Deadly Prey is a 1986 film that was first screened in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in March 1987 at that year's American Film Market

American Film Market

The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...

. After The Winters Group helped finance David A. Prior's previous film, Aerobicide Prior, along with executive producers David Winters

David Winters (choreographer)

David Winters is an English-born American dancer, choreographer, producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. Winters has participated in, directed and produced over 400 television series, specials, and motion pictures...

 and Bruce Lewin, and producer Peter Yuval formed Action International Pictures

Action International Pictures

Action International Pictures also known as West Side Studios, is a film production and distribution company founded in 1986....

 and their first projects were Mankillers

Mankillers

Mankillers, also known as 12 Wild Women, was filmed in 1986 in and around Riverside, California, United States and was written and directed by David A. Prior...

 and Deadly Prey. Both shot back to back in and around Riverside, California

Riverside, California

Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...

, Deadly Prey tells the story of an ex-marine (played by Prior's brother Ted

Ted Prior (actor)

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ted Prior, sometimes credited as Ted Pryor, is an American action actor who has starred in numerous films directed by his brother David A...

) who is kidnapped for participation in a human safari. The film has never been officially released on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 which makes it hard to find.

Plot

Colonel Hogan rents his mercenaries out to anyone with the right price. This time it's businessman Michaelson. A deal is struck, and Hogan recruits new troops. For training, he orders his troops to kidnap innocent people, take them to the forest and hunt them. Unfortunately this time, they picked the wrong guy, Mike Danton. Danton, a Vietnam veteran, is ambushed while taking out the trash. Taken to the forest, he is stripped to his shorts, greased up and told to run. The mercenaries hunt Danton, but are meticulously picked off one by one. The troops report this to Colonel Hogan, who sends a task force with his best man, Lieutenant Thornton. One of this elite combat unit is Jack Cooper. Cooper and Danton realize who each other are while trying to kill each other. Cooper has not seen Danton since he took a bullet for him in 'Nam. With his new-found friend, Danton continues to punish the mercenaries, and get back to his wife Jaimey. Like all good villains, Hogan uses Danton's family against him, but this angers Danton. After storming the military training camp Danton arms himself up, and destroys all traces of Hogan's mercenaries.

Cast

• Cameron Mitchell
  Cameron Mitchell (actor)
  Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
  
   as Jamie's father
• Troy Donahue
  Troy Donahue
  Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...
  
   as Don Michaelson
• Ted Prior
  Ted Prior (actor)
  Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ted Prior, sometimes credited as Ted Pryor, is an American action actor who has starred in numerous films directed by his brother David A...
  
   as Michael "Mike" Danton
• Fritz Matthews as Lieutenant Thornton
• David Campbell as Colonel Hogan

Reception

The film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 lists only one review, on the North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 alternative newspaper Mountain Xpress

Mountain Xpress

The Mountain Xpress is a free alternative newspaper covering news, arts, local politics, and events in Asheville and western North Carolina. Published each Wednesday in print and online, it has a print circulation of about 29,000...

. Reviewer Ken Hanke describes it as "yet another of the seemingly endless barrage of cinematic knockoffs of Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game

The Most Dangerous Game

"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell. It was published in Collier's Weekly on January 19, 1924....

" also influenced by First Blood

First Blood

First Blood is a 1982 action thriller film directed by Ted Kotcheff. The film stars Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam War veteran, with Sheriff Will Teasle as his nemesis and Colonel Samuel Trautman as his former commander and only ally...

(1982), and concludes that it is "all quite ridiculous, but might be good for a laugh if you’re in the mood for ineptitude on an unbelievable scale".