Easy Prey

''Easy Prey'' is a 1986 Canadian-American historical drama made-for-television film, reenacting the true story of Australian serial killer Christopher Wilder, also known as "the Beauty Queen Killer", and his kidnapping of victim Tina Marie Risico, a sixteen-year-old girl.

Plot

Tina Marie Risico, a pretty teenage girl with low self-esteem, is spending time at the shopping mall when she is approached by a man claiming to be a photographer looking for new models. Tina follows the man to his van in the parking lot, where she is abducted, raped and taken away. The man, Christopher Wilder, keeps Tina for a cross-country road trip, with the constant threat that he plans to kill her when he gets bored of her. After a long time staying in motels and driving, Christopher and Tina form an awkward bond. At one point, Christopher has a moment of empathy for the girl when she breaks down crying, and he allows her to eat at a dine-in restaurant with him rather than waiting in the van.

Tina develops Stockholm syndrome and proceeds to stay at Christopher's side despite his acts of abuse towards her. She discovers that Christopher is killing other women and girls, and she reluctantly aids the man in luring another underage girl from a shopping mall, the same way Tina herself was abducted. Eventually, Christopher decides to let Tina go, buying her an airplane ticket home and kissing her. Tina has conflicting feelings about Christopher, traumatized by the abuse and the kidnapping, while also missing him deeply, which confuses her family when she's finally able to return to them. Meanwhile, after a violent altercation with the police, Christopher is shot and killed in a gas station parking lot.

Cast

* Gerald McRaney as Christopher Wilder
* Shawnee Smith as Tina Marie Risico
* Susan Hogan as Carol Risico
* Kate Lynch as Fran Altman
* Barry Flatman as Wells
* Jessica Steen as Wendy Robinson
* Laurie Paton as Angela
* Jeremy Ratchford as Billy
* Jennifer Irwin as Jenny
* Lisa Howard as Oklahoma Girl #1
* Wendy Lyon as Oklahoma Girl #2

Production

''Easy Prey'' was made mostly in central Canada, although the story itself is set in the United States.

The new wave band The Brigade had a song featured in the film during a prominent scene, "It's A Wonderful Life" from The Brigade's album '' The Dividing Line''. This song was long considered to be lost media by viewers, as it was uncredited in the film. Larry Mortiff and Alan Bodoh, two independent producers, made a deal with survivor Tina Marie Risico to create a dramatized film of her experiences with Wilder. The two producers shot ''Easy Prey'' on a $2.5 million budget in the Canadian city of Toronto, hoping to save money by not filming directly in the United States. The film was eventually picked up by ABC for release.

Reception

''Easy Prey'' was aired sporadically as an ABC Movie of the Week and a film on the Lifetime Movie Network, while bootleg copies appear on YouTube. The film was praised largely for its cast's acting; John Ferguson of ''Radio Times'' said of main actor Gerald McRaney, "Gerald McRaney is usually associated with likeable Texans, but here he is surprisingly effective as a serial killer preying on young innocents." Bill Kelley of Florida's ''Sun Sentenial'' pointed out the cautionary tale value of the film, noting that ''Easy Prey'' is a "social commentary and a warning to young women not to go off with strangers. (Most of Wilder's victims, including Risico, allegedly were lured into his car with promises of a photo session. When they arrived at an isolated site, police say Wilder raped and murdered them.)"

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0090991

ABC Movie of the Week
Lifetime (TV channel) films
1986 television films
Crime films based on actual events
Films about sexual abuse
Films set in the 1980s