Prey, 2021, Netflix: Rated TV-MA
Tagline: Run, boys, run.
I guess Netflix doesn’t have taglines…just those 3 keywords:
Suspenseful . Thriller. Nightmare Vacation.
Only one of them is true.
Anyway, I’m now going to mark Netflix movies as such – those that I can watch all the way through without bailing. I’ll do half a review for the others..
Who to look for:
As soon as you see the shot of a castle on a hill…we’re not in Kansas anymore, kids. Yup, foreign film, set in Germany. Dubbed in English with barely acceptable English voiceovers.
I don’t know any of the actors, sorry. I did enjoy Yung Ngo (Vincent) as the nerdy scaredy cat, when things get rough and there’s not enough macho to go around.
Roman (David Kross)
Albert (Hanno Koffler)
Story
The movie opens with a crotch shot of a woman in a bikini. I’m just sayin’… this is a European film. 🙂
Five young men are spending a Bachelor Party in the woods…until someone starts shooting at them. Then it becomes survival.
You know the drill, which isn’t necessarily bad- people get killed one by one. Usually the victims quarrel, and then split up, making easier targets. 🙂 The 2 main characters are brothers: Roman (David Kross) is newly engaged, and his brother Albert (Hanno Koffler) has a business, and has promised to hire his brother…maybe, some day. This provides some tension.
Most of the movie takes place amongst the trees, or in out of season camps. I enjoy these movies of wilderness death marches: it’s like going camping, without the bugs. The men start off in paddleboats (canoes?), which we never see again. Too bad, because they would have come in handy later, when they were being shot at, and needed a getaway!
As the boys leave the river and head towards the car, gunshots ring out, so we get lots of scattered running and hiding.
The movie takes a big step back when we find out who the shooter is, or at least what the motive is, and then it fizzles like a leaky balloon. (About 2/3 in.) Oh well, the gun shots were scary.
It has some pretty scenery.
Unanswered questions and SPOILER ENDING:
No questions. But I do think mentally ill people don’t make very good villains, unless they look scary, and also come back to life, like Michael Myers. This serial shooter is just schizophrenic or something.
Also, why didn’t the guys stay in that grocery store, out of sight of the windows? Which had a working PHONE? Smh.
Also: How often does the antagonist eliminate himself, or in this case, herself, and commit suicide? This is very unsatisfactory!
Other Audience Reviews
Google says: 40% Liked. Ouch, that’s bad.
Side Note – gross – I notice Google is so eager to get clicks for movie reviews that they are cloaking their own reader reviews as if they are real reviewers – with no transparency at all. Plus, weird coding if you try to copy it!
Decider calls this indie film “drably efficient.” (Do I sense a little German xenophobia here?)
Heaven of Horror says “it has a lot going for it, and starts strong.”
However, when someone decides to hunt people in the woods, there might not always be a clear-cut and rational explanation. Or rather, there is an explanation, but it might not make sense to us as viewers. It doesn’t make much sense to those being hunted and trying to survive either.
Yeah, I don’t know what she’s trying to say, either.
That’s a Wrap
No demerits, but this was pretty much a whole lot of nothin’. The scenery was nice.
What did you think? (Don’t beat around the bushes. 🙂 )
Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst.
Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.
- Emma in the Night ~ Wendy Walker ~ Thriller - May 11, 2023
- Still Alice (2014) ~ Psychology Movie Review ~ Julianne Moore - January 25, 2023
- The Other Emily ~ Dean Koontz - January 23, 2023
