The ninth instalment of the science fiction franchise Predator has just landed in cinemas. Starring Elle Fanning, Predator: Badlands has been well received so far, unlike some of its predecessors, particularly the 2018 film which was a box office flop.

Fans of the series, which kicked off in 1987 with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Major Dutch Schaefer battling an alien hunting humans for sport, might want to refresh their memory of the backstory by tuning into the lesser-known prequel, Prey, airing on Film 4 tonight. Released in 2022 and featuring Amber Midthunder as young Comanche hunter Naru fighting to save her tribe, it became an unexpected critical hit and was the most viewed film in the US on Hulu and Disney Plus.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and set in 1719 in the Northern Great Plains, the film serves as the prequel to the rest of the franchise. Naru is striving to prove herself and shield her tribe from French fur traders who are threatening the local buffalo population they depend on for survival.

However, there’s also a brutal humanoid alien hunting her people.

Prey was the first Hollywood franchise film to feature an all-Native American cast and the only film to have a full Comanche (the language of the indigenous people of the southern Great Plains in the US) dub with the cast reprising their roles, reports the Mirror.

The prequel proved enormously popular with cinema-goers, with many claiming it exceeded the original and ranked as the finest instalment in the series. “Prey lives up to high expectations, being the first movie in the Predator saga to come close to or even surpass the original. Amber Midthunder delivers one of the best performances of her career,” one viewer said on Rotten Tomatoes, where the film achieved an impressive 94% rating.

A second viewer agreed, writing: “Easily the best film in the Predator franchise since the original, this prequel is brilliantly directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, with a home run of a star turn by Native American actor Amber Midthunder.”

Meanwhile, a third viewer applauded the film for revitalising the franchise: “The Predator franchise has new life thanks to Prey. The film works on a multitude of levels as a perfect prequel, monster movie, sci-fi flick, a badass heroine story, and win for Native representation and portrayals.”

Prey airs on Film 4 at 9pm tonight, Thursday 13 November.