Director: Darrell Roodt
Writer: Darrell Roodt, Beau Bauman, Jeff Wadlow (Screenplay)
Starring: Bridget Moynahan, Peter Weller, Carly Schroeder, Jamie Bartlett, Conner Dowds, Marius Roberts, Muso Sefatsa, Jacob Makgoba
Plot: An American family on holiday in Africa becomes lost in a game reserve and stalked by lions.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Stupid People and Lions
Story: Prey starts when American family father Tom (Weller), new wife Amy (Moynahan) and his children Jessica (Schroeder) and David (Dowds) go to Africa for a family holiday which also happens to be for Tom’s work. There is still tension between Amy and Jessica which this trip is meant to ease as Jessica still misses her mother.
When Amy, Jessica and David go on a safari trip they don’t seem to see any animals until they go off road and the ‘expert’ guide Brian (Roberts) stop for a toilet break only to not check the area which is infested with lions leading to the group getting attacked and the three being trapped in the car against the king of the jungle waiting to hunt them down. Finding out his family is missing Tom is desperate to find him which comes from local tracker Crawford (Bartlett).
Prey is a film that really just annoyed me a lot mainly because all the characters constantly make stupid decisions. So much of this film didn’t need to happen if the characters acted like normal people it is as simple as that, I really don’t want to get into too much details but I feel I have to. Wouldn’t you go to the toilet before you go on safari (whenever I was that age the first question was do you need to go before going on long journeys), if he is an expert why didn’t he fire a shot to see what animals were around as he left the car? Sure this would make sense (not shot at anything just up). I am getting tired of talking about this film because there are too many bad decisions to go through.
Actor Review
Bridget Moynahan: Amy Newman is the new wife of Tom, she is trying to make everything work with his children however much Jessica is trying to push her away. While on the safari with the children they become trapped surrounded by lions which leads her to step up and have to protect them from the danger. Bridget doesn’t really get going in this role or really suit it either.
Peter Weller: Tom Newman is the husband and father of the children who has taken his family to Africa for part holiday and part work, he is left helpless when his family goes missing in the safari leading him to turn to rangers and tracker Crawford for help. Peter doesn’t really do too much in this role where he struggles to get going.
Carly Schroeder: Jessica Newman is the teenage daughter of Tom who doesn’t want to spend time with Amy as she misses her real mother, she doesn’t care about the holiday and would rather play on her phone than see the animals in the wild. Carly does a bad job here but I might be that I just hated her annoying character.
Jamie Bartlett: Crawford is the hunter that is estranged in the area that is the last resort for Tom to turn to when his family goes missing. Crawford is very much all about himself with his action which show he is the best man for the job. Jamie should be a lot darker than portrayed as we never really learn enough about his character who should be interesting.
Conner Dowds: David Newman is the youngest child on the holiday and his youthful enthusiasm is easy to see through the trip. He is the one that wants to go to the toilet while on the tour which leads to the events that happen. Connor well it is his character’s fault for everything.
Support Cast: Prey has a small supporting cast that is mostly used as disposable for the lions.
Director Review: Darrell Roodt – Darrell doesn’t really give us a film that is worth watching because it really is just a series of bad decisions.
Adventure: Prey tries to put you into an adventure but really isn’t good enough.
Horror: Prey puts us under attack from the lions but that is it not scary if you are sensible in the first place.
Thriller: Prey doesn’t pull you in enough because you simply don’t care about these characters.
Settings: Prey puts you in the middle of the safari zone with nowhere to run which should be great but it never feels that isolated.
Special Effects: Prey has basic effects when it comes to the lion attacks and kills nothing good enough.
Suggestion: Prey is easily one to say miss. (Miss)
Best Part: The credits means it is over.
Worst Part: The decisions
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
Tagline: The Hunt Begins
Overall: The ABC of bad decisions
Rating
