Top 10 Smartest Decision in Prey (Predator 5)

The Predator’s very first visit to Earth finds him hunting in the Northern Great Plains in the year 1719. A Comanche woman named Naru grows keen to the presence of this mysterious creature. She’s already swift and clever with her tomahawk, but a hunter can never be too prepared. Her creativity leads her to invent a nifty style of tomahawk throwing. She makes some rope and lashes it to her tomahawk, making it faster and easier to retrieve and throw. This weapon proves to be invaluable later on. Not only does it give Naru an advantage in battle, but it also becomes a grappling hook that saves her from sinking into a mud pit.

Naru’s plan to kill the mountain lion doesn’t go very smoothly. Her brother Taabe finishes the task and the tribe celebrates. But Naru still suspects something deadly is lurking in the forest. She awakens the next morning and is expected to just go back to her daily grind, gathering plants with the women of the tribe. But having mistaken the Predator’s spaceship for a “Thunderbird,” her inner conflict leads her to a braver decision. She heads back into the forest to prove herself as a hunter. She may not know just how terrifying her unearthly enemy will be, but her bravery might determine the fate of her tribe.

Deep in the forest, Naru finds traces of green, glowing blood. She also discovers an unusually large footprint from a monstrous, bipedal creature. She knows it’s not a Sasquatch because, as we all know, a Sasquatch’s green blood is non-bioluminescent. Naru uses a stick to measure the footprint, giving her an idea of just how big this monster might be. The previous night, she noticed claw-marks dug into the trunk of a tree. While Naru doesn’t have the pumped-up biceps and military firepower of Dutch Schaefer, her intellect and detective skills are what strengthen her overall prowess as a warrior.

In a terrifying and momentous encounter, Naru and her dog Sarii track a grizzly bear to a quiet stream. Naru shoots an arrow into the grizzly’s hide, but the grizzly is too quick to be killed by her. To avoid being on the grizzly’s dinner menu, Naru dives into the stream and crawls into a beaver’s den for protection. The ravenous grizzly stomps and roars, hellbent on devouring her. Unbeknownst to the grizzly, an earth-shaking shift in the food chain is about to occur. Naru looks on in terror as a ghostly monster gruesomely fights the grizzly to the death. The fight ends with the Predator’s very showy alpha display of victory. Yup. Naru was wise to hide in the den.

Technically, this decision was made before the movie begins, but it’s still a pretty good decision that shouldn’t go unnoticed. And unlike hiding in a beaver den, it might be a little more relatable to the average WatchMojo viewer. Sarii was really good at tracking deer, catching food, finding a wounded tribesman, distracting the bear, sniffing things, and barking at the Predator. And she was a really good listener for when Naru just needed someone to talk to. It’s a good thing Naru trained Sarii so well, ‘cause things might’ve gone a lot differently. Heck, if it weren’t for Sarii’s bravery, the Predator might’ve just gone to town and ripped out every spine in the whole darn forest!

In Prey, we get to see the very first Predator to ever visit the planet Earth. Naturally, this Predator falters a bit as he observes and studies the strange, exotic lifeforms of a woodland habitat. The Predator quickly learns that Earth’s forests are the perfect hunting grounds for him. The remarkably agile Predator can climb trees effortlessly and bound from tree to tree like a capuchin monkey who’s late for a date. Navigating through trees becomes integral to stalking and evading human prey. The Predator uses trees to outwit fur traders known as French Voyageurs. Armed with muskets and flintlocks, the Voyageurs can barely hit the Predator as he jumps through trees with that ol’ space monster finesse.

The French Voyageurs capture Naru and Taabe and tie them up as bait to lure the Predator. What the Voyageurs haven’t learned is that the Predator doesn’t go after easy prey. What they also haven’t learned is they shouldn’t leave so many steel-jaw bear traps lying around. For starters, if the Predator steps on one, he’s probably going to get mad and throw it at your head. Airborne or not, those traps are pretty dangerous. Out of options, Naru tries a risky, but clever move. Using a rock, she triggers a trap to cut the bonds holding her and her brother. They used a trap to escape a trap. Sheesh, try watching this movie with Admiral Ackbar!

The Predator’s cloaking ability certainly makes him the stealthiest of hunters. However, Naru inadvertently discovers a trick to level the playing field. Naru learned from her mother about a medicinal orange flower called orange tutsia. After giving some of this orange tutsia to an injured Voyageur named Raphael Adolini, the Predator finds them. Because of the orange tutsia, Raphael’s blood runs cold, rendering him invisible to the Predator’s thermal vision. Naru uses this trick later on when she eats the orange tutsia and creates a trap for the Predator. This time, she gets to sneak up on the Predator!

Towards the end of the film, Naru has a bone to pick with Big Beard, the leader of the French Voyageurs. Big Beard tortured Naru’s brother, and Naru makes sure Big Beard gets his comeuppance. She cuts off his leg and uses him to lure the Predator to her. Naru makes herself invisible to the Predator, while angry Big Beard shouts and curses at her. Big Beard is tricked into reaching for his musket, which has no bullets. The Predator arrives and kills Big Beard. This cold-blooded plan exploits both predator and prey, making Naru the invisible threat attacking from the darkness. She shoots the Predator with the flintlock pistol given to her by Raphael Adolini.

Having learned how the Predator’s weaponry works, Naru steals his mask and lays a final trap. She lures him to the mud pit, where she places the mask nearby. With some help from Sarii, she fights the Predator… hunter versus hunter. Their battle is primal, bloody, and ferocious. Naru cuts off his arm, and the Predator nearly decapitates her. Naru ropes him into the mud pit where he tries to shoot her with his arrow. Checkmate. The lasers in the Predator’s mask are aimed directly at him, causing the arrow to boomerang back and kill him instead. All along, as the Predator studied and hunted its prey, Naru studied the Predator and devised a way to hunt him. Clever girl.