Indie
[Short Film Review] ‘Prey’ Proves That Quality Filmmaking Has No Borders
Usually, when one thinks of where professional filmmaking might be found, Hollywood and France are the first places that come to mind. Although it’s undeniably true that both Americans and the French have had a vital role in the birth and evolution of cinema, people tend to forget that India possesses the world’s largest film industry, producing much more per year than the rest of the world. Bollywood isn’t the only successful foreign film market, however, as Nigerian director Sunny King aims to show us through his Hitchcock-inspired short film Prey, that genre films in Nollywood are alive and well.
Prey stars Weruche Opia as Ebele, a young woman returning to her parked car after having spent the night partying with her friends. She is approached by a mysterious man named Obi, played by musician/actor OC Ukeje, who attempts to flirt with her. She’s anxious to get home, however, and rejects Obi only to find that something’s terribly wrong with her car and she can’t leave the underground garage. Ebele turns to Obi and a passing security man for help, unaware that she may have the most dangerous mistake of her life.
While the plot here is remarkably simple, even for a short film, there’s a heavy amount of gender and stereotype based subtext that, combined with King’s impeccable direction, make Prey overflow with story and possible interpretations. Although, that’s not to say that it isn’t an enjoyable slasher-thriller as well. Blending Hitchcock’s suspense with intense John Carpenter style chase scenes works surprisingly well, despite never leaving the claustrophobic parking garage. The visuals are also impressive and professional-looking; if you watched this on late-night TV without knowing anything about it beforehand, you would never guess that it’s a low budget short film and not a studio-backed feature.
The top-notch performances also help sell the illusion, with both Ukeje and Opia feeling right at home in their brief yet intense roles, never missing a beat. Nevertheless, the main antagonist here, played by Steve Mace, isn’t as developed as the other characters, and sometimes lacks the ferocity that makes other, similar villains scary. This is easily forgiven, giving Prey’s modest runtime, but it would have been nice to see a worthy predator in this otherwise amazing short film.
Despite being the world’s second largest film industry, Prey is apparently one of the first Nigerian genre films to come out of Nollywood. If Sunny’s work is any indication, there’s a great deal of competently-made horror and thriller movies coming our way from overseas. Personally, I’d love to see Prey expanded into a feature film, as it could easily compete with, or perhaps even surpass, similar North American genre pictures.
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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