Perfect Prey
A former Texas Ranger is recruited by a Houston police captain to assist a homicide detective in the search for an elusive serial killer who collects antique dolls.
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- Cast:
- Kelly McGillis , Bruce Dern , D.W. Moffett , David Keith , Joely Fisher , Richard Riehle , Gregg Daniel
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Reviews
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Fantastic!
Better Late Then Never
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
For surly he walks away with this and his portrait of a demented serial killer. This is unusual as Keith is always the victim, ala OFFICER AND GENTLEMEN. He was excellent. Kelly McGillis I usually like but felt there was a monotone level of work in this. Her face never showed any emotion except fear. Does she ever enjoy anything? I liked her in WITNESS and TOP GUN where she at least had interesting moments. But wasted in this. I guess we're supposed to see she's a tough detective and determined to catch her prey. Aging Bruce Dern plays a small role of a detective. Dern would have been more interesting if he had ended up the killer as he plays strange roles better. D W Moffett (what does the D stand for?) played another detective and love interest to Kelly. I remember him in AN EARLY FROST as the love interest to Aiden Quinn. A good looking guy too. But give the laurels to Keith for a wonderful job. And to all those lovely ladies he managed to charm into his den. Maybe sometime we could see a serial killer who takes all the beautiful boys and torments them. It would be different as most of the time it's always the women that get chosen.
As prior detailed review puts it, this is a bit of a sleeper. Admit that catching it on cable now with the ongoing serial sniper in D.C. area in mind. Well, yuck, this has a bunch of connections! White big box truck (not an Astro van but there were early D.C. reports of a while box truck). Film baddie works a circle route of victims. Snatcher not shooter. But same patterns even the film mention of God complex and increase in frequency of attacks. This baddie does key on a 'type' tho. Less random than D.C. Very creepy but yes this film does hold one's interest with the well played sense of everydayness. Good performances. Bad guy is always such a tricky role to cast and play. This one does it. Not the over the top thing of Hannibal so even more icky for real. Give this a try if comes your way and it's your thing. Helps if you enjoy CSI, Law and Order type shows. Gets a little overheated but the soul of film is intact.
Described as a TV movie, I don't know whether "Perfect Prey" was planned as a TV pilot. Far worse have been deemed suitable for series production. I don't think this watchable piece of work got the exposure it deserved when it first appeared. This is a better than average serial killer thriller. The main characters are certainly well cast.Kelly McGillis is a natural as the troubled but intelligent and determined investigator, Audrey Maclean. David Keith's performance as the handsome, persuasive killer is chilling. Watching him, you can truly believe that evil is abroad and relishing the suffering of its victims. Bruce Dern does well with the part of Captain Swaggert, with murders on his hands he knows are beyond the abilities of his team to solve without the fresh eye of outside help. Interested viewers will, I'm sure, enjoy the contrast in characterization between Dern's lawman in this movie and his marvellously venal sheriff in "Last man Standing". Last but by no means least, D W Moffett shows real style with his Detective Jimmy Cerullo.There's a pleasing professionalism about the rest of the cast, who aren't well known. Their work helps to ensure an enjoyable movie. Particularly worth a mention is the young actress given the thankless role of the murder victim in the pink dress. With her body propped up against a nodding donkey, her frozen eyes allow a peek into hell for the imaginative movie watcher. The feeling of brooding sadness in the scene surfaces at various times during the duration of the film, and adds considerable atmosphere.The movie is effectively directed by Howard McCain and nicely scripted by Robert McDonnell. There's some neat editing by Hanneh Rudkilde. The rest of the crew weren't asleep on the job either. What really damages "Perfect Prey" is the marked resemblance of the plot to that of "The Silence of the Lambs", which many of its potential audience will have seen. In my opinion Kelly McGillis is a more believable investigator than the otherwise admirable Jodie Foster, but that, as they say, is neither here nor there.It's worth a look, seek it out next time you intend making the sofa look untidy for a couple of hours.
Not sure why this movie got such mediocre ratings - it was well acted, well written, and well casted - - and most importantly, suspenseful!It's downfall is only that it is totally reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs.. If you liked Silence, you'll probably like this movie too.It had everything from the serial killer on the loose to the interview with the psychopathic killer in jail (sniffing the air, even!).. But, I loved Silence - and though I didn't realize the similarities until the end, this held my attention up until the last suspenseful minute.Well worth my two hours! Bruce Dern and Kelly McGillis stood out in their roles - good casting.. good movie..