Prey! – Movie Review
Director: Mukunda Michael Dewil (Vehicle 19)
Writer: Mukunda Michael Dewil (Screenplay)
Cast
- Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions)
- Emile Hirsch (The Autopsy of Jane Doe)
- Mena Suvari (Hunt Club)
- Mohamed Hakeemshady (Triple Frontier)
- Tristian Thompson (Collide)
- Michaela Sasner (Deltopia)
Plot: A young couple is compelled to leave their Christian missionary station in the Kalahari Desert after being threatened with death by an extremist militant gang. After crashing their aircraft they must battle man and beast for their lives.
Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Prey! Starts when Andy (Phillippe) and Sue (Suvari) must abandon their Christian Missionary post in Africa when their lives come under threat. Their escape is with shady smuggler Grun (Hirsch) who has strict rules for people to follow. However, the flight crash lands in the middle of a big game reserve surrounded by the deadliest hunters in Africa.
Sue is trapped in the wreckage, which sees Andy decide to wait with her. Meanwhile, Grun leads the others to safety, with the hope of sending back a rescue team. It becomes a race against time, as the predators are preparing for night when they can come out to hunt.
Verdict on Prey!
Prey! Is an action thriller following a group of plane crash survivors who find themselves in a big game reserve. They must figure out how to survive the predators waiting to pick them off, but time is running out.
This survival thriller looks to channel the same magic the Idris Elba lead ‘Beast’ did. Sadly, it doesn’t achieve this because it holds too much back. Even if it has a couple of surprise moments, nearly everything happens off-camera and it is more the reaction to what happened. All the promise of needing to survive against big game predators turns into a movie without any intensity to talk about. A series of characters we never learn enough about and decisions that make no sense. It is disappointing because this looked like it was going to be a lot of fun.
Where to Watch
Prey! is available on Digital Platforms and DVD 29 April. Distributed by Signature Entertainment.
Final Thoughts – Prey! Fails to land the promising concept without bringing any intensity to the situation.