A former Texas Ranger (McGillis) is recruited by a Houston police captain (Dern) to assist a homicide detective (Moffett), in the search for an elusive serial killer (Keith) who collects ant... Read allA former Texas Ranger (McGillis) is recruited by a Houston police captain (Dern) to assist a homicide detective (Moffett), in the search for an elusive serial killer (Keith) who collects antique dolls.A former Texas Ranger (McGillis) is recruited by a Houston police captain (Dern) to assist a homicide detective (Moffett), in the search for an elusive serial killer (Keith) who collects antique dolls.
T.J. Kennedy
- Captain Dan Feagler
- (as Mike Kennedy)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
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For surly he walks away with this and his portrait of a demented serial killer. This is unusual as Keith is always the victim, ala OFFICER AND GENTLEMEN. He was excellent. Kelly McGillis I usually like but felt there was a monotone level of work in this. Her face never showed any emotion except fear. Does she ever enjoy anything? I liked her in WITNESS and TOP GUN where she at least had interesting moments. But wasted in this. I guess we're supposed to see she's a tough detective and determined to catch her prey. Aging Bruce Dern plays a small role of a detective. Dern would have been more interesting if he had ended up the killer as he plays strange roles better. D W Moffett (what does the D stand for?) played another detective and love interest to Kelly. I remember him in AN EARLY FROST as the love interest to Aiden Quinn. A good looking guy too. But give the laurels to Keith for a wonderful job. And to all those lovely ladies he managed to charm into his den. Maybe sometime we could see a serial killer who takes all the beautiful boys and torments them. It would be different as most of the time it's always the women that get chosen.
Not sure why this movie got such mediocre ratings - it was well acted, well written, and well casted - - and most importantly, suspenseful!
It's downfall is only that it is totally reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs.. If you liked Silence, you'll probably like this movie too.
It had everything from the serial killer on the loose to the interview with the psychopathic killer in jail (sniffing the air, even!).. But, I loved Silence - and though I didn't realize the similarities until the end, this held my attention up until the last suspenseful minute.
Well worth my two hours! Bruce Dern and Kelly McGillis stood out in their roles - good casting.. good movie..
It's downfall is only that it is totally reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs.. If you liked Silence, you'll probably like this movie too.
It had everything from the serial killer on the loose to the interview with the psychopathic killer in jail (sniffing the air, even!).. But, I loved Silence - and though I didn't realize the similarities until the end, this held my attention up until the last suspenseful minute.
Well worth my two hours! Bruce Dern and Kelly McGillis stood out in their roles - good casting.. good movie..
Described as a TV movie, I don't know whether "Perfect Prey" was planned as a TV pilot. Far worse have been deemed suitable for series production. I don't think this watchable piece of work got the exposure it deserved when it first appeared. This is a better than average serial killer thriller. The main characters are certainly well cast.
Kelly McGillis is a natural as the troubled but intelligent and determined investigator, Audrey Maclean. David Keith's performance as the handsome, persuasive killer is chilling. Watching him, you can truly believe that evil is abroad and relishing the suffering of its victims. Bruce Dern does well with the part of Captain Swaggert, with murders on his hands he knows are beyond the abilities of his team to solve without the fresh eye of outside help. Interested viewers will, I'm sure, enjoy the contrast in characterization between Dern's lawman in this movie and his marvellously venal sheriff in "Last man Standing". Last but by no means least, D W Moffett shows real style with his Detective Jimmy Cerullo.
There's a pleasing professionalism about the rest of the cast, who aren't well known. Their work helps to ensure an enjoyable movie. Particularly worth a mention is the young actress given the thankless role of the murder victim in the pink dress. With her body propped up against a nodding donkey, her frozen eyes allow a peek into hell for the imaginative movie watcher. The feeling of brooding sadness in the scene surfaces at various times during the duration of the film, and adds considerable atmosphere.
The movie is effectively directed by Howard McCain and nicely scripted by Robert McDonnell. There's some neat editing by Hanneh Rudkilde. The rest of the crew weren't asleep on the job either. What really damages "Perfect Prey" is the marked resemblance of the plot to that of "The Silence of the Lambs", which many of its potential audience will have seen. In my opinion Kelly McGillis is a more believable investigator than the otherwise admirable Jodie Foster, but that, as they say, is neither here nor there.
It's worth a look, seek it out next time you intend making the sofa look untidy for a couple of hours.
Kelly McGillis is a natural as the troubled but intelligent and determined investigator, Audrey Maclean. David Keith's performance as the handsome, persuasive killer is chilling. Watching him, you can truly believe that evil is abroad and relishing the suffering of its victims. Bruce Dern does well with the part of Captain Swaggert, with murders on his hands he knows are beyond the abilities of his team to solve without the fresh eye of outside help. Interested viewers will, I'm sure, enjoy the contrast in characterization between Dern's lawman in this movie and his marvellously venal sheriff in "Last man Standing". Last but by no means least, D W Moffett shows real style with his Detective Jimmy Cerullo.
There's a pleasing professionalism about the rest of the cast, who aren't well known. Their work helps to ensure an enjoyable movie. Particularly worth a mention is the young actress given the thankless role of the murder victim in the pink dress. With her body propped up against a nodding donkey, her frozen eyes allow a peek into hell for the imaginative movie watcher. The feeling of brooding sadness in the scene surfaces at various times during the duration of the film, and adds considerable atmosphere.
The movie is effectively directed by Howard McCain and nicely scripted by Robert McDonnell. There's some neat editing by Hanneh Rudkilde. The rest of the crew weren't asleep on the job either. What really damages "Perfect Prey" is the marked resemblance of the plot to that of "The Silence of the Lambs", which many of its potential audience will have seen. In my opinion Kelly McGillis is a more believable investigator than the otherwise admirable Jodie Foster, but that, as they say, is neither here nor there.
It's worth a look, seek it out next time you intend making the sofa look untidy for a couple of hours.
The lead roles are obviously a rip off of Mulder and skull from X-Files. The tone, cinematic aesthetic, mood and overall theme is literally inspired by x files.. If you are at all a fan of X-Files don't watch it because it is atrociously an emulation of the show. Even the score and the musical aesthetic is exactly the same i think they use the same for the higher to composer to emulate the exact musical style. It's amazing that this was even given a green light to be aired and broadcast it there's literally zero originality in the screenplay. I can see why it wasn't successful I think viewers kind of picked up on that.
I have to say I didn't expect too much when I decided to watch this movie. Well it turned out to be a pretty good thriller. It makes you think a little, so I would say the plot's got something good too. I gave 7/10 stars.
Did you know
- TriviaSome dolls were made by Bailey Clark and Margaret Wolf, others were from their private collections.
- GoofsThe Texas flag in the Ranger Captain's office is upside down.
- ConnectionsFollows When the Bough Breaks (1994)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- When the Bough Breaks II: Perfect Prey
- Filming locations
- Houston City Hall, 900 Bagby Street, Houston, Texas, USA(Miss Crane's place of work)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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