Innocent Prey

Australia's addition to the 80s psychotic slasher market, "Innocent Prey" is a surprisingly modest foray by writer / director Colin Eggleston. Who'd be remembered for his eco-horror; "Long Weekend" (1978) and then two years later after prey he gave us the highly stylish supernatural slasher "Cassandra" (1986). It's as customary as you can get, but its selling point would be that of American actress P.J Soles (Halloween, Carrie) taking on the heroine role. For most part of the movie she looks bemused in the face (that's when your eyes are not distracted by her permed hair), but it's no wonder why, as she has two… yep not one but two psychotic nut-jobs that are seeking her attention. These two aren't working together either! One is the perfect husband with a real dark side and the other is a wealthy, loner weirdo who likes to watch.

Living in Dallas Cathy is happily married, well that's how it seems but one night she curiously discovers her husband murdering a prostitute while peeking through a motel window. She aids the police in his arrest, where he's taken to a prison for the criminally insane. Soon he escapes and goes back after her, but after another encounter she decides to move in with her best friend in Australia, Sydney. But here in her new place, might just be another threat in the shape of her new landlord.

The low-budget production is sturdily presentable, as there's nothing too flashy if some professionally expressive camera-work. Other than that it's quite plain, but even during its slow progression Eggleston delivers moments of tension grabbing jolts, more so in the first half and there's no hiding its quite unpleasant in its details. Far from graphic, but it's still sleazy, voyeuristic and suitably uneasy. This tone can be attributed a lot to the creepy performances of Kit Taylor and particularly the sly turn by John Warnock (who has an inventive way to knock some one off) as the psychos. It was an interesting if overblown set-up, especially how it dresses things up before twisting and turning upon itself with the dangers that Soles' character faces and then a smarting closing frame to end on. The soapy hysterics remain elaborately amusing; as it seems to get a lot darker, tighter and even trashier the further it goes along. Some questionable actions shoot up (in regards to Cathy), and the dialogues can be awkwardly goofy. The thing that disappointed me more than anything was Brain May's inconsistently overwrought music score, which simply seemed to be going through the motions.

Soles is simply sub-par in the lead, as her beady character is not all that sympathetic despite the ordeals she finds herself in. The support features some familiar faces; Martin Balsam is likable as the town sheriff and Debi Sue Voorhees as an unlucky prostitute. Also there's decent show-ins by the locals Grigor Taylor, Susan Stenmark and Richard Morgan.

A conventional, but endearing Aussie slasher.

Apparently this little piece of adorable Aussie trash remained shelved for years and only got released in the early nineties; no less than seven years after it was filmed! I honestly don't understand why because, especially in comparison to loads of other 80's slasher duds that I've struggled myself through, "Innocent Prey" really isn't so bad at all. In fact, I can shamelessly admit that I tremendously enjoyed this (semi-)Ozploitation gem and I would recommend fellow slasher/exploitation fanatics to seek it out. The plot is totally bonkers, far-fetched and unrealistic, but that's arguably the main reason why "Innocent Prey" is so easily digestible and amusing! It's more similar to a bad TV soap opera than to a grim contemporary 80's slasher, and it's just that what makes it unique. Dig this: on her way back from dropping her friend at the airport, Dallas girl Cathy Wills spots her husband's convertible at a sleazy roadside motel. She sneaks around the back and glazes through the bathroom window, just in time to witness him slicing the throat of a voluptuous prostitute. Together with the local Sheriff, Cathy sets a trap to apprehend him. But Crazy Joe quickly escapes from the penitentiary and comes back for his treacherous wife. When she narrowly survives another assault, Cathy decides to go live with her friend Gwen in Australia. Not only does her psychopath husband follow her, Cathy also attracts the Down Under lunatics when she gets there. Surely the script is full of holes and improbabilities, but I personally wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Joe all too easily escapes from jail and effortlessly manages to reach Australia, but all these little "defaults" are actually in favor of the movie's fast pacing and brainless entertainment value. The first murder, the throat slicing of the luscious wench Deborah Voorhees, is truly sick and gruesome, but the rest of the film – sadly – isn't very violent and some very important murders even occur off-screen. The twists near the end are ingenious and tongue-in-cheek, but I think they still could have been worked out more effectively. "Innocent Prey" was written and directed by Colin Eggleston, who will certainly be more remembered for his modest eco-horror classic "Long Weekend" (which received a remake in 2008) than for this light-headed slasher adventure.

Tip for cult fanatics: "Innocent Prey" would make a terrific double- feature with Michael Winner's "Scream for Help"; - also from 1984. Both films are trashy, unscrupulous and outrageously amusing soap- opera thrillers that undeservedly ended up in oblivion.

