Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Prey Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 2, 2019

The Prey continues Arrow Video’s love affair with cult horror cinema, and in this case they’ve evidently made the dreams of a superfan named Ewan Cant come true, as Cant contributes some goofily enjoyable supplements to this release. Cant seems to either have worked or perhaps even continues to work for Arrow as an acquisitions expert, if sites like LinkedIn are to be believed, but he’s on hand here as an unabashed fanboy, touting what he believes to be a criminally underappreciated slasher film. The Prey is both rather unusual in at least some of its elements while also relentlessly predictable in a number of other elements, if those two don’t seem too mutually exclusive. There’s a certain ecological or perhaps more accurately Darwinian subtext running through the film, at least in its original theatrical cut, a version which offers a lot of interstitial footage of various forest beasties, birds and insects foraging through the wilderness. There’s also a somewhat odd reference to “gypsies” (despite this film taking place in Big Bear, California, to my knowledge not exactly a refuge for Roma types) that underpins some of the plot mechanics, but in several other ways, this is a pretty routine “lost in the woods” slasher entry, though it should be noted that the film was actually shot in 1979 (despite not seeing the theatrical exhibition arc light of day until several years later), which predates some of the better known films in this now rote subgenre.

The opening of the film documents a ravaging forest fire, something that in the original theatrical cut is left to “Moishe the Explainer” late in the film to elucidate. In that version, elderly forest ranger Lester File (Jackie Coogan, Uncle Fester of The Addams Family, in his last big screen appearance) talks about a devastating conflagration that killed a bunch of gypsies back in the 1940s, though there may have been one young, horribly burnt and disfigured, survivor. By that time in the original theatrical version, several unwary campers have already met their gruesome fates, perhaps putting the lie to that “may have been”. What’s kind of odd about the killing spree is that (minor spoiler alert, for anyone who might be concerned) the “reveal” of this film seems to suggest that the villain’s murderous impulses seem to be part of a plan to find a mate, which puts a whole new spin on “swiping left”.

The Prey traffics in a number of slasher clichés, including a bunch of young, amorous couples trekking into a wilderness where few fellow travelers go, with the women of the group arguably a bit more defined (i.e., "needy" fashion plate, girl next door type, etc.) than the largely interchangeable men. There’s also a park ranger named Mark O’Brien (Jackson Bostwick) who is surprised to hear the gaggle is journeying to the remote location, but in a kind of refreshing change of pace, he continues to keep an eye on the group, at least once some mayhem starts intruding. The film also just kind of stops at one point for Mark to display his banjo playing skills (Bostwick is evidently a virtuoso banjo player, at least according to the commentary).

As is sometimes (often?) the case with some of these lesser known horror titles, the backstory of the production may well be at least as interesting as the finished film. Writer-producer-director couple Edwin and Summer Brown evidently had a history in the adult film industry, and this may have kind of hilariously been their stab (no pun intended) at “respectability”. The film has a certain weird allure, especially in the “constantly interrupted by shots of nature” original theatrical version, which barely gets around to even minimal exposition at times.

While minimal (apparently intentionally, again based on some of the supplements), the score by Don Peake struck me personally as quite good, with stabbing string effects that kind of reminded me of Stravinsky's Le Sacre on some kind of hallucinogen. Production values are at least decently high for this kind of less budgeted fare, but the self admitted lack of real acting experience on the part of some of the cast may tend to give this a kind of high school or college student horror film ambience at times.

The Prey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Prey is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

US Theatrical Cut

The 35mm original camera negative of The Prey was scanned in 2K resolution on a 4K pin-registered Arriscan by OCN Labs, USA. Color grading was performed using DaVinci Resolve 16, and all image restoration was performed using Nucoda by Digital Vision. The soundtrack was transferred from the original 35mm optical soundtrack negative and restored using ProTools and Audacity.

Note: Due to severe fading in many of the film's optical effect sequences, there is periodic color flicker and hue inconsistencies.

International Cut

All footage for this version of the film were sourced from its 35mm original camera negative and scanned in 2K resolution on a 4K pin-registered Arriscan by OCN Labs, USA. Because no complete picture element for the International Cut of The Prey was apparently ever made, this version of the film was reconstructed using a video master as a reference.

