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After terrorizing the Dutch with a living elevator, a canal-dwelling slasher, and an evil Sinterklaas, rebellious filmmaker Dick Maas returned with a more natural kind of killer. The people of Amsterdam are not under attack by a mere animal; a displaced predator is on the prowl. The blood trail of Prooi (Prey) starts outside the city where a family is brutally slaughtered in the middle of the night. It doesn’t take more than a glimpse of the massacre before a local zoo veterinarian determines the culprit. A lion is on the loose, and it’s heading deeper and deeper into the concrete jungle.
When the Netherlands said they can’t compete with Hollywood movies, Maas set out to prove them wrong. And since then, the audacious auteur has succeeded — his brand of absurd and entertaining filmmaking is enjoyed by not only the Dutch but also the rest of the world. Here Maas tapped into another popular subgenre, and the results are damn entertaining. The movie plays out like a standard “when animals attack” flick. The structure is not unlike something found on Syfy’s Saturday schedule circa 2000s, however, what ultimately sets this movie apart from its predecessors is of course Maas’ handling.
Before the fun of Prey truly kicks in, the movie gives an idea of who’s hunting who. The ravenous male lion closes in on Amsterdam while his main pursuer, a big-animal vet named Lizzy (Sophie van Winden), attempts to tame her on-and-off boyfriend Dave (Julian Looman). Their playful discord pales in comparison to an A.B.C. (alien big cat) chowing down on the city, of course, but you still hope these two kids can work things out. Another major player is introduced later on as the cat-and-mouse game becomes more intense.
This beastie romp follows the blueprint of many other “natural horror” movies. The local government wants to keep the threat on the down-low, a nosy member of the press has a personal stake in the story, the hired guns fail miserably, and a second animal expert is brought in later to help close the case. The beats are certainly familiar, and Maas doesn’t quite subvert them in any significant manner, but their sheer presence can also be comforting in this sort of story. Prey satisfies expectations in all the right ways without being phoned in, either.
Maas’ trademark sense of black humor distinguishes Prey and gives the whole thing a longer lifespan. Much of said comedy is found in the lion’s brutal kills. From the outset, the filmmaker has his dial set to “droll” — when asked where the father’s arm is, after the maned murderer devours an entire family, the assigned detective nonchalantly tells Lindsay it’s probably wherever the mother’s head is. It’s exactly that style of comedy, along with sight gags, that compensates for an admittedly threadbare plot. In addition, there’s nothing to undercut here, seeing as the movie is hardly serious.
It just wouldn’t be a Maas joint without a series of memorable set pieces. From the lion chasing down a delivery driver to a boy being snatched off a playground, Prey proves it has claws and it isn’t afraid to use them. Not a soul is spared, and that body count definitely includes children. Maas isn’t above threatening the security of kiddos on screen, although in this instance he refuses to waste an opportunity to shock the audience. This lion picks off at least three young’uns. One of whom is a baby in the wrong place at the wrong time; the standout scene has the lion boarding a city bus and then making a meal out of every single passenger. It seems twisted to use little ones as fodder, yet as a reminder to the uninitiated, Maas doesn’t care about what’s appropriate or not.
That other key character finally shows up around the halfway mark; Lindsay’s ex Jack (Mark Frost) is flown in after the Dutch authorities fail to catch the cat themselves. Now, Maas can be accused of being distasteful with how he writes Jack, a one-legged hunter who literally gives his remaining leg to take the lion down. Not to belabor the point, but the offbeat director has no concern for decency. Never has, and probably never will. Had he been worried about coming off as indelicate, he probably wouldn’t have had a lion eating a baby on a bus. And if anything, he should be applauded for showing restraint where it mattered most. Viewers almost had to endure a “love triangle” subplot no one asked for.
When there’s a lion in a modern movie, there is bound to be CGI. It’s much too dangerous and costly to have a real one on set. The lion, when done digitally, is passable-looking, but at the same time, he never looks real or intimidating. Meanwhile, the puppet effects are sparingly used and equally obvious. Keeping in mind Prey is a low-budgeted production, audiences have to look past the visual hiccups every now and then. For the record, though, the effects are far from bottom-barrel quality.
Prey is a rousing, weird and delightful movie where any small snags can surely be overlooked in favor of the whole picture. Another director might have seen this as a chance to play it safe and turned in a cookie-cutter creature-feature, but Dick Maas doesn’t color within the lines. Lion or no lion, this director’s work always has some bite to it.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
