(2024,US)
[review by JA Kerswell]
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| Aren't you supposed to have fun at a bachelorette party? |
More often than not, straight-to-streaming slasher movies are like fast food: you crave it and it’s enjoyable whilst it lasts - but it evaporates from the memory as soon as the credits roll. Thankfully, PREY FOR THE BRIDE is perhaps a marginal step above normal streaming fare. A killer in a wolf mask gatecrashes a bachelorette party and the bride-to-be and guests have to fight for their lives. The film lulls the viewer into a false sense of security with a fairly generic first half but packs a killer twist in its close.
Jordan (Megan Peta Hill) hesitatingly accepts a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend Greg (Brad Harder) at a surprise party. Her friends encourage her not to dwell on the death of her former fiancé who had died tragically in a fire a few years previously. However, they notice the absence of their friend Kimi (Maia Mae Fields) - who we see being butchered with a hunting knife by someone in a wolf mask in the opening sequence.
Three months later, and still mourning Kimi’s death, Jordan’s friends and ex-sorority sisters Brooke (Jacky Lai), April (Lina Lecompte) and Lauren (Marnie Mahannah) have organised a girls’ getaway at Brooke’s parent’s large lakeside estate to celebrate the upcoming wedding. At the last minute, Jordan’s newer friend Dorit (Getenesh Berhe) rearranges plans and tells the group she can unexpectedly join them. However, Jordan is disturbed to find photos of her and her ex-fiancé dressed as the Big Bad Wolf from a fancy dress party and begins to wonder if someone is playing with her?
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| A killer in a wolf mask stalks in PREY FOR THE BRIDE. |
At first, the weekend gets off to a good start, but there is building tension between Dorit and Jordan’s old clique. However, they eventually strive to get on for the bride-to-be’s sake. But an evening of festivities turns sour when more reminders of the death of Jordan’s ex-fiancé appear during a truth or dare type game and a male stripper says he was instructed to wear a wolf mask. It soon becomes clear that someone wants answers about the past tragedy and a killer is intent on hunting them down one-by-one …
Made-for-streaming thrillers are not usually what you could call quirky. Any efforts at uniqueness in a script are usually removed in the pursuit of one-size-fits-all conformity. PREY FOR THE BRIDE hasn’t escaped the utilitarian doctrine. There is nothing novel about it. Visually it is competent but lacks any distinct personality of its own. Exploitation rough edges have been sanded down with a modicum of bloodletting but no nudity. The closest it gets is the creepy limo driver being murdered before he can have a wank! Surprisingly, there are no real chase scenes to speak of and the film could have benefited by more being more suspenseful. Where the film does shine, though, is in some fun performances and interactions between characters - and the film’s volte-face which is sure to catch many viewers off guard.
It does take itself pretty seriously - although including a Power Ballard that features the line “Who’s going to be the last one standing?” suggests that tongues were occasionally in cheek. PREY FOR THE BRIDE is pretty well done for its type, but it is likely to be soon forgotten under the avalanche of similarly anodyne direct-to-streaming movies. It would certainly have benefitted from a healthy dose of 80s or 90s slasher/thriller what-the-fuckery, but then again what modern film wouldn’t?
PREY FOR THE BRIDE is currently streaming for free (with ads) as a Tubi Original.
BODYCOUNT 9 
female: 5 / male: 4
1) Female stabbed with hunting knife
2) Female stabbed to death
3) Male has throat slashed with a knife
4) Male stabbed in the back
5) Female dies of stab wounds
6) Female poisoned
7) Male shot dead
8) Male hit on the head and falls to his death
9) Female shot in the stomach
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