Praey
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“Praey” arrived in our mailbox with hardly a whimper of “watch me!” Some movies are packaged in such a way that they almost scream to be jammed into the DVD player the moment you get them (Harry Potter 4: Bucket of Burning Stuff – whatever it was called – comes to mind). But not “Praey”.

A paper sleeve holding a simple DVD-R doesn’t make for much pomp & circumstance, but like the main character Sara Brown (and ultimately actress/director/writer Tiffany Sinclair) looking just at the packaging doesn’t give you a whole hell of a lot of insight as to what’s inside.

As the film opens, Sara seems to be a content wife and mother, living a good life with her loving family. Through a very brief discussion with her hubby though, we learn that all was not so, and Sara has some pretty big track-marked skeletons in her closet.

Some pretty disturbing events unfold (as a parent, the opening scenes were especially terrifying) and Sara finds herself alone. With no family, she falls into hooking (not the crochet type) and shooting up (not the basketball type).

One night, a client named Baker (played by Prawin Adhikari, who juggles a role that was sometimes creepy, sometimes pathetic quite well) kidnaps Sara and drags her out to a cabin in the woods. For those of you playing at home, good things never happen in cabins. “Friday the 13th”, “The Cabin by the Lake”, “Seinfeld”, “That 70s Show” – any of these ring a bell?

Inside the cabin is Charles (Brian Sheridan – a little too likeable to be scary, but one weird dude nonetheless). Charles too isn’t what he appears to be. At first, he’s a loving father who keeps a tidy retreat. However, we learn that he too has a dark side. He likes to participate in a sport popularized in the early 80s called “Hooker Season” – where women of ill repute are let loose in the woods, and angry men with facial hair hunt them and kill them. It never really took off in the mid-Atlantic area, but man, the West ate it up!

So, Sara’s running for her life through the woods, and Charles hunts her and tries to shoot her. By itself, a terrific take on “The Most Dangerous Game”, but like I said, nothing in here is as it seems. Our chase thriller takes a bizarre but well executed paranormal twist. Sara learns that this isn’t Charles’ first round of “Hooker Season”, and this isn’t the first time he’s been a negative influence in her life.

Vengeance plays a big role in the film, as Sara and Charles both have their own motive for sending the other to the big dirt nap. Sara’s is well founded, and Charles’ is based on preconceptions (see, I was able to sneak that theme in again!)

“Praey” is able to spook and draw grimaces without getting overly gory, which is a refreshing change. In fact, more money was spent on the miles of duct tape the cast goes through than over-the-top effects. The scenery and amazing use of color negate any need for gore. Tension is built all by itself.

The sound and music were amazing for an indie release. It was never overbearing, and really added to the mood of the individual scenes.

The cast was also good. While there were a couple of lines that sounded forced (especially some of Baker’s dialog), overall the characters were well presented. The story itself had some interesting twists and turns, and while I could have used a little more reference to Sara’s past life early in the film, I really liked how everything unfolded.

I normally grade a little easy on indie projects like “Praey”, but honestly, it doesn’t need it. This was more entertainment packed in a sad little DVD-R than you’ll find in a big budget flick. An easy 4 cans out of 5.

Added:  Thursday, March 16, 2006

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