A PREDATOR RETURNS
(TV Movie 2021)
2 out of 10 stars
Time to Read: 3:10min
BASIC PLOT:
Courtney (
Leigha Sinnott) is trying to enjoy her summer after high school with her friends, before she goes to college. They all decide to take off in a boat, go swimming, and visit an abandoned lighthouse. Courtney almost gets eaten by sharks, but is saved, at the last minute, by a shark researcher, "David Burke" (
Houston Stevenson). Courtney and "David" begin a relationship soon after. He tells her he's a grad student, studying shark behavior. Her parents are psychotically over protective, and don't want her to have friends, even though she's eighteen, has a job, and a full scholarship to college. Courtney's mother and father don't like "David," even though neither of them has ever met him. "David" is really the legendary Bruce Cain, who's on the run for previous murders. His obsessions take over Courtney's life, and a blood bath ensues.
WHAT WORKS:
*THE DIRECTING AND CINEMATOGRAPHY ARE REALLY COOL The shots are all set up well, and filmed in a beautiful way.
Alexander Yellen (cinematographer) and
Colin Theys (director) create captivating visuals. Too bad there's no story to go along with it. I have an additional star for the visuals.
*THE LOCATIONS ARE ALL REALLY AWESOME Kudos to the location scouts and the location manager,
Stephen Donovan for providing a backdrop to some really cool visuals. Again, too bad there's no story to go with it.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
*CONTINUITY ERROR AT THE 11 MIN MARK Bruce takes his shirt off, giving it to Erica, the next shot he has it back on, then off again.
*THE ACTORS PORTRAYING HIGH SCHOOLERS ARE ALL TOO OLD
Leigha Sinnott was 28 when this was made,
Chris Jehnert was 33. That's a bit old to be playing 18 year olds, and it shows, especially outside. (Check out the picture scroll, I added lots of pics, and you can really tell their ages when they're outside.)
*THE SCRIPT IS A MEANDERING MELANGE OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, AND UNREALIZED THOUGHTS This script never really comes into focus. It just wanders hither and yon through the plot devices of the other two movies, tt579779 and
Stalker's Prey 2 (2020). This is
John Doolan's second attempt at Bruce Cain, and he should have stopped at
Stalker's Prey 2 (2020). Quite frankly, there's no comparing
Mason Dye's Bruce Kane to
Houston Stevenson's Bruce Cain. Dye's portrayal was a triumph, Stevenson's is a let down, and it's lots to do with the script. It feels like
Colin Theys (director) and
John Doolan (writer), who also wrote and directed,
Stalker's Prey 2 (2020), are just here for a payday, and are making us suffer while they capitalize on poor Bruce's problems.
*WHY IS COURTNEY'S DAD SUSPICIOUS OF "DAVID"? Braden, Courtney's Dad (
Matthew Crawley), becomes suspicious of "David" (
Houston Stevenson), because he mixes up skiing mountains. REALLY? He says a mountain in Vermont, when they're talking about New Hampshire. That's not enough to make anybody suspicious of anything. It's asinine! "David" is perfectly normal during dinner (other than he talks about sharks a lot, but not in a way that would set anybody off). Braden then braces "David" at the sink, telling him, "You don't fool me!" IT'S BIZARRE! (And this is BEFORE Bruce shows his true colors, by rambling incoherently.) So, Dad is either as crazy as Mom, and is paranoid of anyone his daughter brings around, or he's psychic! Either is freaking stupid!
*THIS MOVIE TOOK A BUNCH OF OTHER MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE PLOT DEVICES, PUT THEM IN A HAT, AND INCLUDED WHATEVER THEY PICKED Omg, what a bunch of crap! And, it steals from other movies, where the plot devices might actually work. Unplanned pregnancy (doesn't work here), family member dates psycho unknowingly (doesn't work here), wrongfully accused (doesn't work here), keeping mother's body like in
Psycho (1960) (doesn't work here), etc. Etc. Etc. This movie should have been called, "The Wrong Plot Device."
*IT'S TOO DARK AT THE LIGHTHOUSE The shots at the beginning in the lighthouse are too dark, and could have used some additional lighting (a common problem in made-for-tv movies).
*WHY ARE THE PARENTS MAD THE KIDS HAD A FUN DAY OUT? I get why Ryan's (
Chris Jehnert) Dad would be angry; he took the boat without permission. But why is Courtney's (
Leigha Sinnott) Mom mad? These kids are all 18, so what's the problem again? It's more disgusting, crippling helicopter parenting. The mom grounds her 18 year old for staying out late, during the summer, before college? AFTER she received a full scholarship to USC. Ummm, WTF?! I think this is trying to mirror the problems from the first movie, tt579779. But the main character in that movie, Laura, was barely 17, and a junior in high school. It's NOT the same thing, and doesn't work here. Stop treating your grown kids like they're ten (and stop putting it into scripts)!
WHY ARE THE KIDS ALWAYS TAKING CARE OF THE PARENTS THESE DAYS? I don't know if this is art mirroring life, or just bad plot devices, but it's not healthy for kids to take care of their parents. Courtney (
Leigha Sinnott) says she's afraid to tell her mother, Erica (
Hannah Jane McMurray), that she got a full scholarship to USC, because her mom will feel abandoned. WHAT!? Shouldn't her mother be proud of her? Even the most rigid helicopter parent would ease up after all these successes. The Dad (
Matthew Crawley) says, "you can have a life, but you have to involve us in it." Ummm, no she doesn't. She has a job, a full scholarship, and she's eighteen. If she's never wants to see these freaking people again, she doesn't have to. She would be much better off, if she cut these unhealthy relationships out of her life, at least until they respected her boundaries. This whole storyline is irritating NONSENSE! It takes away from the main plot, a predator in our midst. Plot devices should add to the main story, not piss you off so bad, you want to change the channel.
TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION:
*RUN, RUN FROM THIS MOVIE! Or swim, swim away, and just watch tt579779 again (those sharks are still out there, ya know?)
CLOSING NOTES:
*This is a made-for-tv movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.
*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. This review was NOT written in ANY way by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews, and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.
