Prey

Call me crazy, but a pride of lions being the pinnacle of evil instead of the usual axe-wielding psycho is kind of refreshing. That's where the good stuff I have to say about this one ends. I think this movie is actually the director's cut of the Lion King...you know, the violent part of Simba's life that couldn't be shown in a Disney movie.

This movie is almost like a real-life version of movies like Anaconda, Jaws or Cujo where innocent people are being stalked by a predatory animal that is purely bent on killing them. Like I've already noted, I really like the idea. Being out in the middle of nowhere and not at the top of the food chain is a scary thought to me...which is why this movie sparked my interest.

However, it didn't deliver like I hoped for. Check it out if you'd like but don't get your hopes too high.

While working in a dam in Africa, the American hydraulic engineer Tom Newman (Peter Weller) brings his family to spend a couple of days in the Leopard's Rest Lodge. His fourteen year-old daughter Jessica (Carly Schroeder) is having friction with her stepmother Amy (Bridget Moynahan) since she does not accept the divorce of her parents. On the next morning, Amy, Jessica and her brother David (Connor Dowds) go in a game drive with a ranger while Tom goes to the dam. While driving off-road, David asks the ranger to stop the jeep to go to the "toilet", and unexpectedly they are attacked by a group of starving lions that kill and eat the ranger. Amy, Jessica and David are trapped in the jeep and stalked by the wild lions. When Tom returns to the hotel and finds that his family has not returned from the game, he asks for help to the experienced hunter and guide Crawford (Jamie Bartlett) and together they seek Tom's family.

Fortunately I had not even glanced the IMDb Rating and some reviews in IMDb and I had just followed the suggestion of a friend of mine when I decided to buy this DVD. The tense and underrated "Prey" was a great surprise, with a suspenseful and simple but well acted story. Carly Schroeder perfectly performs the annoying character of a typical American teenager; the gorgeous Bridget Moynahan has also a great performance in the lead role of a young stepmother that tries to resolve the relationship problems with Jessica. But the edition of the impressive sequences with the starving lions is very realistic and well-done. In my opinion, the greatest flaw of the story is the absence of a radio in the safari jeep to communicate with the base in emergency situations. Further, I expected more from the experienced Crawford and the two local hunters, and I liked the open conclusion. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Caçados" ("Hunted")

Cat version of Cujo If you've seen Stephen King's Cujo, you'll like Prey. Prey is about a step mom and two kids who get stuck in a Range Rover on the African savanna and are stalked by a pride of man eating lions. Dad goes off to work leaving step mom to bond with the kids on a sight seeing trip. The guide gets killed by a lion and the girl bickers to the point where she deserves a good face slap. They make mistake after mistake and you're never quite sure whether they are going to be rescued.

(Ratings: Bad=1; Average=5; One of the best=10); Acting=06; Plot=05; Scenery=08; Character believability=07; Continuity=05; Dialog=05; Directing=07; Casting=07; Special effects=04; Overall Rating=06

True story or not (and I'm sure plenty of the facts are manipulated) There is nothing in Prey that we have not seen before. Its generic formula and a certain lack of credibility/scientific accuracy certainly do some damage but they don't make the movie unwatchable.

It certainly could have been worse. For a start, it places a certain value on character, something that many b-movies care little for. There is no obvious reason why we should be rooting against the Newman family, who get screwed while on an African safari.. Their guide is attacked and killed by a lion while escorting the youngest Newman on a pee break. The hapless family is forced to hide and wait in the lousy little tour jeep, until Mr. Newman shows up (he's working construction on a local dam) Meanwhile, three hungry lions are waiting patiently outside.

So the film doesn't have us disregarding the protagonists, that's a start. another advantage is the lions being real. There is no five cent CGI in this picture to distract us. Well, some of the blood is clearly digital, but most of it is make up. The movie does have it's share of gore, yet nothing too unrealistic or severely overdone. Prey is shot in a heavily saturated colour scheme and because blood is the only red in the film, it really stands out. (although it is certainly not the only film to try this). The acting quality is nothing to be proud of, but it suspends disbelief enough. As long as it doesn't sound like the characters are reading off a teleprompter, I'm fine with that.

So where then does the movie go wrong, well in the same way that many of these films have, it has been done before. Prey is one in a million, and the only possible distinction for one to see is its protagonists being a lion, not a common creature feature creature. If lions sound interesting, my recommendation would be the Ghost in the Darkness.

This film contains extremely graphic(realistic)violence and is probably not appropriate for preteens. The play on words of the title is the cleverest thing about the film. Otherwise, the film is predictable. The main characters get into and stay in jeopardy by doing dumb things. The middle of the film consists of repeated episodes of attacking and waiting. There are two reasonable outcomes to the situation the family. About half way into the story I got curious about whether the screen writers would find a third possibility. That helped me stick with it to the end. The close up photography of the lions is worthwhile and the work of the lion trainer is impressive. It's a movie to watch on an afternoon when you have nothing better to do.