Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Manthast Absolutely amazing

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Inmechon The movie's only flaw is also a virtue: It's jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs.

Nmkl Pkjl Ftmsch You know the big house in the Omen (1976), the secluded stately pile in the English countryside where Ambassador Thorn and his wife intended to raise young Damien before they found out the hard way that he was the Anti-Christ? Well, that big old house was on the grounds of the now-defunct Shepperton Studios, and when cult director Norman J. Warren (fresh from a surprise hit with the slow- burning shocker Satan's Slave) found out it was free for ten days in 1977, he gathered a tiny group of actors (who wore their own clothes on camera) and technicians, and set about making a feature film in little over a week with a largely improvised piecemeal script. Actually, the story behind the making of Prey is a little more complicated than that, but this potted version of events simply underlines the freewheeling, anything-goes state of British cinema in the seventies, when apparently anyone with a few quid to spare and nerves of steel could shoot a film on loose change and have it playing in the Odeons and ABCs alongside the latest blockbusters from America in a matter of weeks. The fact that a turf accountant is mentioned in the credits for Prey tells you all you need to know, really.There's not much of a plot here - a half-man, half-canine alien called Kator / Anders lands in the British countryside on a fact- finding mission and is adopted by a lesbian couple - one slightly butch and prone to possessive hysterics, the other more feminine and submissive. Things very quickly go awry as it becomes clear that Anders / Kator isn't all he seems, chickens are killed, policeman investigating the gruesome disappearance of a motorist are butchered, a fox is found half-eaten, and it's only a matter of time before the awful truth comes out. You've probably guessed the twist already, which is understandable because the title kind of gives it away, but not only are the man-dog-alien thing's alien brethren going to kill us all, but eat us as well. Yikes!Norman J. Warren has been referred to in some quarters as the nearest British cinema's ever come to its very own Fred Olen Ray, but that pat description manages to belittle both parties. Warren was a knowledgeable craftsman and canny director, capable of performing minor miracles on the tightest of budgets, and stands nicely alongside his closest contemporary Pete Walker as one of the true 'wide boys' of seventies exploitation. If Walker offered the public unsentimental tales, however, Warren could be downright misanthropic, presenting a very dim view of humanity with his endlessly shrill and argumentative characters, skew-whiff pocket universes where an attempted rape, a bloody murder or a Suspiria- referencing set-piece lurked around every corner, and happy endings were for wimps and ten-year-old girls. He may have looked like a personable supply teacher, but there's a solid core of pitch-black nastiness at the heart of Warren's best films, and Prey is no exception. Relationships are open wounds, conversations are punctuated by recriminations and hysterics, blood (and vomit) pours off the screen and nobody emerges with any real credit. Throw in some hilariously awkward transvestism, skid row special effects, a commendably gloomy atmosphere of infinite foreboding and you've got a unique, if undeniably flawed little oddity that should please anyone with a taste for the forgotten avenues of schlock horror.A note on the performances, in particular Barry Stokes's turn as the androgynous, almost catatonic alien. Having previously hammed it up in no-budget sex comedies (something he'd do again in the Warren- directed 1979 soft-core science fiction spoof Spaced Out), Stokes proves here that he's just as comfortable with the opposite side of the exploitation coin, and he's hauntingly effective in his role. Sally Faulkner is memorable, if occasionally a touch overpowering, as the dominant half of the partnership, and the late Glory Annen (who would be reunited with Stokes in Spaced Out two years later) should, by rights, have become a legitimate film star - she certainly had the charisma, the acting chops and the looks for it, but it seems she never got the right breaks. Ivor Slaney provides the pulsating electronic score which is appropriately other-worldly and disconcerting, particularly during the genuinely nauseating scene where the three leads thrash around in a heavily polluted river in glorious slow motion - to be honest, in spite of the plentiful blood and viscera on show in certain other scenes, that's the part of Prey most likely to turn the average viewer's stomach.

augustian This is one of Norman J. Warren's better films, although having seen the Norman J. Warren Coffin Box DVD Collection, that is not much of a recommendation. This film is a strange concoction of sci-fi, horror, zombie, lesbianism and probably a few other genres. The film was shot in a matter of days on a low budget, very much on the hoof: the film was shot as it was being written. It had to be finished quickly because the mansion was due for demolition. Anders' alien face was laughable, looking like something that you get from a joke shop at Halloween.The main cast is only three characters: Anders the alien (Barry Stokes), and the lesbian couple, Jo (Sally Faulkner) and Jessica (Glory Annen). The interaction between the three characters is handled quite deftly, with Anders getting close to Jo to the annoyance of Jessica, but then during the film it all changes with Jo becoming suspicious of Anders while Jessica suspects Jo of foul play and then falling for Anders. The growing antagonism between Jo and Jessica plays right into Anders' hands.This film originally ran for about 85 minutes but it was cut by the BBFC and then further cuts were made possibly to get more showings during cinema show times. The only full version seems to be the North American VHS. I have seen several DVD editions and they are all missing several minutes of footage. The main omission is at 28 minutes when Jessica and Anders are talking about being scared and then Jo joins them to talk about music. Jessica goes to her bedroom to fetch something and Jo goes to talk to her and they argue. Jessica makes some cocoa in the kitchen then she shows Anders to his room. This sequence is about three and a half minutes. There are two smaller omissions: at 37 minutes, a 10 second clip of Anders sitting in a chair is cut and at 72 minutes a further 8 seconds are cut in which the alien is eating flesh and Jo is running down a corridor. The omissions actually give the film a bit more urgency. The French DVD is also the short version despite the cover saying 85 minutes.Overall then, a quirky film for fans of quirky films. It really is a pity that as far as I am aware, no DVD edition has the missing footage as an extra.

