Prophet's Prey

{{Infobox film

| name = Prophet's Prey

| image = Prophet's Prey poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Official poster

| director = Amy J. Berg

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Amy Berg
Sam Brower
Katherine LeBlond

}}

| writer = Amy J. Berg

| based_on = {{based on|Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation Into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints|Sam Brower}}

| starring =

| narrator = Nick Cave

| music = {{Plainlist|

Nick Cave
Warren Ellis

}}

| cinematography = Peter Donahue

| editing = {{Plainlist|

Brendan Walsh
Scott Stevenson

}}

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

}}

| distributor = Showtime

| released = {{Film date|2015|1|26|Sundance|2015|9|18|United States}}

| runtime = 101 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross = $39,437{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1635616257/weekend/|title=Prophet's Prey|website=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=March 10, 2021}}

}}

Prophet's Prey is a 2015 American documentary directed and written by Amy J. Berg. The film follows Warren Jeffs, the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who is now running the religion from the confines of the Texas state prison, serving out a life sentence, for the rape of young girls. The film is an adaptation of the 2011 book of the same name by Sam Brower, who also serves as a producer on the film. Ron Howard serves as an executive producer under his Imagine Entertainment banner.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2015. It was released in a limited release on September 18, 2015, followed by broadcast on Showtime on October 10, 2015.

Background

Berg was approached by Sam Brower and Jon Krakauer with the idea for the film.{{cite web|last1=Schindel|first=Dan|title=Sundance 2015: Amy Berg Discusses 'Prophet's Prey' and Acquiring New Footage of Warren Jeffs|url=http://nonfics.com/amy-berg-interview/#rYyGv0oBXsGL7iht.99|accessdate=February 10, 2015|archive-date=February 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210111320/http://nonfics.com/amy-berg-interview/#rYyGv0oBXsGL7iht.99|url-status=dead}}

Both Brower and Krakauer are heavily featured as witnesses—the film argues they played a major role in Jeffs' capture—and the men take consulting producer and executive producer credits respectively. The two make engaging if contrasting guides through the complex story, with Krakauer coming across as the wisecracking, cerebral counterpoint to Brower's burly man-of-action.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/amy-bergs-prophets-prey-sundance-768090|title=Amy Berg's 'Prophet's Prey': Sundance Review - Hollywood Reporter|author=Leslie Felperin|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=28 January 2015}}

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2015.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/markets-festivals/sundance-prophets-prey-director-says-warren-jeffs-is-more-powerful-from-prison-1201414538/|title=Sundance: 'Prophet's Prey' Director Says Warren Jeffs is 'More Powerful From Prison'|website=Variety|first=Brent|last=Lang|date=January 25, 2015|accessdate=March 10, 2021}} It also screened at AFI Docs on June 18, 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/05/afi-docs-2015-lineup-features-albert-maysles-alex-gibney-and-more-61684/|title=AFI DOCS 2015 Lineup Features Albert Maysles, Alex Gibney and More|website=IndieWire|first=Ben|last=Travers|date=May 20, 2015|accessdate=March 10, 2021}} The film was released in a limited release on September 18, 2015, followed by a broadcast on Showtime on October 10, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.yourentertainmentcorner.com/showtime-documentary-films-sets-premiere-date-for-prophets-prey/|title=Showtime Documentary Films Sets Premiere Date for Prophets Prey|website=Your Entertainment Corner|date=August 5, 2015|accessdate=March 10, 2021}}

Reception

Prophet's Prey received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 93% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Prophet's Prey finds documentarian Amy Berg striking again at evil masquerading as righteousness -- and, as she did with Deliver Us from Evil, hitting her targets with impressive precision."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/prophets_prey|title=Prophet's Prey (2015)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=March 10, 2021}} On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 77 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/prophets-prey|title=Prophet's Prey|website=Metacritic|accessdate=March 10, 2021}}