Tamal Kundu
Set in the Northern Great Plains in September 1719, Hulu’s ‘Prey’ is a spellbinding story of courage and strength. Naru (Amber Midthunder) of the Comanche tribe is a gifted tracker and intuitive hunter and seeks to prove her worth among other hunters of her clan, including her brother, Taabe. Naru’s dog Sarii is her trusted companion on every hunt. When Taabe becomes the War Chief of her clan after killing the cougar that had built its nest nearby, Naru becomes envious. She also thinks the real danger, the one that spooked the cougar, is still out there. So, she ventures out to hunt down the creature with just Sarii as her companion. If you are wondering whether Sarii lives or dies in ‘Prey,’ we got you covered.
Does the Dog Die?
No, Sarii doesn’t die in ‘Prey.’ After leaving the safety of her clan, Naru quickly realizes that she might have bitten off more than she can chew. She first gets stuck in a swamp and nearly dies by sinking into it. After she manages to extract herself from the death trap, she encounters a grizzly bear and tries to kill it. Instead, she ends up drawing the attention of the beast. Fortunately for her, Sarii engages the grizzly and draws it away from her, albeit temporarily. Eventually, the Predator arrives and kills the grizzly.
In the course of the film, Naru matures as a person and a hunter. One of the ways she demonstrates this is by being the rescuer when Sarii gets captured by the French fur trappers. In the climactic scene, Naru brings down the Predator itself with Sarii’s help. They return to their clan, with the Predator’s head as their prize. In the credits, the arrival of other Predators is depicted in cave painting-esque graphics. We can see Naru and Sarii in one corner, standing defiantly. If they ever make a sequel, Sarii is likely to appear in it as well.
What Kind of Dog Is It?
In real life, Sarii is a female Carolina Dog named Coco. The breed was originally landrace or domesticated and locally adapted, but later became feral and was eventually discovered in the wild. Carolina Dogs shares genetic admixture with east Asiatic dog breeds.
According to Midthunder and director Dan Trachtenberg, Coco was quite a handful on the set of ‘Prey.’ “I love that dog [Coco] with my whole heart and soul,” Midthunder said in a press conference. “It was rough. You know, this dog, I don’t know where she came from. They got her like two months before this movie. And she had so much energy. Her name is Coco. So much of Coco being around was her like, running wild, and doing laps and like just so excited to see everybody all the time. So like, for me personally, she was a dream. For like making a movie, you know, the character of Sarii is very different from the character of Coco, and that shows what a good filmmaker Dan is.”
Trachtenberg stated that they put all usable footage of Coco in the film, adding that it was important for them to have a time-accurate dog, “… she [Coco] was awesome. And the challenge, as Amber stated, was it’s a dog that we believe is accurate to the time and Carolina dog they’re called. And it’s not like they’ve been training this dog for years like they do most movie dogs, you know? So, we had to do the best with what we could. And it worked out, thankfully,” the ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ director stated.
