The Prey

Sure, most of the slasher films of the 1980's were not worth the celluloid they were filmed on, but this video nightmare may well be one of the dullest produced. Six horny, pot-smoking students decide to go camping. Of course, and you know this already, they begin getting killed one by one by a mysterious stranger. The climax has a hunky forest ranger trying to get to the teens in time before the last cute girl becomes buzzard bait.

John Carl Buechler did the lousy makeup effects. The cast features Carel Struycken, of "The Witches of Eastwick" and the live-action Addams Family movies. He does not pop up until the very end of the film, and is covered in burn makeup, rendering him unrecognizable. Steve Bond has an early role as a victim. ...

Meh slasher in the woods of SoCal

Three couples intend to enjoy a weekend in the wilds of California, but become prey to someone, or something, that doesnt want them there.

Shot around 1980 but not released until 1983, The Prey is a backwoods slasher inspired by Friday the 13th and similar to the contemporaneous "The Final Terror in that it was also filmed in the sticks of California and delivers a similar viewing experience. By that I mean decent-but-nothing-great (or even good). Yet both are significantly superior to the lousy "Don't Go in the Woods" (1981).

Theres nothing wrong with the filmmaking; the sylvan cinematography features lots of nature footage and is a highlight. Also, the monster (Carel Struycken) is effecti...