Prey star Amber Midthunder loves proving film's haters wrong: 'People can eat their words'

Prey star Amber Midthunder is well aware some thought her new movie would be "super woke," but she's proud to have proven the naysayers wrong.

The Predator prequel debuted on Hulu earlier this month. Set in the early 1700s, the film follows Naru (Midthunder), a Comanche woman who seeks to prove herself as a warrior. When she comes face-to-face with the most deadly Predator of all, a dramatic cat-and-mouse chase ensues throughout the Northern Great Plains.

Despite the film becoming Hulu's biggest release ever and garnering excellent reviews — the movie holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — some viewers grumbled that the premise was a bit unbelievable: How can a Native American woman take on a towering 7-foot alien hunter?

"People are always going to say stuff, but that's just noise," Midthunder, 25, told PEOPLE. "Honestly, those people have no idea what they're talking about. First of all, I feel really proud of our movie and I think [director] Dan [Trachtenberg] is an incredible filmmaker. He has made something that people can eat their words over."

David Bukach/Hulu Amber Midthunder as Naru in 'Prey'

She continued: "I think a lot of people thought our movie would be some super woke, F-the-patriarchy kind of a story, and that's not what it's about at all. It's not a girl defying what men say she can and can't do. It's literally an individual who feels called to something and the people who know her don't think that is her calling. That is so much more personal and, I think, as the character, harder to deal with than anything."

During the filming process, Midthunder — who is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe — was very focused on how the movie represented "Indigenous people and what that might mean or how people might receive that or feel about being represented by it." As a result, she took the opportunity to learn more about the Comanches.

"People don't know a lot about native history. Period. So they don't know what kind of warriors we were. There are people who don't even know that there are different tribes or languages," she explained. "So already that's coming from a place of ignorance. Then you look at it and you go, 'Oh no, man. Comanche were really, really great warriors. They were known for being some of the fiercest warriors of all. And they did have female-warrior society, so there were women that fought and hunted. So yeah, I think you look at that and you just [tell yourself], 'Alright, whatever, people are always going to say stuff.' I'm proud of what we did."

Aside from a few haters, Midthunder is receiving plenty of praise for her performance. Even Jesse Ventura, star of the original Predator film, tweeted, "Prey. Great, great, film. Amber Midthunder you definitely ain't got time to bleed. Welcome to the Predator family. Danny Trachtenberg, Thank you for making a such a thoughtful, creative, and wonderful film."

Prey is now streaming on Hulu.

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