‘Prey’ at the Emmys: Big movie could dominate small screen awards

The latest “Predator” spin-off movie, “Prey,” is hunting down a nomination for Best TV Movie at this year’s Emmys. Given the cinematic filmmaking on display combined with the enthusiastic reviews for the flick, it would have been a strong Oscar contender. That pedigree is why it currently sits in joint second in our odds chart for Best TV Movie alongside “Fire Island.” In top spot is “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” while the other two predicted nominees are “Hocus Pocus 2” and “Jerry and Marge Go Large.” “Prey” has the gravitas and cinematic weight, however, to emerge top of that crowded pack.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, “Prey” follows Amber Midthunder in 1719 as Naru, a warrior of the Comanche Nation who is forced to protect her tribe from one of the very first Predators to ever land on Earth. The film is a tight, taut, practice in tension and features some of the best work in the “Predator” franchise in a long while — and critics agreed.

James Dyer of Empire went so far as to call it the best “Predator” movie since the first one, writing that it has a “ferocious heroine, authentic period setting, and a bloody string of inventive action beats.” And Belen Edwards of Mashable wrote that the movie is “intimate and character-driven, with more than enough action to satisfy the most die-hard ‘Predator’ fans… even if you’ve never watched a Predator movie, chances are you’ll love ‘Prey.’ It’s just that good.”

Rolling Stone’s David Fear called the movie a “long-awaited masterpiece,” writing: “this prequel manages to capture the spirit of that Schwarzenegger original while completely rejiggering and deepening the ‘Most Dangerous Game’ notion at the center of it all. It instantly establishes itself as a series highlight.” Fear also noted that while the movie was a straight-to-Hulu project due to it being a Fox property (Fox was taken over by Disney), it still feels cinematic: “Prey is most definitely a large movie, with widescreen vistas and rippling special effects and more than a couple of moments designed to turn an audience into one collectively gasping mass.”

The “Predator” franchise, like the MCU or “Star Wars,” has a built-in fan base. “Prey” was the most-watched premiere across film and TV on Hulu in the USA while it was also the most-watched program across all streaming services during the week of August 12, 2022 and the most-watched movie in the USA during the week of August 5, 2022.

So, with those sorts of figures on streaming services alone, could it have done just as well in cinemas? And if did, it would have qualified for the Oscars just gone. The visual effects, sound, Jeff Cutter‘s cinematography, the production design by Amelia Brooke and Kara Lindstrom, and its make-up could all have been nominated.

“Prey” could show up in several of the equivalent Emmy categories. Here’s a full list of the categories that the TV movie competes in:

• Best TV Movie
• Best Actress in a TV Movie/Limited Series — Amber Midthunder
• Best Directing in a TV Movie/Limited Series — Dan Trachtenberg
• Best Writing in a TV Movie/Limited Series — Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison
• Best Cinematography in a TV Movie/Limited Series — Jeff Cutter
• Best Period Costumes or Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes (TBD) — Stephanie Portnoy Porter
• Best Period and/or Character Make-Up (Non-Prosthetic)
• Best Editing in a TV Movie/Limited Series — Claudia Castello and Angela M. Catanzaro
• Best Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) — Amelia Brooke and Kara Lindstrom
• Best Sound Editing in a TV Movie/Limited Series
• Best Sound Mixing in a TV Movie/Limited Series
• Best Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie
• Best Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

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