P.J. Soles (sporting a truly atrocious perm) stars as Cathy, a Dallas native recently married to Joe (Kit Taylor), an upstart businessman from New Zealand. She couldn't be happier, but her husband is more focused on closing a business deal. When the deal goes south and he's exposed as a conman, Joe's inner psycho comes out. Cathy witnesses his murder of a hooker (the luscious Debi Sue Voorhees of Friday the 13th: A New Beginning) and turns him in to the police. Once he's put away, Cathy contemplates joining friend, Gwen, in Australia. Joe's subsequent escape from prison finally gets her to take the hint, and she heads down under, where she immediately catches the attention of another lunatic, her voyeuristic landlord, Phillip (John Warnock). Joe is also determined to track her down and finish what he started.

So, we have an Australian slasher partially shot in Dallas and directed by Colin Eggleston... Talk about right up my alley! Indeed, seeing on film the places that you regularly see in real life never gets old. Dallas has changed a lot since the early 80's, but downtown is basically the same. When the story moves to Australia, most of the action is confined to Phillip's estate. We do get a few glimpses of that glorious Australian scenery, brief as they may be. "Innocent Prey" is not on the same level as Eggleston's masterful "Long Weekend", and it's not trying to be, anyway. It is, however, an incredibly fun picture with an underlying playfulness aimed at certain genre conventions, namely that of the final girl. The tone of the film is serious, but you get a sense of the true intent with the habitual victim scenario and that terrific last frame before the credits roll.

P.J. Soles is decent in the film, but she doesn't exactly come across as lead actress material. Of course, it doesn't help that Cathy isn't the brightest heroine to ever grace the genre. Not only is she painted as being quite naive, she can also be truly dense at times. Following his escape, Joe shows up at Cathy's and is chased off by the cops. Two officers stay outside to see if they can find him while Cathy remains inside with a third watching over her. When the policewoman disappears, Cathy calls for her repeatedly before stating "If this is you're idea of a joke, it isn't funny!". As if a cop, who she just met, would prank her, let alone in such a serious situation! Sure, this could be just a furthering of the joke on the final girl, almost as if she's talking directly to the filmmakers for putting her through such hell. That said, in context of the film itself, it just makes her stupid. Aside from that, she's really a bitch towards Phillip before she has any reason to be. No, Cathy is not that likable, but hey, all the more fun to see her deal with the misfortune that plagues her!

The villains fare better. Kit Taylor plays Joe as a leech who switches from his New Zealand accent to a stereotypical Texan drawl when dealing with the good ol' boy oil men. Once he flips out, he has an icy glare. Warnock is also solid as Phillip, the awkward voyeur with a mean streak. He watches his tenants via closed-circuit television cameras hidden all around the house, getting upset when the girls engage in intercourse since he wants them for himself. His "shocking" method of murder may be rather over the top, but that's the point, and it's certainly a unique touch.

Those who watch slashers just to see some bloodshed should look elsewhere. Anyone wanting to view an entry possessing more intelligence than you'd expect, an out there plot and a sense of fun beneath the seriousness should go for it. Think of it as Eggleston's joyous deconstruction of the final girl archetype. It's also a brisk watch at 86 minutes, though the video case mistakenly says 77.

"Innocent Prey" is a sleazy Australian slasher that was shelved for years.I managed to get the copy of this film and I can safely say that it's pretty good.Cathy(P.J.Soles)discovers that her husband Joe brutally murders a prostitute with a razor.She confronts her husband who violently turns on her.Cathy seeks refuge from her friend sheriff Virgil Baker(Martin Balsam).Joe is sent to the state hospital for the criminally insane.Cathy resumes her life but is shocked when she learns that her husband has escaped..."Innocent Prey" offers a nice amount of suspense and bloody violence.The murder of a hooker is surprisingly nasty and gruesome.The acting is decent and the direction is well-handled,unfortunately the climax is rather disappointing.Still the film is enjoyable enough to watch it few times.Recommended.

"Innocent Prey" has a couple of marks against it right from the outset. For one thing, it was filmed in 1984 but not released until 1991. How does that happen? It's not like we're dealing with "Begotten" or something like that with genuinely challenging material that people might not want to touch. And here's the other thing: it's never been released on DVD.

Both of these facts add up to one thing: nobody was happy with the way the movie turned out. And who can blame them? There is something fundamentally wrong with the movie's pacing, and direction. Key scenes and vital information are not underlined, so you don't realise what's supposed to be important, you don't feel what you're supposed to feel - you don't even know what you're supposed to know.

The (ridiculous) plot is about a woman who not only catches her husband mid-coitus with a prostitute - she also witnesses him slicing the woman's throat, and all in the one shot.

This shot is a piece of work. Our heroine peeks through the window and can see the naked prost with her husband standing behind her. She can also see into the hotel room's bathroom mirror, which helpfully reflects to give us a view of her butt. Who said this movie was shabbily directed?

So when our heroine - whose name I never picked up - witnesses her husband slicing the poor lady's throat, she freaks out and runs off to Australia, where the movie gets more lost than Burke and Wills did. Why didn't she just go to the police?

I didn't understand much, or anything, about her life in Australia, and certainly didn't understand the ending. We see that there is a pervert with hidden surveillance cameras in all the rooms of the hotel or whatever it is that the lady stays in. But this is communicated so badly to the viewer that I didn't know what to think.

And then it was over.