A Presa

I always liked natural horror/eco terror genre and who doesn't? With entertaining flicks such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Them! (1954,)Jaws (1975), Prophecy (1979) and more recently Gwoemul (2006), Rogue (2007)etc.

This film also contains a family feud, between generations with a lot of dark undercurrents that is not that common but fuels this thriller and makes it a little less predictable. There are twists and turns that will surprise future viewers and feels more like a play from Eugene O'Neill, Tennesse Williams etc.

When it comes to the genre of pigkiller films, the FX is not bad but could been a little more audience friendly. Even Razorback (1984) gave us better and that movies FX has aged. Compared to Chawu (2009)however, it does not solely rely on CGP(computer generated pork).

The message is common tired old cliché but nevertheless important, profit at any cost even if the environment has to pay a high price. The acting is pretty solid with lots of nice performances from Grégoire Colin, François Levantal, Fred Ulysse, Joseph Malerba etc.

Sometimes it feels like you are watching the disintegration of a family. Add natural horror/eco terror you get a pretty nice mix. But this being a darker, European, genre film don't expect a upbeat, positive tone, this film contains no lighter moments.

While not the greatest effort, it is solid, has some scary moments and is more entertaining then Pig Hunt (2008)and should give any future viewer a good popcorn cinema fest.

Decent enough gore and violence. Its too bad the characters were so unlikable. I might have cared if they got eaten or not.

Hunters become the hunted when they head out into the woods to track down a beast that has been killing the local deer population. A family who own a once successful pesticide company soon realise that it may very well be the side-effects of one of their chemicals that has led to the emergence of giant mutant wild boars.

Prey is another film which makes up part of the cycle of French horror movies which have invigorated the genre since the new millennium. This one goes down a less expected creature-feature route, with the fairly routine idea of a man-made natural disaster being the root cause of the rampaging monsters. There is a fine balance between the family drama and creature feature horror here, with the characters creating as much threat to one and other as the giant pigs. The result is a fairly standard bit of horror in all honesty. This is a sub-genre which is quite well-worn and there isn't anything particularly new brought to the table with this one. That said, it is still a decent enough entry if you like this sort of thing.

A man wanders into his yard to find some deer badly mutilated. Is this somehow related to the nearby chemical plant or a coincidence?

I have to say I enjoyed this movie. While not the greatest, it still had plenty of action, rich characters, a unique story, and amazing special effects. Whoever designed those animals did such an impressive job. I also appreciate the use of not showing things rather than showing them on occasion -- the imagination can fill in blanks nicer than CGI can more often than not.

The romantic interest in this film is Claire, plated by Bérénice Bejo. You may recall Bejo as Christiana from "A Knight's Tale" or more recently as Peppy Miller in "The Artist". Her role is, sadly, rather small... but it was nice to see some noteworthy talent in a movie that otherwise had no names to speak of that I (as an American unfamiliar with French cinema) could recognize.

If you wanted to venture into the world of French horror, this is not a bad place to start (and it makes a nice double feature with "The Pack").

I know this film has received quite a bit of press and discussion on the Wildside forums but for some reason I was at a loss for what this film was about when I first rented it. As it progressed, I got the picture rather quick as Prey doesn't take long at all to jump into the thick of things. It's no surprise (or spoiler) that Prey's killer pigs aren't normal but I probably should warn creature feature fans that these particular piggies aren't of the deformed variety. They do, however, appear to be real deal FX creations (which they reveal sparingly) instead of CG though and that really helped me remain within the film.

The actors all performed admirably but their characters were, in my opinion, rather bland and lacked personality. Not only did they come off flat but their motivations will be disappointingly apparent to astute viewers, leading to a predictability that siphons away some of the impact of the finale. I found myself losing interest in the fates of the characters, even the remotely likable ones, of which there weren't many. There's certainly more than enough tension to hold your attention though and it never lets up, not even for a minute.

Prey is a decent thriller with some gruesome sequences of woodland carnage but it's nothing I could see myself watching again or even purchasing for my personal collection. When it comes to killer pig flicks, it is infinitely superior exercise in suspense than a film like Pig Hunt, which was completely gonzo, but the ecological disaster concept is stale and the entire film lacks replay value for me. Still…not a bad film so give it a shot, you may enjoy it.