‘Irish horror movie’ isn’t a phrase that comes up a lot, and yet a horror film by first-time director Brian O’Malley is making waves, and with good reason. Let Us Prey is a tense, tightly-wound and effective horror film that delivers both for gore fans and those in search of something a little deeper than mere exploitation.
Police Constable Rachel Heggie (Pollyanna McIntosh) is stationed at a sleepy station house staffed largely by the lazy, the corrupt, and the unprofessional. But a mysterious figure (Liam Cunningham) arrives and begins to turn the police and prisoners against themselves, bringing chaos, death, and lots of fire.
Cunningham (Game of Thrones) bleeds pure malevolence, even when simply sitting and staring at the wall, and McIntosh (Love Eternal – JDIFF 2014) is one of the stronger female horror leads in recent memory. From the opening shots to the fiery, violent climax, Let Us Prey feels truly apocalyptic, and the chilling final shot gives the sense that what we’ve seen was just the overture to something even more horrifying.
Thomas O’Connor
Sound on Sight
