THE PREY
Directed by: Jimmy Henderson
Starring: Gu Shangwei, Vithaya Pansringarm, Dy Sonita, Byron Bishop
Xin, an undercover cop working within a gang of telephone scammers in Thailand, finds himself arrested as part of a local police sting. Maintaining his cover, Xin finds himself transported to an off-the-books prison whose warden uses his prisoners as potential trophies for hunters wanting to stalk and kill The Most Dangerous Game. While his colleagues do their best to locate him, Xin must use all of his skills to remain alive…
As soon as I learnt that THE PREY was directed by Jummy Henderson, director of the excellent JAILBREAK, I knew I was in for a treat, even though Jean-Paul Ly was remaining behind the camera (as action and fight coordinator) for this outing.
In his debut feature role, Gu Shangwei does an excellent job carrying the film as Xin. When we first meet him he appears to be just another streetgang member, about to get his just rewards in a ruthless police raid. However we soon realise that there is more to him when he seems very cagey about being separated from his watch.
We then get a good old prison yard scuffle, partly stoked by Mony, who deliberately mis-interprets Xin when confronted by one of the prison heavies. Although short and sweet it bodes well for what is to come later.
Vithaya Pansrignarm played the vicious, karaoke-loving police captain in ONLY GOD FORGIVES, and here he plays a more cartoonish villain, laughing at his own evil-ness, playing air guitar while torturing prisoners with electro-shock "therapy". He makes for a great over-arching villain. Aiding him are the three millionaire hunters. Matt (Bishop) has been on such human safari's before and has invited along another hunter, Payak, and Mat's nephew, T, a novice out to prove himself.
What follows is the familiar set-up: a bunch of captives, Xin included, are taken out to a remote part of the jungle and let loose, with their erstwhile hunters not far behind. This sequence in particular, the start of the hunt, is incredibly tense as the "prey" have to sprint across clear land into the trees while the hunters take aim. Xin finds himself helping out an injured Mony as well as trying to gain an upper hand. The film makes great use of its natural locations, which at times provide a stunning backdrop to the action.
The only fly in the ointment, story-wise, is the arrival of Xin's handlers from the Ministry of State Security. When they arrive at the prison, the warden denies knowing of Xin being held there and manages to make them leave (there is a nice detail of the female agent noticing the money sorting machine in the warden's office). However later, when they locate Xin's tracking device, they are incredibly naïve to approach a whole bunch of people most likely involved in criminal activity. Its one of those narrative moments which unfortunately bounce you out of the movie.
Its interesting that there isn't the usual balance of risk=reward here that you will find in other action films. Although completely logical and unavoidable, Xin ends up mortally injuring a local villager and finds himself needing their help - and to help them avoid a massacre. The aftermath of the intense village battle at the end of the film sees Xin injured and alone, with no one to care if he's alive or dead. A very bitter finale, all things considered!
THE VERDICT
Directed by the guy behind JAILBREAK and with action choreographed by the excellent Jean-Paul Ly, THEY PREY is another exemplary spin on The Most Dangerous Game (such as Hard Target). Gu Shangwai is definitely a star on the rise and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.