User reviews

I would have liked to have seen the version of Hunter Prey where Collora followed his gut instincts and made a pure art film, instead of trying to make it more commercial or sellable. I see this all the time with indie genre films, particularly ones that don't have a bankable star in them. The producers feel they need an element that can take the place of a notable actor, especially in the foreign markets. What that usually ends up being is some really awful, bad CG ridden, formulaic mess that ends up on the SciFi channel. What we have here, is a film that thankfully isn't that, but what it does end up being is a bit of a confused movie, unable to define itself.

It's good, but it's clunky in places. Sometimes this is a result of performance issues, but sometimes it lies more in the writing and editing choices. There are a few elements of Hunter Prey that simply don't match up or make much sense.

The most glaring example of this, is the score. It's fantastic, but doesn't fit the movie, especially after the first act. It's way too big for a small, personal movie like this. I just felt like the filmmaker was trying to pound me over the head with music that maybe was representing what he wanted to be there visually and perhaps didn't have the budget to do. It seemed like they took the score from a big, popcorn action movie and stuck it on Hunter Prey in an effort to make it seem bigger or more commercial, but all it does, is make the audience wish there was more movie or less music. A more subdued, un-inflected, moody soundtrack would have served this film much better.

I'm predicting this film will eventually become Collora's "Blade Runner" of sorts... An awe inspiring, visual feast with a story that some people will get into and some won't. Like most art films, it will be unsuccessful and commercially disappointing at first, with an audience that slowly builds over time. As his body of work grows and he makes more films, people will come to appreciate Hunter Prey.

When I stumbled upon this flick I am not sure what I expected. A lot of your sci-fi or monster movie titles can really be hit or miss. Well, this was "hit". I really enjoyed this movie. So many times with a sci-fi movie it seems like they try to cram way to much into the movie to make up for poor writing. Not the case with Hunter-Prey. The story was great and it had just enough high quality effects to really make this exciting. I think that is what I liked best was the fact that, because of the writing, the entire story seemed somewhat possible, if not completely believable. I will be keeping my eyes open for a sequel too. The door was left wide open for a part 2, or even TV show.

but for today's audiences, I'm not sure it's going to play. It's very slow and there's hardly any action, resulting in a great looking, but ultimately uneventful movie for people looking for something like "Avatar" or "District 9". It's really well made, especially for a low budget film, and there's one scene (that I won't spoil) that is pure movie magic. I'm a fan of old movies, so the slowness didn't bother me. The characters were interesting enough and the visual style of the way the shots were composed, kept me engaged in the film. It's much better than anything I've seen on the SyFy channel, but I doubt this will get a theatrical release. "Hunter Prey" will find its audience, it just has to look really hard.

Let me first say I appreciated the story. I found myself wanting to find out more about this deceptive prisoner, and when I found out who/what it was, I was pleased. The scenery was nice and the direction was OK. Erin Gray as the computer voice was great.

Due to the lack of decent props and tech, I was almost ready to turn this one off. I understand a shoestring budget, but you can find college theater students who will work for free and will design better costumes and tech than what we see here. Or at least more talented ones than the director found to make these costumes. The holsters were made out of cardboard,and they were plugging mini-headphone cables into their computer devices, etc. Just extremely weak. And the "storm trooper" helmets I suppose were done on purpose as a "shout out."

The dialogue was decent, except I almost laughed when I realized I might have to watch the entire movie never seeing the actors' faces. There was no need for them to have "digitized-sounding" voices. Modern communication devices even today carry voices quite well. I would think advanced aliens would not have to resort to "walky-talky" type communication.

I couldn't believe some of the logic that was being thrown out there by the computer. I just didn't feel like it was feasible that the computer was suddenly become a rebel of sorts, joining sides with Centuri 7 to somehow break away from his race.

Give this director a little money, and we probably get something remarkable. But I'm not going to give this above a 5, because it doesn't deserve it.

They have the same budgets, and probably more. Hunter Prey is just the kind of thing that channel should be filled with, but instead all we get is silly, dimwitted, fodder designed for nothing beyond a Saturday evening with beer and burgers. I hope to god this film doesn't wind up on SyFy. Hunter Prey was better than some genre films I've seen that even got a theater showing. It has all the right elements that make a good science fiction film. Great characters and production design, beautiful cinematography, lots of aliens and a good story. What more can you ask for? Hunter Prey delivers the goods and left me wanting more. Bring on the sequel!

