Prey

Call me crazy, but a pride of lions being the pinnacle of evil instead of the usual axe-wielding psycho is kind of refreshing. That's where the good stuff I have to say about this one ends. I think this movie is actually the director's cut of the Lion King...you know, the violent part of Simba's life that couldn't be shown in a Disney movie.

This movie is almost like a real-life version of movies like Anaconda, Jaws or Cujo where innocent people are being stalked by a predatory animal that is purely bent on killing them. Like I've already noted, I really like the idea. Being out in the middle of nowhere and not at the top of the food chain is a scary thought to me...which is why this movie sparked my interest.

However, it didn't deliver like I hoped for. Check it out if you'd like but don't get your hopes too high.

Prey should be retitled The Stupid Family Goes to Africa. If one took this film seriously, which would be a mistake, one could say that this dysfunctional family was responsible for the deaths of several persons who would have been just fine if this family hadn't come to the Dark Continent to make it even darker. Knowing nothing about the private lives of lions, I can guess that the plot was probably highly inaccurate as I cannot imagine why a pride of lions would set their sights on these silly people when there are lots of zebra and wildebeest running around. As I sat open-mouthed(with awe at the lousy direction) waiting for the ending, I felt certain that a film this bad would have to end with one of the most offensive of movie clichés and indeed it did when Peter Weller said, "Let's go Home." This is what I would have said at the beginning of the movie if I had seen it in a theater.

Judging from the reviews here, I didn't expect much so I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. In a cold winter evening in Sweden it can be pretty nice to see a movie set in the beautiful South African landscape. The story is not much to say about. It's basically "Cujo" but with lions instead of a St Bernard Dog. By far not a great movie, but a pretty entertaining and exciting 90 minutes. Seen to the budget the movie looks pretty good. The acting is also OK, but it could have been a better movie if the script would have been more believable. But that is often the case with this type of movies and it didn't bother me that much.

Not bad of a movie! Still, has a lot of common with Cujo, the Stephen King adaption. Attacks of big pussycats (okay, there had to be some kind of difference, wasn't there) on a car (jeep) where a woman (duuuuhhh) is trapped with her child (in this case children)... No way out, no food, no drinks... dehydration near... damn... The lions did their job fantastic! And I must say the stepmother was not bad of an actress... only thing I found a bit exaggerated... three hunters (by all means) are killed... and each time they get to kill at least one lion but still another takes revenge... The Male Lion is the real actor in this movie! The way he blew up in that jeep... great! All by all, not a bad movie, but had no new elements! It's worth a Seven, I won't give it more, but certainly won't give it less either!

True story or not (and I'm sure plenty of the facts are manipulated) There is nothing in Prey that we have not seen before. Its generic formula and a certain lack of credibility/scientific accuracy certainly do some damage but they don't make the movie unwatchable.

It certainly could have been worse. For a start, it places a certain value on character, something that many b-movies care little for. There is no obvious reason why we should be rooting against the Newman family, who get screwed while on an African safari.. Their guide is attacked and killed by a lion while escorting the youngest Newman on a pee break. The hapless family is forced to hide and wait in the lousy little tour jeep, until Mr. Newman shows up (he's working construction on a local dam) Meanwhile, three hungry lions are waiting patiently outside.

So the film doesn't have us disregarding the protagonists, that's a start. another advantage is the lions being real. There is no five cent CGI in this picture to distract us. Well, some of the blood is clearly digital, but most of it is make up. The movie does have it's share of gore, yet nothing too unrealistic or severely overdone. Prey is shot in a heavily saturated colour scheme and because blood is the only red in the film, it really stands out. (although it is certainly not the only film to try this). The acting quality is nothing to be proud of, but it suspends disbelief enough. As long as it doesn't sound like the characters are reading off a teleprompter, I'm fine with that.

So where then does the movie go wrong, well in the same way that many of these films have, it has been done before. Prey is one in a million, and the only possible distinction for one to see is its protagonists being a lion, not a common creature feature creature. If lions sound interesting, my recommendation would be the Ghost in the Darkness.