Let Us Prey (film)
A mysterious man brings Old Testament justice to a corrupt Scottish town.
Let Us Prey is a 2014 horror film directed by Brian O'Malley, with a screenplay by Fiona Watson and David Cairns. The story centers on PC Rachel Heggie, a police officer in a small Scottish town. After waking from a nightmare about childhood abuse, she goes on patrol and witnesses a car strike a mysterious, mute man. The man vanishes, and Heggie arrests the driver, Francis "Caesar" Sargison. At the station, Sergeant Jim Macready charges Caesar, who is placed in a cell alongside teacher Ralph Beswick, arrested for beating his wife. Other officers find the injured man and bring him in. He is covered in scratches, carries only a notebook full of names, and cannot speak. When Dr. Duncan Hume examines him, Hume suffers a flashback and tries to kill the patient, leading to his own arrest. The stranger’s fingerprints match those of a man who died over twenty years ago. He makes cryptic references to Old Testament justice, causing Macready to have a flashback and order him locked in cell six—hence the character is credited as "Six." Officer Jennifer Mundie recalls beating a prisoner with her colleague Jack Warnock. Macready sends Mundie and Warnock to Hume’s house, while Heggie researches the names in Six’s notebook and finds they all belong to deceased criminals. In the cells, Six uses supernatural abilities to question Beswick about his motives for abuse; unsatisfied, he drives Beswick to attempt suicide. Caesar alerts Heggie, who lets Hume examine Beswick, but Beswick dies after claiming to know Six’s identity. Meanwhile, Mundie and Warnock discover Hume has murdered his own family. Macready is revealed to be a serial killer who seduces and kills young men; he hastily disposes of a dismembered body. Hume attacks Heggie when she learns of his family, but she subdues him. Six reveals he knows about Heggie’s abuse and offers Caesar redemption if he confesses to a hit-and-run earlier that night involving a young girl. Mundie and Warnock interrogate Hume, who confesses to killing his family out of nihilistic boredom. Warnock, after a flashback to a staged suicide, kills Hume in a rage. Heggie is threatened into silence. Caesar confesses to hitting the girl, but Six says it is too late—the girl has died. Heggie remembers that Six once distracted her childhood abuser, allowing her to escape. Six warns her that Mundie and Warnock plan to kill her. She fights them, but Ma
- Directed by
- Brian O'Malley
- Written by
- Fiona Watson and David Cairns
- Release year
- 2014
- Country
- Ireland/UK (implied by setting and cast)
- Genre
- Horror
- Notable cast
- Liam Cunningham as Six, Pollyanna McIntosh as PC Rachel Heggie
Lore & Background
The film premiered at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. It was released on video-on-demand and DVD in the US on 26 May 2015, and in the UK on video-on-demand on 28 September and on DVD on 19 October 2015. In Japan, it was released on 5 January 2016 under the title of the popular anime Death Note, despite having no connection to that series. Several scenes were rewritten at the behest of Pollyanna McIntosh, who saw her character as strong and did not want Heggie to be viewed as a victim or in a sexualised way. The filmmakers were also careful not to depict Heggie's background of abuse exploitatively.
Reader's Guide
Let Us Prey is a horror film that blends supernatural elements with police procedural and religious themes. The plot centers on a mysterious figure named Six (Liam Cunningham) who arrives in a small Scottish town and uses his supernatural powers to force the townspeople to confront their sins, leading to violent consequences. The film received mixed to positive reviews: Rotten Tomatoes reports that 83% of twelve surveyed critics gave a positive review, with an average rating of 6.44/10. Critics praised the atmosphere, visuals, and initial mystery, though some found the second half disappointing. Performances by Cunningham and McIntosh were widely commended. The film's significance lies in its exploration of guilt, redemption, and Old Testament justice within a horror framework, and its careful handling of themes of abuse and victimhood.
Did You Know?
- The film was released in Japan under the title of the anime Death Note, despite having no connection to that series.
- Several scenes were rewritten at the request of actress Pollyanna McIntosh to avoid portraying her character as a victim or in a sexualised way.
- The character named 'Six' in the end credits is never referred to by that name by any other characters during the film.
- The film premiered at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Let Us Prey (2014) about?
The film follows a mute stranger who arrives in a small, morally rotten Scottish town and begins handing out brutal, Old Testament-style punishments to its guilty residents. A local police officer tries to intervene as the violence escalates and the town's buried secrets come to light.
Who directed and wrote Let Us Prey?
Brian O'Malley directed the project, while the screenplay was a collaboration between Fiona Watson and David Cairns.
Who plays the mysterious man in Let Us Prey?
Liam Cunningham portrays 'Six,' the silent, enigmatic figure whose arrival triggers a wave of retribution against the town's corrupt inhabitants.
What role does Pollyanna McIntosh play in Let Us Prey?
She stars as PC Rachel Heggie, a small-town police officer whose routine night patrol collides with the stranger's appearance and the unraveling of the community's dark past.
Why is Let Us Prey notable in Irish horror?
As a 2014 Irish/UK co-production, it blends folk-horror retribution themes with a tightly drawn ensemble cast, giving both Cunningham and McIntosh a central stage in a story about collective guilt and biblical vengeance.
More in Irish horror films 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record