If you like movies that are more story driven, you'll like "Hunter Prey".

It has the look and feel of one of those made for TV movies of the 70's. I mean that in a really good way. You see, way back when, before all this CG crap, filmmakers had to use ingenuity and talent to craft their films. They had to tell their story through... Well, telling a story.

This is not a film for anyone seeking a fast paced, mindless, mess. It's a film for hardcore sci fi junkies like myself, who grew up on Star Trek, The Outer Limits, and The Twilight Zone.

It's more about the story and characters than special effects.

At its core, behind all the beautiful landscapes, alien creatures, and realistic costume design, "Hunter Prey" is a story so unoriginal and uninspiring, that had Collora not accomplished so much breathtaking imagery to tell it, it would have been an unmitigated bore. As it is, one must strain to retain any interest whatsoever in a hackneyed story we've been told countless times before. It surpasses much of what is done at this budget level, especially for a genre picture that incorporates all the elements that have come to define these films, however there are so few moments worthy of attention here, that one wishes that all Collora's talent, ambition and visual mastery could have been devoted to something more worthwhile.

People comparing this movie to District 9 and Star Wars ? Seriously ? Did you people watch this movie ? I guess the director had all his friends write the reviews. Now for a review from someone who does not know the director or has been paid off by him. LOL

I found this movie rather tedious. Sure the scenery was nice looking, but that I could have gotten fro a National Geographic documentary on Arizona. The dialogue was horrible. The costumes were cheap. The plot was a rip off from the start of Enemy Mine except without the good acting. There was times in this movie that had me saying "Are you serious ?" not in a complimentary way but from being dumb struck at how silly the dialogue was. This movie leaves a lot to be desired and seems to leave common sense completely behind when it comes to script writing. You can make a good sci-fi on a shoestring budget, but it would have to be plot and dialogue driven, unfortunately this move had no budget, no plot and silly dialogue.

Sad to say, I found very few redeeming qualities for this movie and would not recommend it to anyone.

In particular, a first season episode called "Unchained Woman" starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Buck crashes on a desert planet and breaks a prisoner out of an underground prison and needs to return her to the Earth defense directorate alive. As they trek through Vasquez Rocks doubling for a desert planet with cheesy moons in the background, they are pursued by an alien android trying to recapture the prisoner. There's even a slithery tentacled creature called a sand squid on this planet, that they ripped off as well in Hunter Prey. They even went as far to hire Erin Gray (who played Wilma Deering on the show) to be the voice of the A.I. in their movie. This looks way better than the Buck Rogers TV show, but the corny acting is just as bad, if not worse. Hunter Prey wasn't horrible by any means, and it's certainly better than any of those awful SyFy channel movies. It looks beautiful, especially for such a low budget movie, but I have to give it a big fat goose egg for originality.

Seriously... At first I'm thinking that this is just gonna be a VERY simple 'Oh, we lost the prisoner, lets go get him' type of story. Hunter/Prey, right...? BUT... and it is a BIG BUT like Mariah Carey's... Lo and behold I was gradually and inexorably really sucked into the story and the characters. YES, it was kind of like an extended STAR TREK episode in it's simple setting and story, but darned if the damn thing didn't keep throwing intriguing little curves at me which really kept me going.

Granted, they left a LOT of loose ends after building up our curiosity about certain things and motivations and what was 'Really' going on, perhaps... but still, as simple as it was, I was amazed at how the story and developments just kept drawing me in more and more. Obviously, I guess they fully intended for the story to be continued. So, the 'Ending' is REALLY kind of up in the air. But, MAN... lines like when the guy asks Centari 7 why he didn't shoot him and he replies, 'I'll tell you when I see you...' DAMN...! And then they never frigg'n explain it. GRRRR... And when Clea says to Centari 7, 'I know what's going on, but I can't tell you because it may influence what you do...' And they never really explain that either... GEEZ...! But, those were the kinds of things that REALLY grabbed my attention and really made me wonder, 'What the HELL is going on...?!!' and needless to say, fully kept my interest.

