7 Historical Creature Movies to Watch After PREY
Prey has become a massive hit (at least on my Twitter timeline) for Disney and I started to think about other historical-influenced movies that featured some sort of monster. It would be way too obvious to mention all of the comic books and the actual Predator expanded universe that includes the games/movies/and books that show Predators hunting all over human history. We even saw Danny Glover get gifted a pistol at the end of Predator 2 that made another appearance in Prey.
Add it to the list of things that Prey and director Dan Trachtenberg did really well, but let’s take a quick look at some other historical films that included some monsters not cool enough to be called Predators.
Wolf, 2019 Roman Legionnaires VS Werewolves
It could have easily been the coolest movie on this list just for the idea of a group of Roman soldiers fighting against wolf people in the frontier-land of Britannia. I liked the idea when I watched Wolf and I love it even more now. The sad part is that the movie failed to deliver even though the premise was kickass. Maybe a post-Prey rewatch is needed?
Brotherhood of the Wolf, 2001 French gov’t agents battle beast in 18th Century France
Anyone who has stumbled upon this site for the first time won’t know about my unending love for Brotherhood of the Wolf. It is what I enjoy most about action/historical movies and I’m not afraid to say it almost makes me want to learn the French language. Mark Dacascos might not be a true Native American but he sure as shit kicks some serious ass as one! I watch this one often to remind me just how cool the blending of fantasy and history can be when done by some real ballers.
Outlander, 2008 Future warrior teams up with Vikings to fight an alien menace
It’s safe to say that Jim Caviezel has burned a few bridges with his opinions but his attempt at a more badass 13th Warrior (with some future shit thrown in) was an absolute knockout for me. The Showtime television series with the same name had way more naked chicks in it, but I don’t recall anyone every interacting with legendary actor John Hurt before cleaving a massive creature to death in it.
The Head Hunter, 2018 Medieval badass wants revenge on a child-killing monster
It isn’t quite Beowulf but The Head Hunter is as Death Metal a movie as I can imagine. It’s an atmospheric ride into some dark shit and that isn’t even including all of the severed heads this dude sticks to his living room wall.
The Great Wall, 2016 White dudes help Chinese soldiers defend The Great Wall from creatures
I thought his movie was a whole lot of fun. Of course, you must go into it with the understanding that it will be totally ridiculous and that Matt Damon will have a ponytail, but as soon as you accept those two things you will be able to have fun with it. The Great Wall has some excellent CGI-riffic battle scenes and a cool duo in Damon/Pedro Pascal. Just don’t take it too seriously….
The Burrowers, 2008 Wild West settlers VS underground creatures (not Tremors)
Clancy Brown does his best to make this film more watchable it is far better than it has any right to be. The creatures aren’t as cool as the Graboids but the film is also much better than any Tremors movie set in the Old West.
Kingdom, 2019 Korean dynasty VS hungry zombies
A series that I really enjoyed on Netflix over the past couple of years is Kingdom. Historically new, since I don’t know much about Korean history, and also involving shitloads of zombies, Kingdom kicks a serious amount of ass no matter which side of the planet you live on.
Prey, 2022 Native Americans VS the greatest cinematic monster of all time
The film that got me thinking about this subject in the first place and one hell of a Predator movie. I’d probably still place it behind the first two Predator films in my ranking but a massive improvement over any Predator movie over the past 30 years. American Indians using their skills of tracking and hunting against one of the ultimate killing machines in the universe. Prey delivers in a big way.