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Parents' Guide to

Prey

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Ridiculous horror-thriller about surviving on desert island.

Movie PG-13 2019 85 minutes
Prey Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

apfannschmidt
apfannschmidt Parent of 6, 7, 11 and 13-year-old
September 6, 2022
age 13+

A bit of swearing, a lot of cringey violence, a bit of sexual tension.

Two of the other parental reviews appear to be for the AVP world of "Prey" a higher tier film by the same name. The third claims their is no swearing... there is definitely swearing. There is also violence, prolonged sexual tension between two teenagers which does lead to a brief scene of kissing and the girl jumping on the guy... but then more violence insues... It's really a "B" movie. One that is both nonsensical and terrible to watch. If you dont like "B rated horror movies" pass this one up. If you dont mind your child being exposed to depictions of hunting of animals and humans, implied cannibalism, teenage sexual tension and kissing, cursing, crimes of homicide outside of the teen's home at night.. then this may be ok to watch. Personally, I am on the fence if I would ever let me kids watch this. And I'm certainly not impressed enough with this B movie to ever watch it again. It really depends on individual maturity for the children, nothing in it is so obscene nor graphic to the point where I would ban the film, I'd have it for a more mature audience based off or your child's individual maturity.
anonymous554
anonymous554 Adult
April 2, 2020
age 10+

Awesome movie! surprised by 14+ should be 11+

Me and my eleven year old went to see this movie when it was out in the theaters. It included violence but not a lot of it, also had a little bit of language but noting that an eleven year old cant handle. This movie was about two kids surviving in the wild, well they were being chased by a monster, they had to survive by using the tools that the forest gave them.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In PREY, teenage Toby (Logan Miller) refuses to help his dad in the garage -- then is shocked when his father is jumped and killed by carjackers. His mother signs her distraught son up for a program that will supposedly build responsibility and self-esteem. It requires him to survive three days on a deserted island by himself. He starts off badly, making himself sick eating shellfish and cutting his feet on sharp coral. But he soon discovers that he's not alone there. A pretty girl, Madeleine (Kristine Froseth), suddenly appears and starts helping him. But Toby soon realizes she has secrets that should have remained undiscovered.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (1 ):

From the start, this ridiculous horror-suspense movie is fraught with nonsense and a head-scratching lack of logic; though it eventually goes crazily over the top, it's too late to care. It's as if writer-director Franck Khalfoun (P2, Amityville: The Awakening) and co-writer David Coggeshall (The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia) just charged right ahead with a half-baked idea and didn't bother to stop and work out any of the kinks. The entire setup for Prey, all of the bizarre antics required to get Toby to his island, is beyond slapdash. (What mother would ever allow their child to sign up for a program so clearly destined to go so horribly wrong? How would such a company even get insurance?)

Once on the island, Prey jumps through more idiotic hoops, starting with Toby's astonishing lack of survival skills -- but, just days later, he's morphed into a combination of Rambo and MacGyver. Madeleine's story makes even less sense; she's been there for years and years without ever asking the most obvious questions. For example, only after three days does Toby manage to mention that he's supposed to leave, sparking Madeleine's ire. On the plus side, the movie is handsomely shot, with nifty use of the island and its creepy jungle, and the stars are appealing. Miller conveys the pain and guilt over the loss of his father, and Froseth manages a hypnotizing, otherworldly quality. But that's not enough to make Prey anyone's desert island classic.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Prey's violence. How did it make you feel? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of scary movies?

  • How does the movie deal with sexual attraction between teens? What values are implied?

  • Toby chooses not to help his father and later regrets that decision. Have you ever chosen not to do something and later regretted it?

Movie Details

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