Prey (2019) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie takes place on a remote tropical island off the coast. Key locations include a derelict missionary outpost, a burned church, and a lighthouse that anchors important scenes. The island features dense jungle, rocky coastline, and a surviving group of missionaries' settlement, creating a secluded environment far from modern civilization.

• remote island
• tropical island
• setting
• missionary outpost
• lighthouse
• jungle

The story unfolds in the present day. The narrative incorporates a modern behavioral rehabilitation program alongside a perilous island survival ordeal. The island's backstory includes historical events like the missionaries' conflict with locals, but the main timeline is contemporary.

• present day
• contemporary
• time period
• modern era

The film explores three major themes. Survival is central, as characters face hunger, danger, and isolation on the hostile island. Transformation drives the story through Madeleine's dual nature, appearing human but harboring a feral, possessed monster within. Secrets shape the narrative, with hidden histories about the island's past and the missionaries' conflict revealing how buried truths influence present actions.

• themes
• survival
• transformation
• secrets
• identity
• possession

Madeleine is a sixteen-year-old girl who has lived her entire life on the isolated island. She appears as a skilled survivor adept at living off the land, but she harbors a dark secret, she is possessed by a feral, monstrous force. This dual nature makes her both protective and deadly, shifting between acting as a protector and a predator depending on her internal struggle.

• madeleine
• character
• possessed girl
• monster
• feral

Toby Burns is the main protagonist, a high-school senior who enters a behavioral rehabilitation program after his father's murder. He is dropped onto the remote island as part of the program and must use his resourcefulness and wits to survive. Throughout the story, he becomes increasingly aware of the island's dangers and the true nature of Madeleine.

• toby burns
• protagonist
• main character
• rehabilitation

The transformation theme explores how trauma and dark supernatural forces erode identity. Madeleine represents this concept directly, she appears human on the surface but is internally consumed by a feral, possessed nature. The island itself acts as a mirror to her inner chaos, reflecting her shift between protector and predator. Her evolving relationship with Toby highlights this internal battle.

• transformation
• identity
• possession
• dark forces
• character arc

The island serves as a vault of hidden histories. The backstory involves a conflict between missionaries and local inhabitants, which led to violence and tragedy. Madeleine's mother has guarded the truth about her daughter's monstrous nature and the killings that occurred. These buried secrets ultimately shape the present-day actions and loyalties of the characters.

• island secrets
• backstory
• missionaries
• hidden history
• madeleine's mother

Madeleine's Mother is a protective figure who guards her daughter and conceals the truth about the island's horrors. She reveals to others that Madeleine is the monstrous force behind the killings on the island. Her primary goal is to shield the outside world from discovering her daughter's true nature until she is fatally wounded, which catalyzes the final confrontation.

• madeleine's mother
• protective mother
• character role
• keeper of secrets

The movie blends modern survival challenges with ancient rituals and supernatural elements. The tropical island setting juxtaposes contemporary therapy sessions and a rehabilitation program with dangerous, primitive conditions and dark spiritual forces. The world combines realistic island survival, jungle, coastline, limited resources, with the ancient and mysterious presence of possession and ritual.

• world building
• setting atmosphere
• supernatural
• survival world
• island environment

The film maintains a consistently dark and intense tone throughout. It moves from a survival situation to the psychological terror of discovering the threat is a possessed girl. There is no humor or romance to lighten the mood. The emotional weight is heavy, dealing with trauma, grief, and the horror of a child turned monster. The bleak atmosphere is reinforced by the isolated island setting and constant sense of danger.

• tone
• mood
• dark horror
• atmospheric
• intense
• emotional weight