Prey

Prey

Year: 1977

Runtime: 85 mins

Language: English

Director: Norman J. Warren

Science FictionHorrorHorror the undead and monster classicsMonsters aliens sci-fi and the apocalypseSci-fi horror creatures and aliens

After a strange green light flashes across the English sky, the day after the eerie illumination, a bizarre young man—an alien predator—appears at the isolated country home of two lesbian housemates. Driven by an inexplicable, savage hunger, his presence turns their quiet lives into a terrifying struggle for survival.

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Prey (1977) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Prey (1977), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

In the quiet woods of rural England, a carnivorous shape‑shifting alien named Kator lands as the vanguard of an invasion, with a chilling mission: determine whether humans could serve as a future food source for his species. He quickly adopts the appearance of Anders [Barry Stokes], and, pretending to be injured, he is taken in by a secluded lesbian couple living in a manor house. The two women, Jessica [Glory Annen] and Jo [Sally Faulkner], are the sole inhabitants of the estate, a place Jessica owns having inherited it from her Canadian parents. Jo, bold and suspicious of men, dominates the dynamic, while Jessica, though restless and hungry for something new, welcomes the stranger’s arrival. They exist in a world of quiet routine—vegetarian meals, simple pleasures, a few chickens, and a pet parrot named Wally—undisturbed by the outside world.

Kator’s arrival destabilizes their lives from the start. He uses the disguise of Anders to gain entry, and tensions flare as the two women-turned-housemates clash over trust, control, and privacy. The married life of the estate is interrupted by dark undercurrents: in a brutal echo of his true nature, Kator returns to the spot where he had killed Anderson and Sandy—a couple found in their parked car—then brutally kills and partly devours two policemen who come to inspect the abandoned car. At the manor, Jessica discovers a knife and bloodstained clothes in a spare room, and, recognizing Simon’s clothes, she realizes that Simon, Jessica’s boyfriend, was murdered by Jo. The revelation shatters the fragile balance between the two women and shifts the power dynamic inside the house.

A disturbed Jo seizes the moment, furious when the chickens go missing. She suspects a fox, but her fear is more than evidence-based; she suspects something beyond the ordinary. The trio goes on a hunt that ends with Kator killing a fox and presenting the carcass as a trophy to Jessica and Jo. They celebrate with a champagne party, a moment that deepens the strange bond between the alien and the two women. Jo dresses Kator in drag as part of a twisted game of hide-and-seek that exposes more of the hunter’s emerging predatory instincts. When the fox is found stripped of its fur, Jo begins to fear that the danger may come from Anders—the stranger she once trusted. Jessica, beginning to see Jo’s jealousy and possessiveness in a new light, reveals that she knows the truth about Simon.

The morning after, Jo arms herself with a knife, stalking Kator as he hunts on a nearby river. Jessica calls from the house, interrupting the plan, and Kator wades into the river to simulate danger, allowing Jessica and Jo to rescue him and return to the house. In a grisly moment, Kator consumes Wally, the parrot, a stark reminder of his real appetite. Jessica then asserts her independence, telling Jo that she will no longer be controlled and that she plans to leave with Anders, threatening Jo’s grip on her life. Enraged, Jo knocks Jessica unconscious and runs into the woods to dig a grave for her rival.

When Jessica awakens, she seduces Kator, hoping to reclaim control. The lure awakens the alien’s true predatory nature, and in a savage reversal, Kator reverts to his natural form and rips Jessica’s throat open, killing her. Jo tries to flee, but she stumbles into the open grave in a fateful stumble, and Kator closes in, catching up to her as the scene fades to black.

Some time later, Kator leaves the house, contacting his mother ship with an alien transceiver. As he watches two girls strolling along the river, he reports in a cold, clinical voice that Earth shows promise and that more of his kind should be dispatched to continue the harvest. The invasion’s first probe ends not with triumph, but with a grim, unsettled warning of what Earth may face when contact becomes consumption. Kelly Marcel appears as the Enfant (uncredited), a reminder of the film’s eerie layering of human vulnerability with extraterrestrial appetite.

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 12:17

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