manchester_england2004 PREY is the second of four horror movies made by Norman J. Warren between 1976 and 1981.I bought this movie as part of the Norman J. Warren Collection, a wonderful coffin shaped boxset containing this movie, along with SATAN'S SLAVE, TERROR and INSEMINOID. The said boxset is loaded with extras and is a must have for any fan of the director's movies. Any cuts made by the censors to previous releases have all been waived, so all four movies are presented in proper uncut versions as the director intended them to be.In this movie Norman J. Warren continues to demonstrate that he, along with the equally great director, Pete Walker, were the natural successors to Hammer, Amicus and Tigon. The three companies in question had dominated the British horror movie industry for over a decade, having made some truly superb productions. All three had ceased to produce horror movies at this point, paving the way for the two mentioned excellent directors to make independent movies now rightly appreciated as minor classics of low-budget cinema.There is an exploitation element to this movie that shows the director's passion for experimenting with the subject.I have to admit that for a while I was put off by the prospect of seeing PREY. Having read the plot of the movie in the leaflet accompanying the boxset I bought, I had expected a movie along the lines of PREDATOR but with a lower budget. I expected to see someone running around with silly monster makeup trying to look scary but instead looking silly.But, my initial perception was entirely wrong.To my surprise this movie was better than SATAN'S SLAVE and TERROR, both of which I had seen previously and enjoyed.The plot is as follows - a cannibal alien arrives in the English countryside looking for somewhere to colonise as its race is dying and needs new food supplies. He stumbles upon a lesbian couple who catch him trespassing on their property. This is the basic outline but this simple set-up brings a great movie to the screen.The director uses the opportunity to exploit sexual tension as it turns out one of the lesbians actually takes an attraction to the alien, who appears to them in the form of a young human male.Another excellent tactic used to create tension is the portrayal of the alien as a wild animal during certain points whilst remaining calm and curious to what he sees around him the next. This technique makes the alien unpredictable as we really don't know what may trigger him to attack those around him. But more importantly, the technique eliminates the sense of calmness and tranquility associated with the beautiful English countryside (much of which is no longer here sadly!), and turns it into a potentially lethal battlefield where anyone could be attacked and killed at any time. These scenes are mostly shot during the day in the summertime, perhaps making the impact stronger.The director knew he was working with a very low budget so he disguised it beautifully by leaving the most horrific images to our imagination. Whilst this may not satisfy those who love to see gore, it will please those who value atmosphere, tension and suspense. Those who love gore do have one treat to enjoy, but I won't spoil it by revealing where and what happens.A very unusual but highly interesting moment in the second half is during a scene when the alien falls into a dirty lake. He appears unable to swim and the two women help him out. As they go into the water to help him, the camera slows right down as the alien panics violently. You actually get the feeling that he is going to kill them.But I feel one of the director's finest moments and certainly the best from a directorial viewpoint in this movie is during a scene between the alien and the butch lesbian (who unlike her lover is shown to thoroughly dislike him up to this point). Prior to this scene, the alien has been dressed up like a woman. The two lesbians even decide to put makeup on him so that he appears effeminate. Anyway, he is left alone with the butch lesbian for a moment and there is an incredible scene of sexual tension when it appears that she is about to seduce him. An excellent sad love song plays in the background whilst this scene takes place, providing an electrifying audio effect to support the truly mesmerising visual imagery during this otherwise silent scene.Looking back at the movie as a whole, it does appear that it is moving slowly. Yet I was captivated by it all the way through. Not one scene bored me in the least. This is a testament to some excellent scriptwriting, backed up by solid direction. Believe it or not, the script was written whilst filming was going on! Incredible!The acting in this movie is absolutely fantastic. Barry Stokes gives his finest performance here as a genuinely creepy character. Some of his facial expressions reminded me very much of the Norman Bates character from PSYCHO.The two female leads are equally good, with Sally Faulkner easily being the best of the two as the butch domineering lesbian.Overall, this is a superb movie that is a lot better than its title and basic plot outline suggest. It is a rare gem from a bygone era, an era when British cinema is now widely considered by movie historians to have been in decline.I can highly recommend this movie for anyone who is a fan of Norman J. Warren's other movies. I can also recommend it to fans of Pete Walker movies and exploitation movie fans in general.

dgci-net I'm glad I didn't go out and buy, or even rent this movie, but watching the low-resolution version on MovieFlix.com was enjoyable enough.Glory Annen played the best character, the somewhat vapid lover of the older lesbian. Trapped in a relationship that doesn't really excite her that much, and wanting to learn more, she plays a key role in bringing the "newcomer" into their lives.This movie was nothing special, fairly typical, if a bit kinkier than usual, Brit fare. But it was entertaining enough to watch it all the way through, which is more than I can say for a lot of films I've watched lately. A mildly interesting plot, a totally hokey alien, enough skin for the prurient, something to make a bowl of popcorn and watch when you have naught else to do.