‘How Dark They Prey’ Review (Amazon Prime)
Stars: Kelsey Nichole Black, Susan Feinman, Timothy Paul Jobe, David Johnson, Marc Lubbers, Paul Pallotta, Samuel James Pygatt, James M. Reilly, Josiah Schneider, Alisha Spielmann | Written by Adam Ambrosio, Jamison M. Locascio, Anthony LoCascio | Directed by Adam Ambrosio, Jamison M. Locascio
A first-person perspective opens this film from writing/directing pair Adam Ambrosio and Jamison M. Locascio, as an unseen figure enters a warehouse and shuts the door behind them. As screams are heard, the figure ventures deeper into the building before picking up a knife. The focus then turns to the sight of lit candles and a goblet, while the off-screen screams continue alongside someone chanting. This opening segment is meant to set the tone for the following film, yet what’s shown instead feels like a stale way of cutting costs.
The first segment is entitled Encounter Nightly, as the host of an alien sighting TV series journeys with his cameraman to speak with a couple about their UFO experience. There’s a sense of the host feeling unfulfilled, as his enjoyment making his show clashes with a weariness at the false stories shared. There are interesting elements to this found-footage style story, particularly regarding the lead’s frustrations with the sensationalist stories he hears, although they’re hampered by the tale wrapping up too suddenly and leaving what came before it feeling like a waste of time.
Following that is Harrowing, set during World War II as a pair of American soldiers are pinned down by enemy fire. They are forced to lay in wait after taking a Nazi soldier prisoner, where they notice strange occurrences surrounding them, such as gunfire rhythmically repeating in the same order from the same directions. This segment is the strongest, utilising budgetary constraints effectively as part of this interesting single location story.
Blood Beach opens on a summer day at a lake, as a boy wishes to escape from past hurt which also consumes his alcoholic mother. He meets a strange man fishing on the lake, who shares words relating to the boy’s struggles. As they bond over fishing, the boy must face his inner pain which relates to something dangerous lurking in the water. There’s intrigue as this story depicts facing truths one dreads admitting to themselves, although the ending is too sudden to stick the landing.
The last section is Nelly, and is distinctively different by how it’s styled in black-and-white. A police officer tells off a driver he’s pulled over, although he begins acting odd from the moment she mentions the baby in the back seat. As he starts acting like a manic child on a sugar high, both adults get chloroformed. When they awake in a blood-soaked torture room, revelations come to light as the pair realise the danger of the situation. It’s a struggle to care for these lacklustre characters that are brought alive with primary school acting, or the bad comedy tale surrounding them.
It’s unfortunate how the weakest segment is saved for last, as it leaves a bad taste in the audience’s mouths. The filmmakers have worked with interesting ideas that are undone in the execution, leaving this grab-bag of tales to feel cobbled together and struggling to justify a feature film.
*½ 1.5/5
How Dark They Prey is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
