Deadliest Prey

Whenever a belated sequel to a "so bad it's good"-classic gets released, I start fearing what I call the "Birdemic"-effect. Directors who have accidentally obtained a cult status by being really terrible often start being really terrible on purpose, completely ruining their magic. I'm glad to say David A. Prior isn't one of those directors. "Deadliest Prey" is 100% serious, 100% genuine and 100% laughable. In many ways it's actually even more entertaining than its original. It definitely looks better, the special effects are upped a notch (not a fan of CGI, but the first one was almost completely bloodless), the dialogues are...slightly better and the fights are...slightly more realistic. Apart from that, this is pretty much the same movie as "Deadly Prey". The plot (so to speak) develops exactly like in the first one, right down to the smallest details. Five minutes in you think oh, almost the same opening scene as the first. That's kinda lazy, bring on the new stuff! Then Danton gets kidnapped while taking out the garbage, and then they tell him to "RUN!", and then he leaves someone alive if he tells him what's going on and then just kills him anyway. Oh what's next, they're going to kidnap his wife and he'll find the female henchman (henchwoman?)in his house? Thornton is ready to kill him but Hogan wants him alive because otherwise the movie's over too soon? Oh, both these things also happen? Well, I'm sure they're not cutting someone's arm off ag...this is a remake, pure and simple. But a nice remake, with a heart and a better pace than the original. It adds nothing, but it's still worth seeing.

Colonel Hogan(David Campbell)is back after 27 years of rotting in prison and he surely is very very angry.He gets released and immediately seeks out his revenge on Mike Danton(Ted Prior),extremely skilled soldier and total killing machine,the star of "Deadly Prey"(1987).But this time Hogan want to broadcast his revenge over the Internet.The cameras in the woods are filming every moment of carnage as Mike Danton kills dozens of armed soldiers via Rambo-like traps and his deadly weapons."Deadliest Prey" is very watchable and vastly entertaining action/survival flick with plenty of mindless violence.Prior still looks as menacing as ever and Campbell is delightfully over-the-top as the main villain.Three hackers are quite annoying,though.Overall,pretty cool homage to "Deadly Prey".8 severed arms out of 10.

It's quite impressive that a movie got a sequel with several of the original cast/director over quarter of a century later. But was it really needed?

Deadly Prey (1987) was a hyper cheesy Rambo ripoff that for some reason many consider to be a bit of a cult classic. I thought it was awful, but it had a certain 80's cheese factor charm at least.

26 years later and the story continues, well that's not entirely true. You see it does follow on from the events of the previous movie, with erm..........the same events of the previous movie. What I mean by that is this may be a sequel but it may as well be a remake as this is alarmingly similar, not only in regards to the plot but multiple scenes throughout.

I have no idea why they would do that, it's senseless. And here we're missing the 80's charm, it tries to replicate it with the same soundtrack and action style but it comes across forced and fails miserably.

I cringed throughout, I'd be surprised if even the most hardcore fan of the original appreciates this.

The Good:

Follows on from the previous movie

The Bad:

Some awful camerawork

"Action" is just awful

Some moments are so dumb it defies belief

Tacky soundtrack

More like a remixed version of the first movie

I only saw the original Deadly Prey a few weeks ago and I enjoyed it so much I went out of my way to get this follow up. The original is really a great Gem of a cheapy, David Prior was well aware of the production limitations and just has an absolute Ball with the hokey material, in some ways it is even more funny than Rambo First Blood Part 2! The Deadliest Prey is more of a rehash than a true sequel, sort of like how Terminator 2 lifts many scenes from the original with slight context alterations, but TDP is a more extreme case. The new slant added to the story is the human hunting is caught on camera and broadcast over the net. Many of the original actors have come back to reprise their roles which bolsters the authenticity of the proceeding for fans, you will be surprised to hear their acting prowess hasn't changed one iota, and we wouldn't have it any other way! In all honesty, TDP isn't quite as entertaining as the original, but with that said there are still some great gags like when Danton is 'recruited' again, and if the Hackers don't at least make you smile, there is something seriously wrong. For all lovers of B films, Deadly Prey & The Deadliest Prey makes a great double- bill...True that!

The original film was near perfection. Music, direction, script and casting. That brilliant star visited us all too briefly and many have tried to emulate it and while we were blessed with the Samurai Cops and Miami Connection's, we will never truly have another Deadly Prey.

The winner of multiple Dibrini awards and two coveted Danton crowns, the original was splendid and gaudy in its excellence. It had a genuine schlock which the industry of Nostalgia so desperately attempts to emulate. Duplication and imitation is a hard thing, outside of a specific era and place.

Deadliest Prey attempts to recapture past glories and like many sequels it seeks the safe path of rhyming, as the great Lucas would say. This it does well, covering the tried paths of the past while adding contemporary twists. No doubt a fun movie to have worked on, it still manages to entertain.

While it is nothing like the original, it never could be, it is also nothing like Fantastic Four (2015) or other big budget arrogantly made studio monsters. This is a humble production made for both fun and entertainment, what movies in past generations truly aspired for, especially during the straight to video days.

Enjoy it for what it is. Not because you compare it to better polished, though target missing super films.

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