Directed by Darrell James Roodt
Starring Peter Weller, Bridget Moynaham, Carly Schroeder, Connor Dowds, Jamie Bartlet

In the early 2000s, we got a lot of movies that tried to convince us not to do certain things. Hostel (2005) showed us the troubles of traveling abroad in some of those smaller European countries. Wolf Creek (2005) did the same for the Australian outback. Hell, even some of us are still heeding the warning from Jaws (1975) not to go in the water, that came out almost 50 years ago! And along those same lines, Prey is warning you about those trips through the wilds of Africa where you can see the wildlife firsthand. Never a good idea.

While on a working trip to Africa, Peter Weller sends his two kids and his new wife on one of those wildlife safari rides, which of course, during a pit stop, they get stranded out in the middle of the reserve. To make it worse, there are three lions stalking them, waiting for their next meal to get out of the jeep. The rest of the movie takes place either in the car or right around it. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much when I started watching this, with a plot this simple, I didn’t see how they were going to keep my interests during the full 90-minute running time. But it works. Director Roodt spends enough time in the beginning setting up the characters, showing the animosity of the teenage daughter feels for her new stepmother, so when they do get trapped out in the wild, things get very tense and very nerve-racking.

This was kind of like watching one of those Discovery Channel shows gone bad. There is even a scene in the opening credits that had me thinking it was one of those cannibal movies from the ‘80s, when some lioness takes down a zebra! It wasn’t gory, but it was real, so it felt a little more terrifying. I was never a big fan of watching those kinds of programs for that very reason. It was real. So, when a human is getting attacked by one of these lions in the film, it would get to me a little more. Seeing a monster in a rubber suit, or even a CGI dinosaur chomping down on someone is one thing. No matter how realistic it might look, your brain knows better. But in this film, even though I know these actors are not actually getting munched by these lions, maybe because it was possible, it was much more effective.

The film has a little bit of gore, but it is what is happening that is more effective than the blood flying, such as seeing the remains of one of the victims after the hyenas get through them! If there is any CGI in here, it might be for some blood spurting from bullet hits. All the animals looked very real and very dangerous, so major kudos to the production team because it really works, because it really seems like they are attacking the jeep our cast is in. The filmmakers also do a great job showing these lions as they really are. They are basically sharks on land. They are not evil or mean, but just wild animals looking to survive. Makes you realize that when you’re seeing these creatures in a city zoo, how much more dangerous they are out in their natural habitat. Bridget Moynahan plays the woman trying to learn the respect and trust of her new stepchildren and is having a hard enough time as it is, let alone being in a death trap in the middle of the African jungle. She makes feel the tension and suspense even more because she is doing whatever she can to keep these two kids safe. Weller is really on in the beginning and the end, but honestly, it doesn’t matter. The rest of the cast carry the movie along just fine and will keep you riveted throughout the running time.