Prowl

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Prowl

November 9th 2011 23:14

Prowl (2010) is one of the eight new production from After Dark Films, the company which has re-branded what was called Horrorfest: Eight Films To Die For into After Dark Originals: A New Brand Of Fear. This and six of the other movies have all been released into the domestic market on DVD, with the exception of Re-Kill (2012), which is being released in Australian cinemas early next year. Prowl is an American and English co-production, shot - like many medium-budgeted American horrors – in Bulgaria with a mostly Bulgarian crew. The director, Ptrik Syversen, is Norwegian, and the screenwriter, Tim Tori, also happens to be an associate producer on another of the After Dark Originals, 51 (2011).

Courtney Hope as Amber

Amber (Courtney Hope) longs to get the hell out of dodge. The small town is doing her head in, her mum’s a soak, work is a bloody mess, and those weird flash visions aren’t helping either. Chicago beckons, and she manages to secure a shared accommodation deal in the windy city. Now she just needs to get there. Cue: friends and car.

Ruta Gedmintas as Suzy

Not long out of town and said car goes ker-put. So it looks like Amber won’t make the deal she arranged. But wait, there’s hope! A truckie, Bernard (Bruce Payne) pulls over and although he’s reluctant he’s eventually won over by the young ‘uns charms. He bundles them into the back of his rig, with young Eric (Olive Hawes) pulling the short straw and riding up front in the cab with Bernard for security reasons. So Amber, Suzy (Ruta Gedmintas), Peter (Joshua Bowman), Fiona (Perdita Weeks), and Ray (Jamie Blackley) get drunk on cheap whiskey, smoke some pot, and get curious about the cargo they’re sharing the ride with. Bernard said no snooping … ‘cos as we all know, curiosity always killed the cat.

One of Amber's friends

Suddenly Amber and her friends find themselves trapped in a large derelict meat-packing warehouse with some very hungry and ferocious human beasties lurking in the corners … and on the ceiling! All hell has broken loose, can Amber and her friends survive the night?! Well, hell, this is a movie full of good-looking red-blooded young ‘uns and a big bunch of nasty bloodthirsty snarlers. What do you think?

Veronica (Saxon Trainor) reprimands Bernard (Bruce Payne), the delivery man

Truth to be told, Prowl is a hell of a lot better than most of the movies that are released under the After Dark Films banner. But that’s not really saying a lot. Prowl sports good production values (most of which was shot in a large Bulgarian film studio) and solid performances; with Courtney Hope bidding strong for Final Girl status. Ruta Gedmintas exudes a strong charisma; I’d have preferred her to be in the lead role, and Bruce Payne gets to chew scenery more than his character should be allowed. Curious to note that the majority of the cast is English, and pulling off pretty convincing American accents (far better than most Australians do!)

Look familiar?

But enough of the damn shaky-cam! Man, I’m getting sick of having to endure lengthy chase sequences where the director wants for in-the-moment realism and runs after the protagonist without a Steadicam. I’ll agree that shaky-cam does work effectively in some movies, but sparingly, please! The creatures themselves are a strange and annoying bunch. Not vampires, yet they bare fangs and love necking, not werewolves, yet they jump about on all fours and hiss and snarl, not demons, yet they have pitch-black eyes and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Then suddenly Amber has one pinned to the ground and the bloody bugger starts talking in perfect English, and apologetically to boot.

When in doubt, torch the place!

In steps Veronica (Saxon Trainor), the Mother Teresa of the unwanted, and Amber’s true calling is invoked. Seems those weird flash visions weren’t just tricks her mind was playing. But Amber’s not happy about the carnage. There’s hell to pay. Cue: Zippo and drums full of petrol.

... and if you can, get the hell out of dodge

Prowl is too derivative to really kick butt; it’s a poor man’s version of 30 Days of Night (2007). The jumping vamps (or whatever they’re supposed to be, as they’re never named or explained) remain as a peripheral menace, the character of Veronica is revealed too late in the narrative to be truly effective, and instead only frustrates. The last ten minutes the movie caves in and ends on a whimper rather than a screech. Bad move Svyersen and Tori. And I somehow doubt there’ll be a sequel. The first half of the movie, however, works well enough, ‘tis a shame about the second half.

NB: Not sure how this movie warrants an Australian R18: contains high impact horror violence rating.

Here’s the trailer:

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