Don’t Be Prey is one of those films where I didn’t want to get spoilers in advance, so with just a quick look at the trailer for this one, I figured from the title and poster, it was a typical, silly 15-certificate horror movie…
Then I saw a family wander in while ads were playing. So, I checked online and found it was a 12A, and precisely what the film was about, although given that it’s a documentary about open-water swimmers, that didn’t sound like something a family would be interested in…
It’s mostly centred around Bluesky investment business owner Mark Sowerby – a very driven man with a strong work ethic – who started that line of work in 2008, became the CEO and, ten years later, ducked out of it, because it was all-consuming, and taking him away from his wife and family.
In 2015, he swam the English Channel, then soon after, we learn about Ocean’s Seven… not anything to do with the George Clooney movie series, but a septet of oceans that hardened and determined swimmers will attempt to complete in full. There’s no strict order in which to swim across them, nor any particular time limit, other than the length of your lifetime; and this trek has claimed the lives of some people in the past.
Basically, it’s just you vs the elements… although those can include jellyfish and great white sharks!
As such, one of them is the Cook Strait, where the sharks can appear, and while you must normally stay in the water 100% of the time, for this challenge, you’re allowed 10 minutes maximum out of the deep blue sea… however, after doing that, only one person has ever got back in!
Hence, don’t be prey… but while Mark was the 29th person to complete the challenge, we learn about another man who died on his third swim in the challenge. So, it’s far from being without danger.
Still, for the most part, this was far from an engaging documentary, even if I was expecting something completely different.
As for that family I mentioned, they left about 30 minutes into it, clearly also having expected something completely different. I wondered if they’d get their money back, or be able to change to a different screen, given that they’ve made the purchase. However, I checked the seat map as the credits ran, and saw they’d disappeared from it, so they must’ve been able to rearrange for another film.
I was glad, actually, given that the billing is simply the following, which could fit any adventure movie-type film: “Across five continents and seven ocean channels, one man confronts fear, uncertainty, and trauma in a fight to reclaim his life.”
NOTE: There are no mid- not post-credits scenes.
Don’t Be Prey is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 91 minutes
Release date: March 20th 2026
Studio: Munro Films
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Rating: 2/10
Director: Jeff Tseng
Producers: Caitlin Johnston, Jeff Tseng
Writers: Steven Sander, Jeff Tseng
Music: Daniel Harley
Cast: (as themselves)
Mark Sowerby
Tim Denyer
Steven Munatones
Heidi Sowerby
Bengisu Avci
Jamie Mackay
Paul Leonard
Joanne Norman
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.