kongchak pictures

Kongchak

2017 was something of a banner year for the good folks at Kongchak Pictures. The festival run for martial arts action comedy, Jailbreak, spawned a huge calling from fans much to the favor of producer Loy Te and director, Jimmy Henderson whose regional action feature debut, Hanuman, essentially illuminated some of the best Cambodia offers nowadays in screenfighting talent.

For this, it should be of no suprise, but just sheer delight that they are back at it again with the new action thriller, The Prey, written by Henderson, Jailbreak scribe Michael Hogdson and newcomer Kai Miller. Andrew Mack’s report at ScreenAnarchy cites a press announcement enlisting five-time Chinese national boxing, dual arms champion Gu Sheng Wei (Bloody Destiny) as Xin, a do-gooder undercover cop who finds himself fighting for his life when a surprise raid lands him in a remote jungle prison host to a game for affluent hunters targeting inmates. 

Think Hard Target meets Escape Plan/The Raid/The Condemned… I guess either of those last three would suffice.

After years of tracking down international criminals, a trip to a remote jungle prison will force Chinese cop Xin to become human prey to fight for his freedom — and to save his own life. 

Undercover Chinese cop Xin is on a secret international mission when a surprise raid puts him in a remote jungle prison that plays by its own rules.Here, the visitors are wealthy thrill seekers. The guards are hostile puppet masters. And the prisoners are simply pawns in a high stakes game of human hunting human. 

It started as just another bad day for the do-gooder cop. That day gets a whole lot worse when the diabolical Warden singles Xin out for death at the hands of affluent hunters looking for the world’s ultimate kill. After years of hunting down ruthless criminals, Xin suddenly finds himself running for his life. 

If Xin manages to survive this sadistic game, he’ll walk out of the jungle the same way he came in: as a freeman. If Xin fails, he’s dead meat… and just another hunting trophy.

Rounding out the cast are a raft of performers from director Nicolas Winding Refn’s
Only God Forgives, namely actor Vithaya Pansringarm who will star as The Warden, along with Byron Bishop, Sahajak Boonthanakit (Bad Genius) and Nophand Boonyai, and Jailbreak talents, actor and martial artist Dara Our (Hanuman) and actress Dy Sonita.

Argentinian cinematographer Lucas Gath (Shortwave and Suspiria 2018) will lens the film with Jailbreak star and action director Jean-Paul Ly reuniting with Henderson behind the scenes to prime the fight choreography. Te will produce the film with Altered Vision Films and with Kongchack Pictures distributing.

“I’ve always been interested in the study of human nature.” says Henderson. “In the exploration of our primal instinct, which is survival. Movies like Quest for Fire, Deliverance and most recently The Revenant explores the roots of it. In The Prey an organized chaos reigns in harmony like a Euonymus Bosch painting, but this harmony is interrupted by the arrival of a man, who, pushed to an extreme situation, will do everything to survive and to bring justice against the creators of this vicious hunting game…

“A few years back I heard rumors that this practice is still happening in certain places around the world. So I decided to create a story around this myth and develop the idea into a script”.

The film especially reads like another top move for Ly who started out in stunts and has since capitalized off his own momentum toward lead action stardom akin to the likes of Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White and Iko Uwais. Ly will next be seen in Marc Price’s UK martial arts thriller, Nightshooters, this summer from Ascendant Releasing.

Read more at ScreenAnarchy.

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