Editorials
‘Prey’: ‘Predator’ Franchise Connections and Mid-Credits Moment Explained [Spoilers]
Warning: This article contains spoilers.
Now streaming on Hulu, director Dan Trachtenberg‘s Prey takes the Predator franchise back to its roots, opting for a lean action horror movie set in the wilderness. The story takes place in the Comanche Nation in 1719, where Naru (Amber Midthunder) seeks to prove her worth and protect her people after discovering a highly-evolved predator hunting their lands.
Along the way, Prey includes a plethora of nods to the franchise through iconic lines of dialogue, set pieces, and Easter eggs. Let’s take a look at the most notable connections.
The Easter Egg Connection to Predator 2.
The most notable Easter egg found in Prey is the “Raphael Adolini 1715” antique flintlock pistol from Predator 2.
Predator 2 sees its alien hunter use 1997 Los Angeles as its hunting ground, only to finally be thwarted by protagonist Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover). In the climactic showdown, Harrigan tracks the injured Predator to an underground spacecraft and finishes the kill. Then, a group of different Predators appear, retrieving the body of their fallen comrade.
They acknowledge Harrigan as a worthy hunter, and one of them presents Harrigan with a trophy for his kill. It’s the above-mentioned Raphael Adolini gun from 1715.
In Prey, Naru gets captured by French fur trappers. Among them is translator Raphael Adolini (Bennett Taylor). The group’s attempts to get information on the Predator from Naru and subsequently use her as bait fail, resulting in most of their deaths. In the aftermath, Naru discovers a wounded Raphael, who gives her his pistol in exchange for medical treatment.
Within this callback to Predator 2 is another; Naru gives Raphael the Orange Totsiyaa flower, which lowers his body temperature, as the mud did for Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in 1987’s Predator. Naru observes as the Predator overlooks Raphael, unable to detect his cooler temperature… until stepping on his wounded leg.
That End Credits Scene Explained.
Prey‘s animated end credits sequence later explains how the Predators came into possession of Raphael Adolini’s pistol. After recapping the film’s events, the final animated scene sees Predator ships emerging from the sky, right above the Comanche tribe. It’s not difficult to further tie this back to Predator 2, in which they’ve come to retrieve the body of their fallen, therefore removing all trace of its existence from Earth; and they presumably left without harming Naru or her people. She emerged the stronger hunter, after all, which the Predators are likely to respect.
Naru delivers the pistol and the Predator’s head to her tribe elders in the final moments of Prey, so it makes sense that both get passed on to the Predators from the sky.
The more intriguing question is what trophy would they have bestowed upon Naru in exchange for her kill? Some of their advanced Predator technology, perhaps?
The Callbacks to 1987’s Predator.
Prey also repurposes two of the original film’s most iconic lines. While held in captivity by the trappers, Naru tells her older brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) that she doesn’t know if the Predator can be killed. His response, “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” echoes Dutch’s sentiments from the first movie. Later, Naru channels Dutch in her final confrontation, baiting the creature into her trap with his iconic line, “Do it! Do it now!”
This climactic battle takes place in a sinking mud pit discovered earlier by Naru, where she narrowly escaped. Midhunter previously shared with us how dealing with the mud pit was physically grueling and putrid. It’s another parallel to the original; Predator’s Dutch discovers the alien’s inability to detect cooler temperatures after getting covered in mud.
Sonny Landham in 1987’s ‘Predator’
One of the most subtle callbacks involves Taabe. The fur trappers cut Taabe’s chest with a knife to get Naru to cooperate. It’s a direct visual nod to Predator‘s tracker Billy Sole (Sonny Landham), who cuts his chest with a knife when he stays behind to take on the Predator himself. The film never shows us this fight, though. In an interview with Empire Magazine, per AvPGalaxy, Trachtenberg revealed that not seeing Billy’s final stand was a direct inspiration for Prey.
The tribe member that shushes Naru in the field as the Predator is pursuing them? Another nod to the 1987 film. This moment emulates the scene where Mac (Bill Duke) grabs Dillon (Carl Weathers), pulls him into the bush, and quiets him. He points out the Predator, but his attempts to outsmart the alien end when the iconic three-pointed laser locks onto his forehead.
Harlan Kywayhat as Itsee in 20th Century Studios’ PREY, exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
The Raphael Adolini pistol from Predator 2 takes center stage as the most significant reference, but Trachtenberg pays tribute to Predator with no shortage of callbacks and subtle recreations.
Did you spot any other Prey Easter eggs or connections? Comment below and let us know.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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