This film pretty much sums up the problem with modern B-movie making. If Prey were made in the seventies, you could bet your bottom dollar that it would have been a gritty exploitation classic; but here in 2007, it's merely a predictable horror yarn where you can pretty much guess everything that's going to happen. The plot concerns a woman and her husband's two kids that get trapped in the middle of the savannah when their safari car breaks down and their guide is killed by lions. From there, it pretty much stretches the climax of Cujo out over eighty odd minutes. There are a few subplots, which involve things such as a family struggle as the daughter doesn't like her father's new wife, and the father himself sets out to save his family 'at all costs'. The film lays all it's cards on the table right from the beginning as we are let into the secret that not a single one of the 'beautiful' central cast is going to come to any harm at all, and that's very annoying as all you actually want to see is them getting eaten alive!
It's annoying that this film is terrible as there's actually a basis for a decent film in the middle of all the sap. There aren't that many horror films about big game, and a seriously good film could be made out of the idea of a bunch of people being stuck in Africa's lion territory. Director Darrell Roodt, who has a lot of experience in making films that nobody sees, fails to make the audience believe that his central cast are in any danger throughout the film; and this is a major flaw as a movie with one selling point needs to make sure that it makes that selling point count! The film doesn't have any atmosphere; the locations look nice, but nothing is made of it and really, anyone with a video camera could have made this film. Peter Weller is the only 'draw' where the cast is concerned, and he's not a big enough draw to ensure that the movie doesn't fail. To be honest, I don't like him much anyway. It doesn't take long for the audience to guess how this film is going to end; and indeed, that is exactly how it does end. The ending made me cringe for all the wrong reasons. There's a fair bit of blood, but other than that; this film has nothing in the way of positive elements, and I don't recommend it!
