With opening scenes of breathtaking style that immediately set an atmospheric tone of malevolent portent director Brian O’Malley has skilfully constructed a genre inflected thriller, combining elements of horror with full on action. PC Rachel Heggie (Pollyanna McIntosh – White Settlers, The Woman) is beginning her first shift at a new posting in a remote Scottish police station. Even before she arrives Heggie confronts a young tearaway but this is only the beginning of her troubles. Over the next few hours a seemingly random collection of people become resident in the station’s cells, one of which is a mysterious unnamed man (Liam Cunningham – Dog Soldiers, Game Of Thrones) who slowly reveals a dark agenda.
Despite clear influences from well known standards such as Assault On Precinct 13 O’Malley’s film succeeds in remaining original and fresh. Respectful homage is paid to its cinematic bloodline but Let Us Prey takes the familiar premise and twists it into a claustrophobic thriller with some genuinely scary moments. The motives of the mysterious stranger become clear as the film progresses but there is an ambiguity to his true nature, with the audience left to ponder on his origins.
One thing is clear; if you give him reason to judge you then the repercussions are truly terrifying and the collected guests who share the cells along with the officers themselves all have secrets worthy of his attention. It would perhaps have been easy for the film to become a bloated parody but O’Malley reigns in the worst excesses while still delivering enough visceral shocks to engage even the most hardcore horror fan. Violence is bloody and unflinching when it occurs, and as the tensions within the station overflow the film becomes stifling and intense with real mystery as to where the story will take you.
From a performance point of view this is an exceptional ensemble cast who all have enough story and depth to make them interesting. It is McIntosh and Cunningham who star though with the former delivering what is probably her most all out action role to date and the latter simply doing what he does best, with a master class in understatement and menace.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Let Us Prey is a film well worth seeking out. This is an action thriller with a smattering of horror that will appeal to most audiences and while the final scenes may not satisfy everyone, what’s gone before will forgive this possibly minor miss-step.