With this simple of a premise, this could have EASILY turned out to be really stupid and lame (like lots of others) This could have been screwed up SO easily a million different ways, but, somehow they seemed to keep a firm hand on it, and I felt, definitely kept the audience interested. Oh, and BTW... these people saying that this is like 'ENEMY MINE'. FWIW, I liked this film WAY more than that sappy, touchy- feely, over-rated film (as another reviewer also strongly stated here earlier)

Sooooo... I don't know if they ever did a sequel or continuation of the story, but I REALLY hope so! Because this one really DID catch me off guard and proved to be far more intriguing and entertaining than I first thought it had any right to be...

I am personally surprised by the high reviews this film has achieved. I admire the film maker and all those connected with it for creating a film on such a low budget with what they wanted to achieve, but I feel, as I'm sure they feel, they did not achieve even close to what they wanted to. Remake this in 15 years time with some love. You could blame the budget, or you could blame the lack of art direction. There is no art in this low budget film, there is an awful location choice, there are bad camera angle choices (sunflare is not cool, emptiness is) , there is minimal story. This film screams of trying to be an even more intelligent Enemy Mine, but does not come close in terms of art or intelligence. The director had two decent actors, some budget for decent costumes and some minimal model special effects... but it was all wasted, the actors could have easily given so much more I am sure, the costumes could have been better (why are they roman?), there seems so many flaws with this film, the budget should have been spent on art direction and story. If you want to do 'cult', then do 'cult', do not half ass it like this effort. Go crazy, be unique, or don't bother. This film seems like a compromise. As a compromise its OK, if your starved of sci-fi like it seems we are these days, then it may be worth your time.. but really, your gonna be disappointed, it is nothing like people would have you believe. It is poor, I wish it was not, but it is.

Science Fiction is one of those genres that seems to ebb and flow over time. The late-1960s through the early-1980s, undoubtedly saw its unprecedented high point, with the explosion of such visionary films such as "Planet of the Apes", "2001", "Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Alien". Films that transported us to different places, introduced us to otherworldly beings, and portrayed the human race as perhaps not the smartest or strongest life forms in the universe. This is the essence of "Hunter Prey", the feature directorial debut of director Sandy Collora.

A team of futuristic, military commandos, transporting an alien prisoner, crash-land on a barren, hostile planet. A handful of the soldiers survive, along with the prisoner. Their orders; Bring it back alive. The military men have a lot technology and capabilities on their side while they hunt down their quarry, while the prisoner is left to his wits to elude them on this wasteland of a planet, which is mostly devoid of life. The cat and mouse game of these two characters, trying to outsmart one another, against a backdrop of interplanetary war, makes for an interesting film that cleverly, without exposition, paints a picture of a much larger universe, without actually showing it. Consequently, this is not an action movie. There's action in it that's exceptionally well shot, but there are no huge, epic battles, space dogfights or explosions that some might anticipate from watching the trailer, which doesn't quite represent it as what it truly is, which is a great looking, well written and directed character piece that showcases the storytelling ability and undeniable visual talents of this up and coming filmmaker.

The alien characters in the film seem somewhat understated, which in this case is a smart choice, letting the performances of the actors and the story, shine through. Cool aliens, armored costumes, spaceships and high tech hardware, matched with plenty of laser fire and explosions are the staple of any science fiction film worth its salt, especially with today's audiences, but the real key to the success of any good movie is the story, and this is the real gem of "Hunter Prey".

Shot in the Mexican desert in seventeen days, on a shoestring budget, the filmmakers utilized the red one camera system, resulting in an incredibly film-like, cinematic experience that was very well suited to the panoramas used all throughout the film. I didn't sense any of the "cold" feel of traditional digital productions, yet everything felt very detailed and polished. The director's choice not to tweak the colors, blow out the highlights, and follow the current stylistic trends of his contemporaries, is truly what sets this film apart and makes it unique. You won't find any quick cuts or shaky-cam shots to obscure both the physical nature and the psychological elements of the struggle between the two main characters."Hunter Prey" is pure, bold, no frills, film-making that doesn't rely on gimmicky camera tricks, flashy editing or millions of dollars worth of CG shots, to keep the audience engaged.

