“Will man outwit the beast… or be the feast”

Yes, folks. This is an actual quote from the blurb for Prey, the new direct-to-video flick from your favorite guys that film movies and then let them sit on a shelf – the Weinsteins!

The plot is your average animal attack film – and I do mean average. A disjointed family takes a safari trip to Africa, where the father Tom (Peter “I was RoboCop once” Weller) is working on some building project. His new wife Amy (Bridget Moynahan, a solid C-lister in her own right) tries her best to act as stepmother to her two kids, but they just aren’t having it. Particularly resistant to her is Tom’s teenaged daughter Jessica (Carly Schroeder). It seems as though Jessica’s sole job is to ruin Tom and Amy’s vacation in every way possible, as she’s still bitter over Tom divorcing her biological mother. Completing the family is David (Conner Dowds) the youngest child, who pretty much does nothing useful or interesting the entire film, and only serves as another screamer when the lions come.

In order to attempt to make a connection with Tom’s bitch of a daughter, Amy takes her and David on a Safari scouting trip. Their lion-fodder guide takes them off-roading... and right into a lion’s den (pun intended; sue me) of trouble. David needs to ‘number two’ and while he does so, the guide spots a lion and realizes the danger they are in. He becomes lion’s food before getting back to the jeep, and while David makes it back safely, the guide had the keys on him, and now the family is stuck with African lions wanting to eat the tasty people stranded inside the zebra-stripe painted jeep of death.

Not being residents of the continent, none of them have any really good ideas on how to evade African lions, (and neither would I, but if anyone gets into a similar situation with the Detroit Lions, just keep using passing plays. They won’t even touch you, nor will they detect a pattern.) so they pretty much wait it out, relying on their keen intellect to get through the days they are missing, until they are found/rescued.

Standard. Formulaic. Bullshit.

The only thing that really keeps this film going is that at one point the family meets up with some African natives that they can not verbally communicate with, but they attempt to help them out anyway. It’s a neat twist, but something that doesn’t really go anywhere, and only adds some supporting characters destined to be killed. The only other thing going on is Tom trying to get a team together that will help him look for his family. Sadly, these scenes only feel like filler between the animal attacks.

For all its plot deficiencies and clichés, I have to give credit where credit is due. The film looks very good. The IMDB listing indicates that it was in fact shot in South Africa, which I am admittedly surprised the budget allowed, but it makes all the difference in the world. The cinematography is beautiful, and while director Darrell James Roodt is simply a working director, he did a fantastic job here. Every frame looks really well composed and this all adds to the realism. Also, the acting is fairly well done, particularly Amy & Jessica. They really put their all into the scenes where they had a great stepdaughter vs. stepmom chemistry. Too bad the actual attack scenes didn’t feel so real, it would have made for a more compelling film.

It’s hard for me to not love animal attack movies, both good and bad. But really, that’s the problem with Prey, there aren’t enough animals attacking, so the sense of danger and imminent death aren’t convincing. You know well before the first attack who will live and who won’t. It’s telegraphed that exactly.

If you need to see every film in the genre, go ahead and rent this one. At less than 90 minutes, you won’t feel pain for watching Prey, but there are a great deal of other films you probably should be seeing.

The DVD Presentation
Surprisingly, it isn’t bad, especially for a film shot almost entirely outdoors. The burning light of the sun is captured beautifully on the plants, animals and people, and with the exception of a couple of oddly toned night scenes (where natural lighting wasn’t possible, I guess) everything looks great. The 5.1 mix that is included is also nicely done. The effects of the mix aren’t that heavy, but the roars of the lions come through loud and the sounds of the more docile, unseen African animals are very immersive. Subtitles are also included in both English and Spanish for those who require them. Very well done. Prey looks and sounds great.

And the Extras Are?
Weinstein Company Trailers – Not selectable from the main menu, but auto-played when you first start the disc, we get non-anamorphic trailers for the following films: Killshot, The Aura, Feast (which looks rad), the American remake of Pulse, and Unknown. Sadly, there is no trailer for Prey.

Aside from this, there is nothing. Wow… you guys didn’t even try.

The Bottom Line
An average, yet often laughable, film of the “animal attack” subgenre, Prey isn’t likely to be on anyone’s shopping list. This is the type of DVD you might be inclined to pick up if you see it used at your record store, or in the discount bin at Wal-Mart. If you do pick it up, you are going to get a decent presentation, but in all honesty, it isn’t worth the retail price, and really isn’t worth more than a rental.