The Naked Prey (1966)

82% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(1,486 ratings)

In the bush country of South Africa in the late 19th century, chauvinistic hunter Gert vanDen Bergh calculatedly offends a local tribal chief. Given several opportunities, he refuses to apologize. As consequence, vanDen Bergh and the rest of his hunting party are captured by the tribesmen and… More In the bush country of South Africa in the late 19th century, chauvinistic hunter Gert vanDen Bergh calculatedly offends a local tribal chief. Given several opportunities, he refuses to apologize. As consequence, vanDen Bergh and the rest of his hunting party are captured by the tribesmen and grotesquely tortured to death. The only white man spared is safari-guide Cornel Wilde, whom the natives respect and vice versa. The tribesmen offer Wilde a chance to survive; stripping him naked and giving him a knife to defend himself, they set Wilde free in the jungle, in preparation of hunting him down like a lion. Given a head start equal to the distance one of the tribesman can fire an arrow, Wilde is pursued by the tribe's six most accomplished warriors. The rest of this thrill-a-minute film follows Wilde into the underbrush in his desperate, resourceful flight for life. Cornel Wilde's The Naked Prey was filmed entirely on location under circumstances nearly as dangerous as the plight of its protagonist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Cornel Wilde
Written By: Clint Johnston, Don Peters
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1966 Wide
On DVD: Jan 15, 2008
Studio: Paramount Home Video

Critic Reviews

Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Taken as a lively adventure yarn, it's enjoyable, but the claims that there's more to it than that ring a little hollow.
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
[Director Cornel] Wilde strips the ordeal to the essentials... and sets it against the searing austerity and matter-of-fact savagery of the African wilds...
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
Cornel Wilde's directorial career is ripe for rediscovery. This pure, relentless yarn is a great place to start.
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
offers a vision of survival at its starkest, boiled down to physical endurance, reflexes, and the desperate need to keep ahead of the foe snapping at your heels.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's far-fetched nonsense, with a penchant for delivering the bloodthirsty details.
Brandon Judell, PopcornQ
Has one of the better unending chase scenes for its day.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Austen R

I kind of knew what I was getting into... I just wasn't expecting a plot of any sort... The Naked Prey is an experimental film by actor and auteur, Cornel Wilde. Wilde seeks to portray man as animal by having man hunt man, and inter-splicing the film with stock footage of… More
I kind of knew what I was getting into... I just wasn't expecting a plot of any sort... The Naked Prey is an experimental film by actor and auteur, Cornel Wilde. Wilde seeks to portray man as animal by having man hunt man, and inter-splicing the film with stock footage of animal hunting animal. (Sometimes it's man hunting animal [and vice-versa], but that's commonplace.) It's a very "Hobbesian" premise, and I think that's what Wilde intended. (Read up on the work of Thomas Hobbes.) Speaking of Wilde, his performance is stellar. He was in his 50's and was ill, and he still forced himself to run for miles for the sake of the project. The pursuers also turned in believable performances. The hunting and torture scenes at the beginning of the film were tastefully handled, but are still quite horrific. Of course, the blood is very fake-looking, but at least the blood's there! (This movie still maintains its R-rating!!) Of course, some of the torture scenes don't need blood to insure the viewer that they are, in fact, horrible ways to die. The movie has some outstanding sequences, like the elephant hunt, the torture ceremony, and the wildfire scene; which is one of my favorite sequences from any movie. While the movie's graphic and unpleasant at times, it has sweet moments, like when Cornel Wilde escorts the kid he rescues from a village that is pillaged by slave-traders. (Another Great Sequence) The movie's also just really entertaining. It never really drags, and it has an interesting ideology that drives it. The Criterion Collection DVD features a high-quality transfer, and it comes with a high recommendation from me. The Naked Prey receives a 95% from me! (Bonus points for the tribal score made for the film!)
Randy T

I suspect <i>The Naked Prey</i> is Cornel Wilde's answer to a mid-life crisis. It was his way of saying, "Look at me! I'm the producer, the director and the star." He even co-wrote the musical score. Wilde, as a character credited simply as 'the… More
I suspect <i>The Naked Prey</i> is Cornel Wilde's answer to a mid-life crisis. It was his way of saying, "Look at me! I'm the producer, the director and the star." He even co-wrote the musical score. Wilde, as a character credited simply as 'the Man', spends the vast majority of his screen time running around Africa clad only in a small loincloth. Okay, so he had a pretty good physique for a 50 year old man, but come on! No middle-aged white man is going to outrun, outsmart, and outlast a war party of Zulu tribesmen in a footrace across the Serengeti. The Naked Prey is not a horrible film, in fact it's downright entertaining. But let's be absolutely truthful about calling it for what it is. It is 96 minutes of pure, unadulterated machismo.
Ken S

1966's version of Apocalypto. A great chase film that's a lot of fun.
moon r

"No middle-aged white man is going to outrun, outsmart, and outlast a war party of Zulu tribesmen in a footrace across the Serengeti. The Naked Prey is not a horrible film, in fact it's downright entertaining. But let's be absolutely truthful about calling it for what… More
"No middle-aged white man is going to outrun, outsmart, and outlast a war party of Zulu tribesmen in a footrace across the Serengeti. The Naked Prey is not a horrible film, in fact it's downright entertaining. But let's be absolutely truthful about calling it for what it is. It is 96 minutes of pure, unadulterated machismo"...and so one of my buds here at flixsterino said quite truthfully, but we are talking about movies. fantasy. entertainment. and so, with that in mind, let me add that this film achieves. hemingway would love this.
Tim S

An excellent chase film with some beautiful cinematography and atmosphere.
Steve K

Quite the experience. A mishmash of 50's and 70's sensibilities. Wilde went to great lengths to make it realistic, down to killing real animals. Stripping man down to his primal survival instincts, the film is unique and worthwhile.