• Director: Baltasar Kormákur
• With: Idris Elba, Martin Munroe, Leah Jeffries, Iyana Halley, Sharlto Copley
• Music by: Steven Price
• Duration: 1h33
• Platform: Netflix
• Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

A father and his two teenage daughters find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion intent on proving that the Savanna has but one apex predator.

Review:

This is not the first movie about a rogue lion… There’s a Dutch movie called ‘Prooi’ (Prey) and then there’s the 2007 movie (also) called Prey (with Bridget Moynahan and Peter weller). That last one has a similar story to this one, a family stuck in a car terrorised by a lion…

Idris Elba wanted to do this movie because he wanted to work with director Korámkur and because he wanted to be in a movie where he had to run and hide from something that’s chasing him.

The lion(s) in the movie are all special effects, there’s not one real lion in there…

Because poachers killed the pride (family) of this lion, who escaped the attack, it’s gone beserk and started to attack everyone that’s come on its territory, even killing an entire village…

Dr. Nate Samuels is visiting a friend, Martin, in Africa with his two teenage daughters after his wife died. He thinks this is a much needed vacation for them.

Martin is taking them to see a pride of lions, another one than the one the rogue lion is from, but when they visit a village where some of Martin’s friends live, they find everyone killed by a lion attack.

Before they know it they are hunted by the lion and need to survive several attacks. And on top of that there’s still poachers in the neighbourhood they have to be aware of as well.

This movie is mainly about grief. Nate and his daughters are grieving for their loved one, Martin is grieving Amahle as well. And the lion is on a revenge killing spree because he’s grieving his family, his pride.

And also this movie shows the relationship between man and nature and man is always a few steps down the ladder of the foodchain when thrown into a situation where beast (nature) takes over.

It’s not thé most original movie but Idris Elba’s portrayal is great, I love that man’s acting! And Sharlto Copley’s one of the most underrated actors in my opinion! (Have you seen him in Blomkamp’s movies?) These two made this a very watchable movie! Otherwise it would have been just another ‘lion-attacks-man’ kind of film…