappers, not the Predator, sees her as a valid threat is the very thing that makes her so dangerous to all of them.
* VillainousRescue: The Predator unintentionally saves Naru from the bear when she's cornered, [[spoiler: grappling with it, punching it out, and gutting it so it could bathe in its blood.]]

** Despite being presented as evil and more contemptible than the Predator, the [[spoiler:French fur trappers, [[DirtyCoward aside from their leader]], show a lot of bravery and determination in the face of the alien threat, even as they are all mostly wiped out by the Predator's advanced weaponry. They would rather hunt the Predator than flee the land entirely. Notably, the trapper in the white shirt who tries to challenge the Predator ''with just a knife'']].

* YouGoGirl: Naru is treated contemptuously by the male Comanche hunters/warriors (aside from her brother, who's indulgent of her to a point), putting her down as a potential hunter and warrior. Though this was not completely unjustified as Naru constantly failed her hunts before encountering the Predator. Over the film however she proves herself equally adept using weapons, a superior tracker and over all a much ''smarter'' combatant, as Naru studies everything the Predator does carefully, unlike the rest who are more prone to foolish frontal assaults which get them killed. [[spoiler:This allows her to kill it when everyone else fails.]]

* ActionGirl: Naru naturally fulfills this trope, being the one to face off against the Predator.

** The French trappers serve as this for the Predators in general, at least from the Comanche perspective: "Alien" invaders with (comparatively) advanced technology, exploiting the native population's land to slaughter its fauna. That their dialogue is completely untranslated is potentially meant to further the comparison, as to the Comanche (and any viewer who doesn't speak French) it's nearly as incomprehensible as the Predators' clicking and snarling. As represented by Raphael, however, communication and the potential for sympathetic interraction is still completely possible as fellow human beings, as opposed to the ''true'' aliens who are completely removed from humanity.

* ShoutOut: Naru uses her tomahawk, with a line tied to it, like [[Franchise/MortalKombat Scorpion]] doing his trademark move when she takes on several trackers.

* WeakButSkilled: The Comanche hunters compared to the alien Predator. Those who last more than a few seconds rely on nimbleness and superior tactics to survive against the comparatively stronger, faster, and better-armed Predator.