‘You’re not welcome here’
Silence of the Prey is a 2024 horror film about an immigrant mother who takes a caretaking job and soon regrets it.
The movie was written and directed by Karyna Kudzina and Michael Vaynberg. The former stars alongside Monte Bezell, Chris LaPanta, Michael Doyle, Lorianna Izrailova, Rebecca Packer and Tim Shelburne.
Plot:
Nina (Karyna Kudzina), an undocumented Belarusian immigrant mother has taken a caretaker job so that she and her daughter, Isabella, can have a future in America, at the rural home of an eccentric old man named Luther (Chris LaPanta).
Luther and the area itself at first seem to be a picture-perfect idyll of rural America, however, it becomes readily apparent that something far darker is lurking under the surface and mother and daughter are next on the menu…
Reviews:
“My only complaint about Silence of the Prey would be that the storytelling is a bit linear and somewhat lacking in nuance. In their effort to highlight the plight of the undocumented, writers Kudzina and Saro Varjabedian have fallen into the trap of telling rather than showing and the key conflict is delivered with little subtlety. Despite that, I give Silence of the Prey a good three out of four stars and recommend to fans of independent film and folk horror.” ★★★ Addicted to Media
“Silence of the Prey tries to make a political or meaningful statement on immigrants and the inhumanity they can face but it’s beyond its reach. The story is utterly transparent and you can guess where it’s going right off the bat, leaving little for it to offer. The aesthetic and direction feel lacking going in and they don’t really ever improve. It feels as though the filmmakers had lofty goals and not enough to work with to see them through.” 2/10 Film Carnage
“It uses the contained environment to escalate everything nicely and takes us down an unusual path to arrive at the high-stakes climax. The movie has strong performances throughout, which shows the horror one goes through, and the beliefs others have. “★★★ Movie Reviews 101
“The performances are better than you would expect from a lower-budget film and whilst it nods in part to the likes of Jordan Peele’s GET OUT (the social get-together), has three ‘deer men’ disappear quicker than Michael Myers, have two people wash-up after four people have eaten quicker than it would take for anyone else to just fill a sink, it’s a fun, if a little daft, watch all the same. Despite my initial reservations I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought.” 7/10 My Bloody Reviews
“Despite a slight feeling of familiarity to the story, I found myself getting increasingly engaged with the plot, and I was pleased with the direction it decided to go into for the cathartic finale. This was a well made and entertaining film whose modern day issues didn’t feel tacked on in a cheap way.” 8/10 The Rotting Zombie
“A very nice shocker that blends traditional folk horror with the very current theme of the plight of undocumented immigrants, and spins a very original yarn out of it, one that’s on the intentionally slow burn side at first and relies more on atmosphere and mystery, to eventually turn into a suspense piece before going all-out on action in the finale. But what holds this film together, besides its engaging story, are the very relatable performances…” Search My Trash
Trailer:
Release:
Silence of the Prey was released on VOD by The Horror Collective on May 15, 2024. The film is now free to watch on Tubi.
Original title:
Harvest
Budget:
$300,000 (estimated)
