Thing is, reviewing 'Prey' - or any Dick Maas film - it's hard to decide what stars to give it . .
For sheer fun it's a straight 8. I laughed all the way through it.
As a cohesive, well-thought-out thriller, it's about a 3. People do and say the stupidest things when there's a killer lion prowling near. Makes sense in the context of it being a Maas film, but still . .
Anyone who's seen 'Lake Placid', 'Gorgo' or any number of Toho's, will see the end 'twist' coming a mile off.
It will weary you. 1 for the 'twist'.
For construction, ie: music, cinematography, settings etc, it's a 6. Nice to look at, plenty of admirable Amsterdam atmosphere. Lots of trademark Maas pretty ladies.
Maas still thinks it's the 80's so 'Prey' is clichéd beyond help. Whether it's parody or not is up for debate, but I kinda like the ambiguity - and there's no accounting for taste . . so 6 again for that.
Acting - almost constant mugging - is eye-bulgingly hysterical. Dubbing also, but, again, this adds to the overall oddness. Anything from 0 to 10 on that one. Purely subjective.
'Prey' doesn't get lost in the dark realm of the so-bad-it's-good sub-genre, either. It's both . . and neither.
It's gloriously wayward. Brilliantly ludicrous.
. . And not boring for a second. So on this reckoning alone, forgiving him the ending, it's a fair 7.
For sheer fun it's a straight 8. I laughed all the way through it.
As a cohesive, well-thought-out thriller, it's about a 3. People do and say the stupidest things when there's a killer lion prowling near. Makes sense in the context of it being a Maas film, but still . .
Anyone who's seen 'Lake Placid', 'Gorgo' or any number of Toho's, will see the end 'twist' coming a mile off.
It will weary you. 1 for the 'twist'.
For construction, ie: music, cinematography, settings etc, it's a 6. Nice to look at, plenty of admirable Amsterdam atmosphere. Lots of trademark Maas pretty ladies.
Maas still thinks it's the 80's so 'Prey' is clichéd beyond help. Whether it's parody or not is up for debate, but I kinda like the ambiguity - and there's no accounting for taste . . so 6 again for that.
Acting - almost constant mugging - is eye-bulgingly hysterical. Dubbing also, but, again, this adds to the overall oddness. Anything from 0 to 10 on that one. Purely subjective.
'Prey' doesn't get lost in the dark realm of the so-bad-it's-good sub-genre, either. It's both . . and neither.
It's gloriously wayward. Brilliantly ludicrous.
. . And not boring for a second. So on this reckoning alone, forgiving him the ending, it's a fair 7.