Prey Reviews

Alien Prey, released in 1978, was UK horror/sci-fi director Norman J. Warren's fifth film. Warren began directing soft core films with Her Private Hell and Loving Feeling, both released in 1968, before moving to horror with Evil Heritage in 1976, followed by Terror in 1978. Most people seem to either love or hate the films of Norman J. Warren. I happen to love them. Yes, they're made on the cheap, but they have a certain charm all their own, much like the films of Andy Milligan. Of the handful of Warren's films that I've seen, Alien Prey is my favorite, and can certainly be appreciated by those who aren't necessarily a fan of the director.

The premise of the film involves an alien who, after landing on Earth, subsequently kills and takes the form of a human male named Anderson. In this guise he begins his mission, which is basically to observe humans and scout the planet for "protein". He soon makes his way to the secluded house of lesbian couple, Jessica and Josephine. "Anderson" is invited in by Jessica, who has been longing for some company. Josephine reluctantly agrees, and the rest of the movie takes place here in the house and the surrounding property, as "Anderson" tries to assimilate all that he can about humans from the two girls.

Warren does a great job of juggling many different elements from horror, sci-fi, and exploitation to genuine creepiness, brief but splattery gore, and effective tension. It was released on VHS in the US by Comet Video (a subsidiary of Continental Video) in 1984 in a "big box". And it's one of my favorite Comet boxes too, up there with Herschell Gordon Lewis' "Blood Trilogy"; and like those boxes, its cover art features a juicy gory bit from the movie. It certainly attracted my attention back in the late '80s, when I first rented it from a local "mom & pop" video store. Some other films by Norman J. Warren that I enjoyed are Horror Planet (aka Inseminoid) and Bloody New Year.