PREY (1978)
aka Alien Prey
Article 3422 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-17-2010
Posting Date: 12-27-2010
Directed by Norman J. Warren
Featuring Barry Stokes, Sally Faulkner, Glory Annen
Country: UK
What it is: Science fiction and exploitation

Two lesbians allow a wandering stranger to spend a few days at their isolated country home unaware that he is actually a murderous alien humanoid.

If the IMDB ratings are to be given any credence, this is Norman J. Warren’s best movie. Maybe it is; it’s better than the pointless OUTER TOUCH and the mostly dull SATAN’S SLAVE, the only other two movies of his I’ve seen. On the plus side, it has a pretty bizarre premise, it does more with the lesbian angle than just throw in some softcore sex (though it’s not above that by any means), and at least it doesn’t feel like a rehash of something else. It does feel contrived, however; the lesbian soap opera of the two women (one of whom is domineering and possibly insane) and the alien’s mission to study humanity to discover if they’re suitable (you’ll find out for what at the end, but you won’t be surprised) never really combine into a whole, and the movie feels forced. Furthermore, there are some really tiresome scenes (the endless slow-motion sequence where the women try to rescue the alien from drowning in a muddy lake comes to mind), and the characters, not very pleasant to begin with, just get worse as the movie continues. I suspect the movie was originally conceived as straight exploitation with the science fiction angle tossed in at the last minute. Just because it’s Warren’s best movie doesn’t mean it’s good.