Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
A hiking trip into the wild turns into a desperate bid for survival for five friends on the run from a mysterious shooter.
Prey (2021) is a serviceable but formulaic survival thriller. The premise of friends hunted by a mysterious sniper in the forest is well-worn territory with few fresh twists. The plot follows predictable beats with thin character development making it hard to invest in the group's survival. Acting is functional but unremarkable across the board. Cinematography makes decent use of the forest setting with some effective tension-building shots, giving it a slight edge. The mystery of the shooter's identity provides modest intrigue but resolves without much impact. The ending delivers little satisfaction or surprise, following the genre template closely. Overall a competent but largely forgettable entry in the survival-thriller genre.