Sub-Genre: Suspense, Thriller
U.S. Release Date: 2007
Running Length: 1 hr. 28 min.
MPAA Classification: Unrated (animal violence and some gore)
Cast: Bridget Moynahan, Jamie Bartlett, Conner Dowds, Carly Schroeder, Peter Weller
Director: Darrell James Roodt
Screenplay: Beau Bauman, Jeff Wadlow, Darrell James Roodt
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A father (Peter Weller of RoboCop) takes his family to Africa on a business trip. While he attends to an engineering project, his new wife and kids decide to go on a safari. Frustrated by the lack of visible wildlife, the tour guide ventures off-road. In the middle of nowhere, the youngest child, (Conner Dowds) has to relieve himself. So the guide stops the truck and takes him to a distant bush so he can take care of his business. Suddenly, a group of lions emerge from the brush and kill the guide. The boy manages to make it back to the truck, but the tour guide took the car keys with him. So, the family becomes stranded with hungry lions stalking them outside.
The basic plot of Prey is very similar to the Stephen King novel and 1983 film Cujo, but with ravenous lions, rather than a rabies inflicted St. Bernard. The backdrop of the story involves the tumultuous relationship between the step-mom (Bridget Moynahan of I, Robot and Lord of War) and the daughter (Carly Schroeder of Mean Creek and Firewall).
Overall, I found the movie to be very effective. The lion attacks seemed realistic and brutal. Unlike a supernatural monster movie or the like, the lions as antagonists gave the film a realistic feel. And the plot development had an “It could happen to you” aura, similar to the abandoned divers in the film Open Water.
Director Darrell James Roodt (Dracula 3000) made the best of a simple story with realistic effects, and great use of suspense. The acting performances were exceptional all around, which added to the film’s credibility.
Roodt is to be commended for moving the story along. However, watching people trapped in a vehicle can only be exciting for so long. I would also liked to have seen some use of mis-direction, as it was far too easy to predict the outcome of the story. I find it hard to fear for the lives of the characters in a film when I know who is going to live and who is going to die.
Be that as it may, Prey is a very solid film that is certainly worth the price of a rental. Again, some people who are looking for a more action-paced film might get bored with watching the family trapped in the car. But I suspect most people will find this film an enjoyable thriller.
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