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Jessica
and David's parents have just gotten divorced
and are now forced to come along on a trip to South
Africa together with their father and his new, younger
girlfriend, Amy. While David doesn't mind her, the
teenage daughter, Jessica does not want Amy to be a
part of her family. It really seems as if this vacation
is going to be a catastrophe - but they have no idea.
Amy, Jessica and David soon find themselves trapped
inside a van in the middle of the savannah after a
tour goes wrong, with a bunch of ravenous
lions waiting for them outside.
South Africa has been a popular location for shooting
low-rent creature features as of lately, and after
having just seen Primeval a couple of days ago, I was
a bit sceptical heading into another South African
horror flick about a killer creature. Not too
surprisingly, Prey is, just like Primeval, more of
an action adventure than a horror flick, but at least
this one had the decency to focus on the creatures
which ultimately made this a much more entertaining
ride (if not a bit too predictable).
The creatures used in this creature feature are some
really vicious lions - and not the CGI kind either.
Prey was actually shot with real lions, something
which is very rare for creature features. So not only
do we have an interesting creature here (lions haven't
been used many times in horror movies), but we also
get the real deal which definitely added to the
atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, while the acting
is below average, the script is so well-written that
the lines more or less deliver themselves. This makes
us root for the characters despite the underwhelming
performances. The movie also takes its time to build
up the suspense scenes so you end up sitting at the
edge of your seat for several minutes rather than
just jumping once every here and there (I'm so sick
of those kind of movies).
However, as I mentioned before, I find it difficult
to call Prey a horror movie, because it's not your
typical creature feature. Don't ask me why I feel that
way, I just do. Maybe it's because the lions are
actually real and it feels way too realistic to be
a creature feature, or maybe it's because the body
count just isn't there. We all know who's going to
survive and who's going to die. Either way, Prey is
still a refreshing, yet predictable, creature feature,
even if it is more of an action-adventure than a
horror flick. It's definitely a good way to kill some
time with so if you're into creature features and
sick of Sci-Fi channel productions, Prey might just
be the movie that you're looking for.
A lot of blood splatter, a severed leg, should have
been gorier. Felt like I was watching National
Geographic more or less.
Apart from the typical "vacation" muzak, the score
was powerful and effective. It really added to the
atmosphere of the movie and did a solid job on
delivering the suspense.
Prey might not be the most original movie of the year
but it sure is a whole lot of fun. If you're looking
for a movie about killer lions, Prey is the ultimate
thrill-ride. Had the acting only been better and the
story more terrifying, Prey could have been a great
horror flick. Still, it's definitely worth a watch.
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