The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus – Action Packed
Director: Cire Hensman, Matthew Hensman
Writer: Matthew Hensman (Screenplay) Gustavo Sainz de la Pena (Story)
Starring: Danny Trejo, Nick Chinlund, Kevin Grevioux, Masika Kalysha, Justin Arnold, Matt Musgrove
Plot: A Platoon of U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan searching for Taliban become trapped in a cave and are hunted down by a deadly creature.
Tagline – Prey for the Hunted…
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus starts as Vega (Trejo), Tagger (Chinlund) and Reid (Grevioux) are completing a heist in Afghanistan, when a U.S platoon arrive at the scene confused about why there are no residents in the village, coming under attack.
Tagger and Reid have been hiding out in a cave waiting to be picked up, which will see the surviving members of the platoon Paine (Divine), Chen (Chu), Sullivan (Musgrove), Dominquez (Vargas) Griffin (Arnold), Lake (Kalysha) and others, trapped in the cave, needing to search for a new way out, only to find themselves needing to fight back against a deadly creature lurking in the cave.
Thoughts on The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus
Characters & Performances – Tagger is one of the military thieves operating through Afghanistan, looking to work with his team to profit of the ongoing war, he is waiting in the cave for the next stage of the operation, when the platoon get trapped in them with him, forcing him to take control. He is short tempered, with his motivations being about looking after himself and his money more than anything else. Reid is the other member of the team that is in the fight, usually bringing a calming presence to the confrontation the two sides have. Griffin is the leader of the platoon, he wants his platoon out safely and will push the limits to make this happen, accepting to work with Tagger to get out the cave alive. Lake is the only female member of the unit, she proves to be tougher than most of the men we meet, understanding both sides approach to getting out alive. Most of the rest of the platoon are filling the generic roles of the movie, often jumping into stereotypical characters. When it comes to the performances Nick Chinlund and Kevin Grevioux fill the tough guy roles well, while the younger cast sees Masika Kalysha take the shining performance in the film.
Story – The story here will follow two military teams needing to put their differences aside to figure out a safe way to escape a cave in Afghanistan, after they become trapped, with one team looking to get the gold out, the other is trying to keep the peace, only for them to find themselves needing to fight back against a deadly creature living in the cave. This story will create the tension between the two sides, having them needing to put their differences aside to make it out, where we often do see them clashing. The need to survive is the driving force behind the story, keeping this aspect simple, as we turn to the creature feature side of the movie, which adds to the race to survive.
Themes – The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus is an action survival horror, that will use the military action side of the characters, be it from a first battle, to navigating the cave system they find themselves within. The horror comes from what is within the cave system, with the creature hunting them down, which is often kept away from a full screen appearance, letting the reactions do the shock of the appearance of the creature. The cave system will help make for a tight claustrophobic atmosphere in the movie, making each corner feel like it could be dangerous.
Final Thoughts – The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus is fun action packed horror.