The Prey (1983 film)

The Prey is a 1983 American slasher film directed by Edwin Brown, and starring Debbie Thureson, Steve Bond, Lori Lethin, and Jackie Coogan. It follows a group of campers in the Rocky Mountains who are stalked and murdered by a disfigured assailant.

Inspired by such films as The Hills Have Eyes (1977), the screenplay was written by director Brown and his wife, Summer, for Essex Productions, a studio specializing in adult films. Brown was previously a producer on one of their features, the softcore thriller Human Experiments (1979). Filming took place in late 1979 in Idyllwild, California. It was the final film credit of Coogan, who died in 1984.

The Prey was acquired for distribution by New World Pictures, and theatrically released in the United States in November 1983, nearly four years after completion. It was concurrently shown on premium television in Canada, and later released on VHS by Thorn EMI in 1988. In 2019, Arrow Films completed a restoration and released it on Blu-ray, marking the film's first home media release in North America since 1988. Contemporary critical opinion has varied, with its sparse dialogue and pacing being points of criticism. Other film scholars have praised its languorous pacing, which accelerates considerably in the final act.