Hunter Prey and Man's Last Stand: A Movie Review

*Full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Maya Entertainment and MPRM.

**Here be some spoilers.

Director/writer: Sandy Collora.

First off, this reviewer freely admits that the science fiction genre is a real blind spot in this writer's expertise. After listening to director Sandy Collora's ("Batman: Dead End") commentary on Hunter Prey, there are some comparable anchoring points. Collora pulled some of his influences from the '70s Buck Rogers, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars and others for this December, 2010 release. Collora is also influenced by westerns, but Hunter Prey feels like an extended version of Star Trek's 1967 "Arena."

In this feature, a captive escapes from a downed spacecraft, known as the Prometheus. A three man military trained crew moves in to chase, while initially pinned down by accurate plasma fire. Did this reviewer just say "plasma fire?" Anyways, a cat and mouse chase takes place over the next hour, with Jericho (Clark Bartram) playing James T. Kirk and Centauri 7 (Damion Poitier) as Gron.

Early on, this reviewer was wishing for more characters. Hunter Prey begins with four characters and a female automaton, but quickly the cast dwindles to two. Understandably, the budget was limited on this production and the options were few. However, a larger initial action scene is warranted, before reducing the cast to a measly duo.

Other reviews have criticized the pacing: "Collora and Damon's decision to kill off all but two of their cast within the opening 30 minutes, causes real pacing issues" (Pritchard). Some of the early close in-fighting is interesting and the tricks used by Jericho to survive are sneaky. These types of scenes are too few. Much of the middle section of the film is dedicated to antagonistic dialogue across communication devices, which slows the story considerably. Thankfully the pacing picks up in the finale and a moral dilemma begins to take shape in the final scenes.

Apparently, an interplanetary war has devastated the human race and one lone man fights against an aggressive alien species, called the Sadonians. Other races also take part in this battle and the human race has one final trick up its sleave. A flying bomb is heading to the Sadonian homeworld, under cloak. Only Jericho knows of the weapon's location. Yet, the Sadonian Centauri 7 pleads mercy for his wife and child, located in the bomb's path!

His pleas fall on mostly deaf ears, as Hunter Prey sets up a possible sequel. Can the Sadonian's and few remaining humans live in peace? Or, must the bloodshed continue? The answer to this question is open ended, but the film's central message is one of mercy. However, mercy, within Hunter Prey, brings your enemy to your forefront over and over again. Sometimes sacrificing one individual saves many and this act could have moved this film's plot along a little better.

This title has been released for several weeks now and this film is for those who enjoy the classic science-fiction stories of the '70s and '80s e.g. Star Wars. If this is your introduction to the genre, you might be disappointed by some of the behaviours of the characters. Other frustrations involve an unprogressive middle section, with an inconcrete conclusion. Others might look forward to these foibles and Hunter Prey is easily recommendable. Just keep in mind that this is low budget or a B-movie reel that shoots for the stars, while being aware of its shortfalls.

Setting/realism/cinematography: 7 out of 10 (excellent desert landscapes).
Characters/believability: 6 out of 10 (hard to know how a Sadonian actually behaves, Jericho shows some vigour).
Plot/story/unity: 6.5 (unified, some type of deeper conflict was needed in the middle portion).

Overall: 6.5 out of 10.

*Bonus features include a director's commentary and behind the scenes featurette.

The film's homepage can be found here:

Hunter Prey Homepage

Another review of Hunter Prey at DVD Verdict, by Judge Pritchard:

Hunter Prey Review at DVD Verdict

Purchasable through Amazon:




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Posted in: 2011,clark bartram,damion poitier,hunter prey,movie review,prometheus,sandy collora,sci-fi,science fiction movie review,star wars,western