Released and shot somewhere between 1979 and 1983 depending
on which source you choose THE PREY was one of those movies that had a limited
theatrical release and soon found its way onto the shelves of video stores
everywhere. The cover art at the time featured an axe piercing what appears to
be a body. That was enough to get horror fans ready to rent. What they found
was familiar and different at the same time.
The story takes place in the Keen Wild national forest in
the Colorado where in 1948 a wildfire burned down much of the North Point area.
Now 6 college age students are on a camping trip in the area. Before heading up
they meet Ranger Mark O’Brien (Jackson Bostwick) who catches the girl’s eyes
and leaves tells them to be safe.
The group heads out with one of the girls more interested in
her looks than carrying a backpack loaded with supplies. Along the way we get a
point of view shot of someone or something watching them. They eventually make
camp and settle in for the night. While sitting around the campfire one of the
guys tells them a story about what took place all those years ago.
This takes up a large portion of screen time as he tells
them a camp of gypsies used to camp nearby. One of the heads of the group was
having an affair with a woman from town. When her husband finds out she claims
she was raped. He and a few other townsfolk track down the gypsies and kill
them with the exception of one, a boy who was born physically challenged and
much larger than his age. Now folks talk of him haunting the woods.
Of course the group laughs at him and, of course again, he
does indeed exists and begins killing off the kids one by one. We’ve seen this
story before and little is added to it for this movie. That is with the
exception of a twist at the end.
The movie moves along at a meandering pace which some praise
and others condemn. For myself I found it added nothing. The “creature” we’re
presented with at the end is also a major let down looking more like a man in a
mask than Michael Myers did in HALLOWEEN. I was stunned to read that John Carl
Buechler was responsible for this makeup. Then again he did give us the effects
for GHOULIES.
There are no performance here worthy of note and the fact
that among the 6 actors portraying the students they have less than 100
performances between them says something. Some in fact have only this film to
their credit. Smart move.
Here’s the thing. For such a poorly received movie that made
its way to video quickly Arrow Video is giving it a major overhaul. Fans of the
film will rejoice, slasher fans will be glad to add another film to their
collection and the less discerning horror fan will pick it up to make it part
of their shelf as well. Making it worth that is the fact that Arrow, as is
always the case, are treating this film like a major event and their decision
to do so makes it worth picking up, in particular for all of the extras they’ve
added.
I mean come on, look at this list of extras! It includes 3
different versions of the film: the original US theatrical cut, the
international cut and the composite cut. They’re all 2k restorations of the
film giving fans the ultimate quality for the film. The International cut
features the gypsy flashback footage that was added later by the producers
without the approval of the original filmmakers. The 2 disc set features an
original slipcover with the original UK home video artwork, a reversible sleeve
with new artwork by Justin Osbourn, a limited edition booklet featuring new
writing on the film by Ewan Cant, a new audio commentary track with producer
Summer Brown, a new audio commentary track with director Edwin Scott Brown, an
audio interview with Edwin Scott Brown, a new on-camera interview with actress
Debbie Thureson, a new on-camera interview with actress Lori Lethin, a new
on-camera interview with actor Carel Stuycken, a new on-camera interview with
actor Jackson Bostwick (who some may remembers as TV’s Saturday morning hero
Shazam from long ago), “In Search of The Prey” where actors Cant and Thureson
revisit the original shooting locations in Idyllwild, CA, a Q&A session at
Texas Frightmare Weekend in 2019, the VHS trailer and TV spot, the original
script on BD-ROM content and an extended outtakes reel with 45 minutes of never
before seen outtakes. If that wasn’t enough that composite version features the
combined efforts of both the US and International prints to make the most
complete version of the film available.
Arrow is doing this movie right like they always do. But
changing things up they are limiting it to just 3000 copies so if you’re
inclined to want this one in your collection make sure you order yours right
away. With so few copies they won’t last long.
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