Prey

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09/01/2014 A very pleasant surprise. I'm well aware of how lame a plot revolving around killer pigs sounds, but it is pulled off very well. A great deal of its success revolves around how seriously it is taken by the filmmakers. They manage to transform an initially hokey story idea into a tense and edge of your seat film. As dumb as a movie about killer pigs may sound, it helps to know that boar are actually pretty viscous critters. There are literally thousands and thousands of reported attacks on people, with hundreds of reported fatalities. They are becoming a very big problem all throughout Europe and the Southern United States, as they are rapidly invading ecosystems and destroying the natural ecology. In addition to wreaking havoc on the natural order, they are frequently coming into contact with humans, often with violent outcomes. Upon knowing these facts, the plot of the movie is (while still extreme and obviously fictitious) not quite as far fetched as a knee jerk reaction might think it. As I said, the thing that sells this movie is its seriously taken nature. There is no camp, cheese or comedic relief. It maintains a very somber tone that elevates the material. The direction of the movie reflects this as it uses alot of dark tones and classic tension building techniques. The way the pigs are used are very similar to how Speilberg used the shark in 'Jaws'. You sense the pigs more by implication rather than actually seeing it. Great use of sound, shadow and movement to represent the pigs rather than showing them and reminding everyone that the monster is just a boar. What we do see of the critters isn't half bad, but the filmmakers definitely pulled it off better by not overexposing the idea. By using these techniques, director Blossier is able to get some awesomely tense moments out of his film. Certainly some edge of your seat scenes that are pulled off very very well. The acting is pretty decent from a totally unknown French cast. Again, a major strong point is that the actors believe in their roles and play them seriously. The lead character played by Colin is particularly strong. I can't say I was a huge fan of the subplots involving the family business and the poisonous fertilizer. I realize it was supposed to be an ecological message, but it really didn't need it. It did add an element of tension between Colin's character and Levantal's, but I thought it was a mostly unnecessary plot device. In addition to some unneeded subplots, there were a few other negatives. At points the direction became difficult to follow. The combination of quick cuts and the dark lighting made it hard to know exactly what is happening. This wasn't aided by the story's tendency to spin a bit out of control at times. Adding to this problem is the fact that the film is subtitled. I don't have a problem with subtitles, but in a film like this in which alot is going on quickly coupled with jumpy storytelling and dark lighting, having to read all the dialogue can easily distract me from being able to pay attention to a quickly moving film. None of these flaws cause major problems, but it was a bit distracting at parts. Despite a couple gripes however, I thought this was a really solid creature feature with a boatload of edge of your seat moments. It seemed to have a way of making me a little uncomfortable, and that's what a horror movie is all about. An unconventional ending adds to a seriously taken production that makes the absolute most of what it has. Not perfect, but loads better than the majority of similar themed films with 10 times the budget. See more 05/08/2013 Un film rempli à la gueule de défaut (normal, 1er métrage) mais tellement bien fait, débordant de passion, d'amour et de respect envers le genre, des scènes de tensions hallucinantes...next one please! See more 09/30/2012 a fairly straight forward thriller, the boars are fairly effective, the situation slightly predictable, but the ending crushing. See more 08/25/2012 Effective little thriller, one that if it had a better third act would have been a minor classic. See more 07/31/2012 A French thriller about killer mutant boars that takes itself way too seriously. See more 05/06/2012 Prey shows that you can literally make a horror movie about anything. In this case a herd of chemically enhanced wild boars terrorize a wealthy family of French industrialists who set out on a hunting trip. It sounds dumb but writer/director Antoine Blossier constructs enough human interest, builds suspense & captures some great looking scenery making Prey a worthwhile creature feature. See more Read all reviews

Prey

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