Space Prey - Der Kopfgeldjäger

Full disclosure - Sandy Collora and I go way back, and have been struggling film makers for most of our adult lives. Also, I was not that big of a fan of "Batman: Dead End" - you throw The Joker, a Predator, and an Alien into a short film and show it at Comic Con and the fanboys were bound to loose their minds. However, I thought the trailer for "World's Finest" rocked - it looked like a trailer for an actual feature and was far more refined than "Dead End", at least in my opinion.

As a filmmaker, you dread watching a friend's movie because if the movie sucks, you don't know what on earth you will say. Well, after finishing "Hunter Prey", I breathed a big sigh of relief because the movie is good, solid and strong all the way through. It looks and feels and sounds like a movie shot in the late 60's or 70's, and I mean that in a good way - the compositions are widescreen and flawless, the story is character-driven, and the effects are used when needed. The music is also rich and orchestral, a feature sorely lacking in most low-budget features. The movie takes an inspirational page out of "Planet of the Apes" and goes from there.

I won't give away any plot details, but don't go into this looking for rock-'em sock-'em "Avatar" action - this movie is mature and evenly paced, and uses its wares sparingly, surprising and twisting as it goes. If you are looking for gore or an "in your face" music- video style, go rent a modern horror re-make. But if you like kickin' your Sci-Fi old-school, then the line for "Hunter Prey" forms to the left.

Good job, Sandy!!

What a surprise treat this film was. Throwback to the old school style of film making when directors needed talent and imagination to make these kinds of movies, not millions of dollars. HUNTER PREY is an example of what can accomplished on a very limited budget, with two actors on basically one location. It's easy to make big budget, tent pole, summer blockbusters when you have a hundreds of people, millions of dollars and movie stars. I'd like to see just one of those big studio directors make something from nothing, get blood from a turnup and bring a world to life with only raw talent and there two hands. This director is a real artist who knows how to tell a compelling story with visually arresting imagery. 10/10

Hunter Prey is living, breathing comic strip, lifted almost panel for panel, straight out of the pages of the European Heavy Metal magazine. Everything from the brilliant, understated simplicity of the story and characters to the vibrant color palette is inspired by great comic artists such as Jean Giraud, Enki Bilal, and Phillipe Drulliet. It is refreshing to see a film that so wonderfully captured the starkness and desolate reality of the landscape without the dreadful, MTV type editing or overbearing imagery thrown at the viewer, utilizing the sparse nature of the dialogue, letting the visual imagery tell story. The only down side to that of course, is that American audiences will not understand the subtleties and undercurrents of this marvelous piece of work. In the world of American cinema dominated by the Michael Bays and James Camerons of the world, it was delightful to see such subtle and artistically driven sensibilities especially from an American director. While most have cited "Star Wars" as the inspiration for this film, I see much more of a French new wave and Japanese influence. It has the European artistic qualities and the Japanese, Kurasawa elements to the story. If you're a fan of seventies fantasy art, or the old Metal Hurlant comic strips, you will absolutely fall in love with Hunter Prey.

What a relief a movie like Hunter Prey is in this world of grade Z "SyFy channel" entertainment. The focus on this movie is not on special effects (although they are excellent) but on character and story which sadly isn't the norm.

Above average in this film are the cinematography and score, which gives the film the appearance of being big budget. The film itself feels like it was shot in the 1970s, I mean this in a positive way as it takes it's time to develop the characters and stories.

Hunter Prey is the kind of science fiction movie we don't get enough of, one that puts the substance over the style.

They have the same budgets, and probably more. Hunter Prey is just the kind of thing that channel should be filled with, but instead all we get is silly, dimwitted, fodder designed for nothing beyond a Saturday evening with beer and burgers. I hope to god this film doesn't wind up on SyFy. Hunter Prey was better than some genre films I've seen that even got a theater showing. It has all the right elements that make a good science fiction film. Great characters and production design, beautiful cinematography, lots of aliens and a good story. What more can you ask for? Hunter Prey delivers the goods and left me wanting more. Bring on the sequel!