Let Us Prey: Hell Rises at Toronto After Dark

Some people just want to watch the world burn and in director Brian O’Malley’s Let Us Prey, it seems like everybody is a villain. This is O’Malley’s feature debut, he shows his love of the horror genre. O’Malley took pains to create a horror movie that would stand the test of time. The movie is set in a small town in Scotland, on a Constable Heggie’s (Pollyanna McIntosh) first day on the job, when a mysterious stranger is brought into the station and begins to take over the minds of everyone around him and hell becomes their reality. The programmers at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival likened the movie to “a supernatural Assault on Precinct 13” which is an excellent description.

Like so many directorial debuts, Let Us Prey was done on a budget which makes it much more impressive. The opening alone is filled with beautiful shots of the Scottish coast and waves breaking against the craigs. The establishing shots of the town are equally stunning, all of it contributing to the overall atmosphere. The star of the movie is Liam Cunningham of Game of Thrones fame, he plays the mysterious character known only as Six. His performance is largely responsible for my enjoyment of the movie; apart from the cinematography, his glowering through every scene with despondent menace was very compelling. There are two side effects of his frightening performance; the first is that the rest of the cast seemed stiff and two dimensional against him, the second is that I’ll never look at GoT’s Davos the same way.

The movie’s score is electronic and reminiscent of horror movies past. O’Malley, who has a love affair with electronica, describes it as “Carpenteresque”. It strikes the right mood and contributes to the tension. As the story escalates (and it does escalate!), so does the score. It keeps up with the action and scares beat for beat. I really enjoyed the way Let Us Prey built tension; secrets unravel as Six manipulates everyone around him. Each revelation proved more morbid than the last and ultimately, the movie came to a satisfying climax. It was a lot of fun, especially for anyone who, like me, enjoys shock value. The characters torment each other and as the clock ticks down, hell gets closer and closer to earth. There were a couple of jump scares, a good amount of violence, and a high body count. As long as you don’t mind a movie that goes through some of the hiccups of a first time director and an independent budget, Let Us Prey is worth the hour and a half investment.