Hit or Miss: A Dangerous Prey (2024)

“A Dangerous Prey” sets out to tell a tale of home invasion and defending one’s own home, but does it fall short in its portrayal?

Directed by Terry Spears, our story starts with Kesha (Taja Brittaney) living with her husband, Aiden (Marlon Ladd), in a rough neighborhood. Kesha is desperate to get out, hoping to move to a pleasant suburban neighborhood and feel safe where she lives.

At times, the portrayal of their living conditions felt like a parody of itself. The effort to sell the audience how bad it was felt a bit over the top.

Kesha seems to get whatever she wants, and she sometimes comes off as strong-headed to the point of being unlikable. We understand why she is desperate to move after witnessing a murder right in front of her eyes, but her behavior becomes hard to watch at times.

Unbeknownst to her, her husband, Aiden, is leading a double life just to fund this luxurious lifestyle she seems to demand from him. We flash forward, and she has finally gotten what she wants. However, getting what you wish for isn’t always the dream you hope it will be.

Unfortunately, they have moved into a very racist neighborhood containing misogynistic rednecks with backward-thinking small minds, plotting to do horrific things to Kesha and push the couple out of their small town.

Every time these hateful individuals were on screen, their dialog and presence made me squirm.

It’s an interesting setup, but the home invasion aspects promised from the start come late in the game and feel too rushed.

I wanted a lot more from this film as it spent a lot of time on plots that didn’t matter. The compelling aspects we wanted to invest in got completely lost.

There is a really good story at the heart of A Dangerous Prey, exploring themes of discrimination. I believe it could have benefited from a longer runtime to flesh out the meat of the story. It seemed to fall short right at the last minute.

Technically, it’s a bit hit-and-miss. For a low-budget horror, it really tries its best to world-build with constant cutaways of the busy city and its surroundings. It’s a very bright film with outside shots radiating with sun and color. However, the musical score and soundtrack felt very urban at times in a forced way and a little too repetitive. I will say that it did do a decent job matching the tone of the surroundings.

The performances are capable, and I really enjoyed Ladd as Aiden. He was a real standout for me.

This isn’t a film that offers much for hardcore horror fans, as it leans much more toward drama. Still, the idea of watching a strong woman become a lone soldier in her own home would be compelling if it were better executed.

Ultimately, it left me feeling unsatisfied with an ending that left me wanting more in a bad way.

A Dangerous Prey is not a total failure and offers some strong reasons to watch, but I was disappointed given how good it could have been.