Prey

Rating:
Summary: Slow-going at times, but worth a look
Review: The above description of the movie is a little misleading; by no means would I describe it as "gore-soaked" although there are a couple bloody scenes. Basically this is a British film from 1978 about an alien who lands on Earth and assumes human form. He stumbles upon a house occupied by a lesbian couple, who assume he is some kind of halfwit and let him stay awhile. I remember seeing this one on video under the title "Alien Prey," with the front cover being a big-time spoiler of the one gory scene in the movie! I rented the DVD, expecting a big gorefest, but instead got a reasonably good, occasionally slow movie with effectively weird moments.

This film was directed by Norman J. Warren, whose interview is also featured on the DVD. Apparently there is a Warren boxset in the works featuring four of his films: Prey, Inseminoid (Horror Planet), and two others. In the interview, Warren mentions previous softcore sex films that he's done; in fact, Prey features a fair amount of nudity and a really hot lesbian sex scene. The erotic tension underlying the relationship between the two lesbians and the alien guy is pretty well-communicated here: the "butch" is quite jealous of the alien's designs on her more feminine companion. The whole movie takes place in and around the women's secluded country home; as expected, it looks all to be shot on a shoestring budget but doesn't really suffer for it. It's well-photographed, with decent, understated performances from the actors and simple dialogue. Not a penny wasted here. And what an ending!

I'd recommend this film for anyone who likes low-budget sleaze and weirdness, especially you freaks who are into 70's softcore sex films. I was pleasantly surprised even though I expected something a little more "gore-soaked."