Frank and Maurel are cell mates. Frank stole some money that is now hidden somewhere. Also in jail is one of his partners in crime who wants to know where the money is and who turns violent against Frank. There are some mobsters who have corrupted a prison guard. They try to to rape Maurel but Frank intervenes. Frank gets visits from his wife and young daughter who has some speech disorder. The wife has no money but he won't tell her where the money is since he is to be released soonish.

We learn more about Maurel too. He seems like a nice laid back guy and when he's released because the charges against him are dropped he offers to help Frank anyway he can. He gives him a phone number and Frank tells him to tell his wife that she should visit his father for assistance. Then he gets a visit from a detective who tells him that Maurel is bad news, that he's a rapist serial killer and a manipulator.

When the gangsters and corrupt guard corner Frank to beat him up, he kicks their butts and he uses that opportunity and the corrupt guard to escape jail. Cops are on his tail but he manages to elude capture. He arrives home to find the apartment empty--no wife, no daughter. At that moment the cops arrive but he again manages to escape barely. He goes to retrieve his money but finds the corpse of his wife instead. He then meets up with the detective who's looking into all of Maurel's victims and actually tracks down Maurel not before informing the police where Frank is. That leads to yet another chase and escape by Frank who now is going after Maurel after having been shot. Maurel set up Frank to take the fall for his crimes so everyone thinks Frank is the serial killer.

Frank finds Maurel who by now is enjoying the good life with Frank's money and has "adopted" his daughter for his crazy girlfriend who actually helps him attack other girls. That leads to a final confrontation between cops, Maurel, Frank, a father of a victim.

The Prey is a very good action thriller. It suffers from some issues. As is typical for French action movies, you can't expect too much realism. Frank is shot and injured but still manages to run and leap from windows and bridges. There are too many chase scenes. Frank doesn't get tired of running but the audience does. It's also a bit overly complicated with the detective, the cops going after a cop who takes things into her own hands, the father of the victims who tracks the cops' every move.

Aside from that, The Prey has a strong story, is nicely filmed, the photography is crisp and bright which creates a certain intimacy between the viewer and the story. Had this been a Hollywood movie, half of the movie would have to take place at night, in the rain and mud. Frank is a likable character; you root for him even though he doesn't really say a lot. The villain is also very well played--he is one nasty fellow and his girlfriend isn't any better. If you're willing to look beyond some faults, you'll find a very thrilling action movie.