One of the most pronounced aspects of the picture is the use of dramatic landscape shots to underscore the utter desolation of the planet, the plight of the characters, and the fight for survival. The planet itself, becomes a character in the movie, complete with it's own voice and ominous, yet beautiful presence. The sweeping visuals of desert sands combined with rich orange-brown planets in the backgrounds are matched perfectly to the lush and wonderfully thematic, Goldsmithian score by emmy nominated composer, Christopher Hoag. It's been a long time since I've heard a film score this traditional and "Hunter Prey" is the perfect movie for it... Director and composer are in perfect sync here, resurrecting the orchestral language of late 60's and 70's sci-fi cinema, which is such a welcome breath of fresh air, opposed to the aloof, understated, electronic soundtracks of most contemporary, independent genre films.

The only real flaw in this movie, is the pacing. I'm not quite sure if the problem here is editorial or more a result of the limited budget, but after the opening scene, which establishes the characters and sets up the plot, the film meanders for a little bit, and I found myself getting antsy for more interaction. For the entire first act of the film, the commandos remain in their armored helmets, which there's a reason for cinematically, but it results in both hunter and prey not quite engaging each other yet on a personal level. However, this is where Collora's roots in art direction, production design and cinematography come to bear, as the scenes are beautifully dramatic and impactful, defining the landscapes and atmosphere, as the story continues to develop. Once the characters come into more visceral contact with each other in the opening of the second act, the pace starts to pick up, resulting in the film finding its rhythm and not letting up until the end.

This is a very ambitious movie. The filmmakers are really going for it here, swinging for the fences throughout every aspect of the process, attempting to make a movie that because of the budget and nature of its production, has really no right to be what it is. It succeeds on so many levels, and represents the very best of ultra low budget, independent, genre film-making. The acting is good, the production values are polished, the score is incredible, and the visual effects were tastefully done and not overbearing. There's a lot of talk going around AFM about this little film. I saw it digitally projected on a huge screen and it was stunning. "Hunter Prey" is a solid piece of work, from a filmmaker that I'm very excited to see more from in the near future. A comment I heard outside the theater after wards, pretty much says it all: "I can't wait to see what this guy does with a real budget"

First thing is I must say, this film looks so stunning and captivating, it's like watching one of those discovery channel nature shows, just on an alien world. I was blown away at the level of design and attention to detail in absolutely everything in this movie, especially for the low budget. This director has a great eye. The locations were awe-inspiring and lent themselves well to the story. I give films like this a lot of credit. It's hard to be ambitious in this genre without the money and the means. Most who try, fail miserably where "Hunter Prey" succeeds.

Something which really stood out to me while watching this film, was the sense of the director wanting to tell a larger story and make a bigger movie. I could actually feel the filmmaker striving to be James Cameron only with Roger Corman's checkbook.

"Hunter Prey" takes a little while to get going and parts of it are very derivative, but once it does, it delivers on a level that few films in this budget range can. 8/10

I have never written a review here but thought this film really deserved all the attention it can get. It's one hell of a solid film; if you are a true sci-fi lover, you WILL love this! Definitely a good watch. It gave me a little feel of Earth II the series, although the story is nothing similar. The only reason this film probably never made it big is purely because they never used a "big name" star cast. Personally feel the actors did a perfect job. They need to find a way to promote this movie! Way more heart than the current movies popping out there. The plot I would say is more or less a "real" story, in the sense that, you would not go like "ah, that can only happen in a movie". To sum it down, the movie is not purely a sci-fi plot, so if you are not a pure sc-fi lover you would still be able to appreciate the movie to its fullest. The character reactions, spirit and cunningness are things you can relate to in real life. Perfect storytelling with limited resources!

The story wasn't correct, suits didn't add up. Acting was OK. The end was a complete deception... Ran out of budget? When the movie got interesting it ended... Some failures of the director where some shots just didn't add up and made scene's confusing for viewers. Had high expectations but ended up being disappointed. They tried adding some emotion as well but this was really not really coming on to me as sincere... Nothing more to add actually. Not worth looking twice Cast was OK by the way, sounds effect also. Liked Clea's voice, though the relation they tried to establish between Clea's and the "bad guy" was a patethic try.