Let Us Prey

The plot of "Let Us Prey" might very well be derivative and predictable (I can already list at least 5 similar titles without even thinking too hard), but debuting writer/director Brian O'Malley nevertheless managed to deliver a compelling, brutal and sinisterly atmospheric horror/thriller. Straight from the eerie opening sequences – with a particular fascination for black birds, by the way – you'll immediately notice that O'Malley must be a tremendous genre lover and definitely knows the classics. The script borrows all kind of ideas and elements from different horror sub genres, from raw 70's grindhouse features to grotesquely silly 80's slashers, but somehow everything neatly and coherently interweaves into a tense and gruesome little film. Liam Cunningham, the extremely charismatic and marvelous actor who previously starred in "Dog Soldiers" and Dario Argento's "The Card Player", is well-cast as the mysterious stranger (complete with beard and clichéd long raincoat) who comes wandering into the police precinct of a quiet and remote Irish community. He seems to know an awful lot about the darkest secrets of everyone that is there – cops as well as petty criminals – and clearly intents to penalize them and mess up their minds beyond repair. It's up to Constable Rachel Heggie, on her very first night at a new location, to deal with the overload of maniacal tendencies that suddenly come to the surface. The Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films promoted "Let Us Prey" as a – and I quote – demonic version of John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13". That is actually a rather apt description, and I can also add the film is properly produced and brings forward impressive special effects, make-up art and a handful of cool stunts. The primarily stern plot makes a couple of absurd loops near the end, including the most derailed serial killer in recent cinema history, and admirers of harsh violence and explicit slaughter certainly won't be disappointed. Cunningham receives good and solid support from the rest of the cast, including powerful females Pollyanna McIntosh (watch "The Woman" if you dare) and Hanna Stanbridge, whom I already admired in the obscure "Outcast" and whose accent makes Irish sound like the sexiest language on earth.

After one of the better opening sequences in any horror movie in recent memory, LET US PREY begins.

A mysterious man (Liam Cunningham- DOG SOLDIERS) heads for the sleepy little town of Inveree, Scotland. Upon his arrival, bizarre occurrences begin taking place.

In the local police precinct house, rookie PC. Rachel Heggie (Pollyanna McIntosh- THE WOMAN) joins the skeleton crew of officers and two inmates for what should be a long, dull night. Right away, we realize that PC. Heggie is the only cop who does her job by the book, while her comrades seem to have never even heard of the book!

When the mystery man arrives at the station, the nightmare unfolds, as he seems to know secrets about everyone around him. Secrets that result in desperate acts and death.

Bleak and sinister, this movie maintains this atmosphere throughout its running time. It also contains some shocks and gruesome revelations. With all other characters as fodder, it's really down to Ms. McIntosh and Mr. Cunningham to carry the film. An excellent supernatural thriller, the gore elements may turn some away, which is a shame since this is a hell of a good movie!...

When director Brian O'Malley introduced his new film, Let Us Prey, via a prerecording in front of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival he informed us that his intention was to make a timeless horror classic. To accomplish this, he set on out to deliver a film that could not be dated (watching Let Us Prey ten years from now and there is nothing in the fashion, look or feel of the film that would immediately reference 2014) and that had a synthesizer styled score reminiscent of the great John Carpenter films of the 1970's and 80's. Check and check.

Let Us Prey stars Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) as Six, a mysterious drifter who is hit by a vehicle driven by Caesar (Brian Vernel) on a quiet town road. Casear is immediately taken into custody by first-day-on-the-job Constable Rachel Heggie (Pollyanna McIntosh), but Cunningham's Six character cryptically disappears. It is while at the police station we are introduced to the remainder of the cast which includes a Sargent, two Constables that are lustfully engaged, a wife beating prisoner and a doctor who is called to assist when Six suddenly appears at the front door of the station.

The veteran Constables and Sargent do not immediately warm up to the by-the-book newbie in Rachel, but their personal feelings towards her routine are quickly swept to the side once Six begins to instigate mayhem in the prison taking over the minds and souls of all those with a dark past to hide. And this is when the fun really starts.

Each character shows a history of violence in their backstories from the simple (hit and run) to the extreme (mass murderer) and when a prior transgression is revealed, Six is there to ensure their life pays for their wrongdoing.

With a backdrop of a fantastic musical score (as promised) there are fights, shootings, beatings, murders and attempted murders as things at the station escalate quickly and deadly for all those involved.

Cunningham is a standout and plays the mysterious Six with devilish glee. The film hinges on Cunningham's character and the well-trained thespian delivers the goods with a Clint Eastwood cool. Pollyanna McIntosh is equal to the task as the freshman fish-out-of-water new Constable. She is equally beautiful and tough and McIntosh walks this line with the ease of a veteran.

The story goes a bit off the rails towards the end as some of the character's revealed background stories and subsequent actions are a bit 'out there'. But it is a means to an end to heighten the violence and give the audience the good time expected from the action/horror intention.

Let Us Prey was a surprise delight and the perfect way to begin winding down the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. It was violent and fun and the ending opened the door to a multitude of possibilities and, hopefully, sequels.

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One of my great pleasures is to see a movie I know nothing about, and have it totally surprise me. The first 1/3 of this movie is odd, I had no idea what was happening, but it sorts it self out and turns into quite a good bloody little quasi-horror. Decent performances, script, direction etc. Check it out, like me you might be pleasantly surprised.🤔👍

...from director Brian O'Malley. It's Rachel's (Pollyanna McIntosh) first night as a policewoman in a new town, and when a mysterious stranger (Liam Cunnigham) is brought into the police station, all Hell breaks loose, and the sins of the prisoners and the police officers come back to haunt them.

There's a lot of style on display, from the music to the moody widescreen cinematography. The performances from the leads Liam Cunningham and Pollyanna McIntosh are very good, and raise the material up a few points. The violence depicted is very graphic, almost to a comical degree at times, and the script could have used a little more polishing, as the mid-section, with frequent time-jumps and location changes, is disorienting. Still, this was better than many of the horror films of recent years, and I enjoyed the ending. Filmed in Scotland and Ireland.