{The Prey opens in Seattle on Friday, 6/7 and is screening at Oak Tree Cinemas}

In The Prey, Franck Adrien is a convicted bank robber who shares a cell with mild-mannered Jean-Louis, a convicted child molester who claims he's innocent — and later gets released when it's proved he's not guilty. Since Franck was about to get out of prison but bought himself another 6 months by protecting Jean-Louis from a gang of brutal felons, JL promises to protect Franck's family until he's released … but his motives aren't quite what they seem. 

Adrien stashed a large sum of the money he stole away in order to provide for his wife and daughter, and Jean-Louis wants it. Oh, and uh, turns out Jean-Louis is actually a sadistic serial killer. AWESOME. And he's got his wife convinced that everything he does is "for their happiness", so she's totally down with whatever he needs to do to get them the money, including kidnapping and killing beautiful young girls. EVEN MORE AWESOME. 

Since Franck doesn't want to be stuck in prison while his family is at the mercy of a sicko, he breaks out in order to rescue them. So now a group of specialized cops is pursuing him while he pursues the killer, and thanks to some cleverly planted DNA by Jean-Louis, they think Franck is actually the murderer — I mean, what could go wrong? 

Director Eric Valette packs every scene with intensity, shuffling between Franck's escalating mania and Jean-Louis' calm, cool manipulation — and even manages to squeeze in a few gun battles and gritty prison fistfights in-between. It's gorgeous and insane, and really fucking enjoyable — all the way through the terrifying end.