Deadly Prey (1987)

A group of sadistic mercenaries kidnap people off the streets and set them loose on the grounds of their secret camp, so the "students" at the camp can learn how to track down and kill their prey.

This is what it's all about! Grit. Grime. Emotion. Action! This is what the eighties lived and breathed - albeit with a bit of (even more) B-movie vibe.

It's interesting to see how many plot elements repeat themselves in this and the latter, and how Ted Prior went from being that typical eighties tough guy to an almost Liam Neeson-like look-alike. This is how the new one should have been. The roles sure switched with the newer, but that's not why it was worse. The music's the same but the mood us all new... it just doesn't have whatever it was that this one did. You can't say this movie had a good script, but compared to the new one, woah, what a difference. This feels raw. The new feels old. This has all. This has soul. The new has... mold.

Maybe the old style just doesn't go with the new format. The colors. The clothes. The effects. The pretty much everything about it.

Even if this was clearly shot on a much worse budget: the new one doesn't manage to match up at all. The characters and location feel natural here. There's nothing out of place, even if it's otherwise pretty much the same thing! Could the shoes be the difference? The shirt? Unfortunately, it's probably the age (of characters or director?).

There really was no need for another one of these movies... though if I saw this one first, maybe I'd have enjoyed the sequel a little bit more.

 rated 3/5: not bad