‘Prey’ has fans reappraising the most underrated ‘Predator’ movie

It would be stating the obvious to say the Predator franchise has experienced plenty of ups and downs during its 35-year existence, but Hulu’s acclaimed Prey has done a phenomenal job in bringing the sci-fi horror property back to the forefront of the cultural conversation.

The early buzz indicated Dan Trachtenberg’s no-holds-barred period piece was the best entry in the series since Arnold Schwarzenegger and his elite team of manly men first went up against the intergalactic trophy hunters in John McTiernan’s classic original, but there’s now a growing sentiment that it might just be the best Predator movie ever.

Over the years, we’ve seen the unsung heroics of Danny Glover in Predator 2, a mediocre Alien vs. Predator crossover that was followed by horrendous sequel Requiem, and Shane Black’s bungled legacy chapter The Predator, but the acclaim being thrown in the direction of Prey has led fans on Reddit to begin singing the praises of Nimrod Antal’s and Robert Rodriguez’s vastly underrated Predators.

In terms of critical acclaim, the 2010 effort ranked second behind the opening installment in terms of Rotten Tomatoes adulation until Prey came along, while a box office haul of $127 million on a $40 million budget (plus impressive sales on home video), ensured it was a highly profitable enterprise. And yet, a follow-up never happened, despite the writing team teasing their idea as being akin to Die Hard meets Alien set in the Predator universe.

While Predators didn’t get the sequel it deserved, at least Prey has brought the formerly-flagging IP back to life.