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Let The Hunt Begin! PREY: Review

When a monster movie takes itself completely serious one of two things traditionally happens: the film comes off as a horribly pretentious piece of trash that's unintentionally funny in all the wrong places, or it actually works and you're dealing with a dramatic piece of outlandish work that somehow convinces viewers of some degree of posbility. I was pleasantly surprised to find the unheralded "Prey" falling into the latter category.



The story doesn't really break any new ground – problems with pesticide have transformed your average boar into a mad, slightly mutated man-eating monster – but it’s told in clever fashion, revealing a lot of the tenon amongst the focal family while providing an embraceable concept for what's created this colossal conflict. It sounds bac, and stripped down, it is indeed a mple-minded script, but it’s a surpringly effective piece of artwork that isn’t so far-fetched that viewers actually seek out the awkward laughs.

And, let me reassure you, there are no laughs to be found here, and there sure as hell shouldn't be!

The character development is unveiled at a steady pace that parallels "Prey’s" action sequences wonderfully. Because the film begins on a bleak note, scenarios quickly become more tenon-filled. Director Antoine Bloser never breaks the established character traits of our key players, and that attention to detail lends heavy credence to the believability of this nature-run-amuck feature.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xflou9_prey-2010-eng-subs-trailer_shortfilms

Don’t expect much sunshine here, as this flick is as grim as they come. But surpringly, despite being such a harrowing tale, Bloser never crosses the line into sadistic territory. There’s a controlled approach to the savagery of this piece that is pretty unique in today’s market, and in my opinion, a bit refreshing (especially with franchises like "Saw" and "Final Destination" garnering so much attention, bacally for reveling in the sadistic level of violence they deliver).

Kudos go out to the complete ensemble here: there isn’t a ngle weak performance delivered by this bunch, which is a damn good thing. One off player in this crew could have thrown a hideous shift in what is an exceptionally well assembled creature feature with a grim, grim finale.

If you’re a fan of serious monster fare, I highly recommend you reserve a few hours of your time, and entertain a fabulous double feature by tuning into this French gem, followed by another standout creature feature, “Isolation”. If you lack the attention span to t through two films consecutively, put “Isolation” on hold, and dedicate your full attention this treasure, that’s unfortunately flown under the radar for too long already.

Rating: B+
Matt_Molgaard Monday 6/27/2011 at 04:40 PM | 77762