Hunter Prey

Full disclosure - Sandy Collora and I go way back, and have been struggling film makers for most of our adult lives. Also, I was not that big of a fan of "Batman: Dead End" - you throw The Joker, a Predator, and an Alien into a short film and show it at Comic Con and the fanboys were bound to loose their minds. However, I thought the trailer for "World's Finest" rocked - it looked like a trailer for an actual feature and was far more refined than "Dead End", at least in my opinion.

As a filmmaker, you dread watching a friend's movie because if the movie sucks, you don't know what on earth you will say. Well, after finishing "Hunter Prey", I breathed a big sigh of relief because the movie is good, solid and strong all the way through. It looks and feels and sounds like a movie shot in the late 60's or 70's, and I mean that in a good way - the compositions are widescreen and flawless, the story is character-driven, and the effects are used when needed. The music is also rich and orchestral, a feature sorely lacking in most low-budget features. The movie takes an inspirational page out of "Planet of the Apes" and goes from there.

I won't give away any plot details, but don't go into this looking for rock-'em sock-'em "Avatar" action - this movie is mature and evenly paced, and uses its wares sparingly, surprising and twisting as it goes. If you are looking for gore or an "in your face" music- video style, go rent a modern horror re-make. But if you like kickin' your Sci-Fi old-school, then the line for "Hunter Prey" forms to the left.

Good job, Sandy!!

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"

What a relief a movie like Hunter Prey is in this world of grade Z "SyFy channel" entertainment. The focus on this movie is not on special effects (although they are excellent) but on character and story which sadly isn't the norm.

Above average in this film are the cinematography and score, which gives the film the appearance of being big budget. The film itself feels like it was shot in the 1970s, I mean this in a positive way as it takes it's time to develop the characters and stories.

Hunter Prey is the kind of science fiction movie we don't get enough of, one that puts the substance over the style.

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.

What a surprise treat this film was. Throwback to the old school style of film making when directors needed talent and imagination to make these kinds of movies, not millions of dollars. HUNTER PREY is an example of what can accomplished on a very limited budget, with two actors on basically one location. It's easy to make big budget, tent pole, summer blockbusters when you have a hundreds of people, millions of dollars and movie stars. I'd like to see just one of those big studio directors make something from nothing, get blood from a turnup and bring a world to life with only raw talent and there two hands. This director is a real artist who knows how to tell a compelling story with visually arresting imagery. 10/10