1988 Color 88min
Starring: Ted Prior, William Zipp, Cameron Mitchell, Troy Donahue, David Campbell, Dawn Abraham, and Suzanne Tara.
Directed By: David A. Prior
Hard as it is to believe, there was a time when I had never seen a man beaten senseless with his own severed arm. It was indeed a simpler time, when I had not known the pleasures of seeing a man hide in a tree that was completely devoid of foliage. Why but a few short days ago, I had never seen the hilarious effects of a hand grenade in the pants. I had never experienced any of these things until I saw a little film called Deadly Prey.
Ahh!!! A sentient leaf pile. And it's all pissed off!!!If you find yourself questioning my sanity at this point, then I've done an adequate job of setting the stage for this delightful piece of 1980's direct-to-video cheese from Action International Pictures. Ted Prior stars as Vietnam vet Mike Danton, a man kidnapped by a underground militia for use in one of their brutal training exercises. Unfortunately for his captors, Mike Danton just happens to be an unstoppable killing machine. Someone's got to be fired for that goof-up, right?
“Oh man, I forgot my bra.”After being captured, Mr. Danton spends the rest of the film systematically killing off the entire militia. He stabs, shoots, skewers, and blows people up in almost every way you could imagine, all the while evading his pursuers. Fortunately for him, his tormentors seem to lack peripheral vision, tactical knowledge, and even the smallest shred of common sense. Let's just say these guys aren't exactly Special Forces material. To be honest, they make Gomer Pyle look like Audie Murphy.
Calling Deadly Prey a bad movie might be a little unfair, as it obviously isn't even trying to be a good movie. A good movie generally tries to have a logical plot and developed characters. Deadly Prey, on the other hand, I'd liken more to an 88 minute action sequence, and a very entertaining one at that. When Mike Danton is kicking ass and taking names, Deadly Prey is a blast. When he isn't, we are treated to some utterly hilarious dialog. For example, this “rousing” speech from Cameron Mitchell:
I, for one, had no idea that it was a police officer's job to arrest rich people. Or that rich people get rich by stealing wealth from the poor. I think perhaps our writer and director, David A. Prior, may have some Communist leanings. Or there is the distinct possibility I could be digging entirely too deep into a film featuring 90 minutes of a musclebound man in tiny jean shorts beating the living tar out of people. I'll let you decide.
My philosophical differences with the dialog aside, Deadly Prey is a perfect example of the direct-to-video action genre of the 1980's. It's big, loud, stupid, and a rips off more famous (and better) films, Rambo and The Most Dangerous Game, in this case. It features the prerequisite invincible hero, the bad guys who graduated from The Star Wars Storm Trooper School of Marksmanship (i.e. they can't shoot a damn thing), and plot holes so large, Rosie O'Donnell could cartwheel through with ease. It's derivative, painfully predictable, mindbendingly stupid, and if you are like me you'll love every second of it.
“YES!!! A positive review!!!”
Reviewed by Derek Miller
Posted 6/13/08
Bonus Video Clip
I love this clip so much. Try not to respond this way the next time someone says that you "owe them."