As the back cover of this release states, The Prey "at last emerges from the VHS wilderness", and anyone who has experienced the film in any previous home video incarnations is sure to be impressed with this transfer, despite some occasional deficiencies (as alluded to in Arrow's own verbiage, above). As might be gleaned from the fact that both cuts were at least partially assembled from the original camera negative, I noticed no huge quality differences between them. The palette is rather nicely saturated and detail levels are generally quite pleasing. Some of the nature footage, some of which I'm assuming is stock footage, is pretty rough looking at times, and can have pretty substantial damage (see screenshot 19). Some of the additional footage included in the so-called International Cut is kind of sepia toned (see screenshot 3). There are less noticeable blemishes that dot the premises from time to time, but on the whole, this is a nicely organic looking presentation that should easily please fans.

The Prey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Prey features a robust sounding LPCM Mono track. As mentioned above, Don Peake's music is a real standout and sounds energetic but not overly strident or bright here. Dialogue (and screams — lots of screams) sound full bodied and problem free. Ambient environmental effects are generally realistic sounding.

The Prey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• U.S. Theatrical Cut (1080p; 1:19:46)


• Gypsies, Camps and Screams (1080p; 27:01) is a 2018 interview with Debbie Thureson.


• Babe in the Woods (1080p; 13:45) is a 2018 interview with Lori Lethin.


• Gayle on Gail (1080p; 11:49) is a 2019 interview with Gayle Gannes.


• The Wide Mouthed Frog and Other Stories (1080p; 18:20) is a 2019 interview with Jackson Bostwick.


• Call of the Wild (1080p; 7:13) is a 2019 interview with Caryl Struycken.


• In Search of The Prey (1080p; 13:58) features Ewan Cant and Debbie Thureson looking at some of the locations as well as the motel where some of the cast and crew stayed. Warning: this features footage of Cant without a shirt (recreating the watering hole scene from the movie) which is almost as horrifying as anything in the film itself (yes, that's a joke, maybe).


• Texas Frightmare Weekend Experience offers a "viewer participation" supplement with audience reaction to the film followed by a Q&A (1080p; 17:05) with Lori Lethin, Carel Struycken, and Jackson Bostwick, with Ewan Cant moderating.


• Trailers

  TV Spot (1080p; 00:35)

  
  

  Home Video Trailer (1080p; 1:24)

• Audio Interviews

  Audio Interview with Director Edwin Scott Brown plays as a kind of alternate soundtrack to the film, lasting to around the one hour mark, give or take. Ewan Cant interviews.

  
  

  Audio Interview with Producer Summer Brown plays exactly as with Edwin Scott Brown's interview, albeit this time lasting to around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Ewan Cant interviews.

• Audio Commentary with Ewan Cant and Amanda Reyes

Disc Two

• International Cut (1080p; 1:35:37) features an alternate cut of the film which has a "gypsy flashback" sequence (see screenshots 3 and 18), as well as a few other alternates. This comes with a warning that it was assembled according to a video master source and that it is "100% non-director approved". Kind of interestingly (if not offering any major differences), this version features DTS-HD Master Audio Mono.


• Composite Cut (1080p; 1:42:34) is a "fan cut" combining both versions for what is touted here as the "ultimate" The Prey viewing experience. This version also sports a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track.


• Outtakes (1080p; 45:48) are silent but may appeal to some fans.

Additionally, Arrow has also provided their typically well appointed insert booklet, as well as a kind of cheeky "permit" granting access to Northpoint, Keen Wild.

The Prey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's not human, and it's got an axe! may not exactly be the most memorable tag line in the history of movie marketing, but it perhaps gives a clue as to the kind of "low rent" sensibility of this odd, but kind of engaging, slasher flick. Those who don't mind a bit of "not quite ready for prime time" acting, along with (in the theatrical version, at least) a lot of interstitial nature photography may find this an okay diversion, but it's the supplementary material here that may really be the calling card for many fans. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase.