Prey Alone (2004)

Directors:

James Mather
Stephen St. Leger

Writers:

James Mather (writer)
Stephen St. Leger (writer)

Release Date:

10 March 2005 (Ireland)

Genre:

Short | Thriller

Tagline:

One fugitive, One Question,.....One Answer

Plot:

Special Agent Darris Cain is on the hunt for an elusive fugitive. His only leads are a reluctant witness...

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ger Carey	...	Darris Cain
Andy Moore	...	Dean Ellis
Kurt Savage	...	Fugitive

Directed by
James Mather
Stephen St. Leger

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James Mather		writer
Stephen St. Leger		writer

Produced by
John McDonnell	....	producer

Original Music by
John Walsh

Cinematography by
James Mather

Film Editing by
Janice Toomey

Costume Design by
Maeve Paterson

Sound Department
Peter Blayney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Peter Blayney	....	supervising sound editor
Brendan Geaney	....	foley artist
Brendan Geaney	....	foley editor
Jon Stevenson	....	sound effects editor

Visual Effects by
Paul Flanagan	....	additional graphics
John Kennedy	....	digital colourist
Jonathan Ridge	....	lead 3D animator
Jonathan Ridge	....	lead compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Garret Baldwin	....	gaffer

Other crew
Dearbhaile O'Hanlon	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Fantastic Films

Distributors

• Network Ireland Television (2005) (worldwide) (theatrical)

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Ireland:12

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Fantastic Films

Quotes:

Darris Cain: Where is he running to?
Dean Ellis: What makes you think he is running away? He is NOT running away.

Tight, dark, tense movie explodes into action coupled with a great story and satisfying conclusion...and in 15 minutes!

"...Prey Alone is a high octane, ball busting, roaring screaming chase movie set somewhere in the near future...

...It is in fact the first digital home movie. None of the backgrounds even exist - they were all created in computers...

...the only elements of live action in the movie are the actors and some hand props...

...it's not just an example of imaginative cinematic techniques, it has a powerful narrative with a thoroughly satisfying & clever twist in the tale that ties up all the loose ends and wraps up the experience with a big bow." Well. There you go. There's not much else to say really! Quote courtesy of the homepage.

The short is tight, dark and tense, giving a great feeling of paranoia and a bit of confusion from the beginning, and before long it's kicking into high gear to to reach a superbly satisfying and totally unexpected finale. The story is clever, and well woven in throughout the piece with clues and references throughout.

These guys really know where to place a camera and how to pull the audience along with them and into the action. Speaking of which there are some really cool moments that look superb on screen, and the effects that make up a huge part of this movie are complimentary and not overpowering. There's no Bullet-Time type effect that takes you out of the movie and you stare in awe at the effect itself, no all of this fits in and although there are scenes you're aware you're looking at an effect, it's not a movie drop out moment.

The acting is good as well, as this is often where shorts and movies alike with limited budgets can fall over. Not here though, not at all. The actors are strong, restrained and in particular Ger Carey who does a great job giving more with his facial expressions than with words.

There are a couple of "no way" moments, but then you hardly have time to think about them, the action is moving too fast, and it's big toy action so you can't help but grin.

If only some of the big Hollywood movies had this much good quality in them, most probably wouldn't break the ten minute mark.

You have to see this short, and it's easy to get hold of too, just check it out from the site itself. Get to it through the Gallery section to find out more information and see the trailer, there's quite a bit of behind the scenes information and pictures, and hit the Mpeg section to download the 15 minute movie.