The simplistic story tells the tale of a contingent of soldiers in Afghanistan joining forces with mercenaries that encounter a hideous monster (the titular, Karnoctus) in a cave; with the outcome being a quest for survival against the isolation of a cave but also the presence of an unfamiliar and otherworldly enemy. Amongst the typical horror movie tropes, are two CIA agents Tagger (Nick Chinlund) and Reid (Kevin Grevioux) that are hell bent on accessing some elusive materials whilst the Sgt Griffin (Justin Arnold) must navigate the tunnels and managing the escalating fear within his team of grunts. It can be somewhat entertaining in parts with a few jump scares and gore-filled shock scenarios, but it is otherwise a by-the-numbers horror film with a foreign setting.
In many ways the lack of nuance means that the film can be categorised as mindless pop-corn entertainment, as it can be readily enjoyed requiring little to no grey matter. With it being a good while before the titular beast is revealed, much of the screen time is dedicated to the banter between each of the Jarheads; however with deliberate references to various pop culture staples, there is little chance for meaningful character development or building tension. One could argue that testosterone fuelled machismo might be a clear representation of military behaviour, however this seems to feed more of the clichés more than anything else.
Whilst not completely original, the film is mildly entertaining with some passable dialogue between the main players who are working with what would be a weak script. Unlike the excellent repartee between the varied (and likeable) characters in ‘PREDATOR’ (1989), of which this film does seem to ape; there isn’t much of a clear dynamic between the characters that would prompt the audience to invest in them. There is one actor that might be trying to do his best impersonation of the late great Michael Clark Duncan, whilst another offers a not-so-subtle nod to a bespectacled Shane Black but neither of these are particularly impressive. Moreover, the creature design of the Karnoctus itself looks decidedly like a stuntman in a bigfoot costume, albeit modified and amusingly resembles a mashup of the creature in ‘The Crate’ from ‘CREEPSHOW ‘(1982), the beast in ‘CELLAR DWELLER’ (1988) or even the special effects monster in ‘F/X 2’ (1991)
So ultimately THE PREY: LEGEND OF KARNOCTUS is by and large a creature feature that is reminiscent that were more prevalent in the bygone era, though unlike more unique films like ‘THE KEEP’ (1983), ‘THE THING’ (1988) or even ‘DOG SOLDIERS’ (2002), this release is not ground breaking and the presence of the iconic Danny Trejo doesn’t save it from being terrifyingly mediocre. His appearance is all but brief, thus completely unable to elevate the quality of this horror film which is unfortunate – however being a smaller project, it can be opined that his cameo might be all that the budget allowed in this instance.
The Directing duo of Cire Hensman and Matthew Hensman do deserve praise for creating a suffocating and isolating setting, which does succeed in masking the smaller budget. However, the darkness of the cave and tunnel system also challenge the audience viewpoint – to an extent that sometimes it is difficult to decipher exactly what is going on. To their credit, the film avoids looking like ‘a made for television’ tripe, with a passable colour palate on show and the right amount of picture framing, at least in the initial portions of the film.
There is no doubt that the Hensman’s injected the right amount of excitement into the film especially in the opening acts, but for whatever reason the narrative quickly shifted away from the local lore to a focus on hallucinatory sub plots and exposition dumps via voiceovers – it makes the film all the more confusing, unbalanced and negatively effects the pacing.
In fact a recent episode of ‘LOVE, DEATH AND ROBOTS’ entitled ‘In Vaulted Halls Entombed’ handled a similar premise far more effectively, however the presence of a very clear nod to Lovecraftian lore undoubtedly swayed this reviewer. There is no doubt the Hensmans had a clear passion in their output, but this effort won’t necessary carry the film into a cult status. However, this could serve as a prototype or learning experience for the film makers who may decide to change their trajectory and focus purely on action or purely on horror.
The conclusion does shamelessly set up a sequel, but given the weaknesses present in the film this is one that only die-hard fans will look forward to.