Prey (1977)

Interesting facts

• Budget: £50K

Prey is a 1977 British science fiction horror film produced by Terry Marcel and directed by Norman J. Warren. The plot concerns a carnivorous alien landing on Earth and befriending a lesbian couple as part of his mission to evaluate humans as a source of food. It was filmed in ten days on a budget of about £50,000 using locations near Shepperton Studios in Surrey. It had a limited distribution on release.

Production

The story was conceived by producers Terry Marcel and David Wimbury and developed by Quinn Donoghue. At the beginning of May 1977, Marcel pitched it to Warren, who was fascinated by the idea and quickly agreed to direct. Warren described the film as his "most hectic" production but also "a lot of fun". Max Cuff, a journalist in his twenties, was hired to write a script based on Marcel and Wimbury's outline.

Warren agreed to shoot the film in ten days starting on 23 May, giving him just three weeks for pre-production. He remembers that during this time "everyone was working flat out – there wasn't any sitting around waiting." The cast were supplied by a single talent agency, which also invested in the film: CCA Management, founded by Howard Pays. Prey was the film debut of Glory Annen, who had graduated from drama school the year before.

Marcel provided Warren with a filming slot on the wooded backlot of Shepperton Studios, located on the River Ash. Several scenes feature a bridge that had previously appeared in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965). In addition, production designer Hayden Pearce secured the use of the manor house in Littleton Park (the studios' original site) to serve as the filming location for Jessica and Jo's home.

Filming began after only half a day's rehearsal and without a finished script; the actors received new lines each day. According to Warren, "dear old Max Cuff was trying to keep up with us. He was writing like mad." Certain scenes were partly or wholly improvised: one example is a sex scene between the characters of Jessica and Jo, which was added mainly to boost the film's overseas distribution prospects.

The outdoor shooting was aided by the weather, which was sunny and warm throughout. This inspired Warren to direct the film in a "leisurely" manner while maintaining an "underlying sense of tension and uncertainty" to create a more shocking finale. Warren considered the premise of the film to be "intimate" and situation-driven, arguing that the light script and small cast allowed the characters to develop naturally as the shooting progressed.

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