Woodyanders Review of Primitif

Primitif (1978)

A really lame'n'tame Indonesian clone of your standard Italian cannibal jungle adventure romp

[2/10 · 29 July 2008]

Rugged Robert (hunky Barry Prima), snippy Rita (homely eyesore Enny Haryono), and nerdy Tommy (bespectacled beanpole dweeb Johann Mardjono) are a trio of eager young college students who along with their macho guide Bisma (chunky bearded wonder Rukman Herman) find themselves in deep trouble when they encounter a lethal tribe of primitive cannibals deep in the jungle. Man, does this extremely cheap and crummy clunker strike out something rotten in every conceivable department: Sisworo Guatama Putra's flat, fumbling (mis)direction, the poky pace, Imam Tantowi's by-the-numbers hackneyed and predictable cookie cutter script, the slipshod editing, the bland acting, Lee Fioole's sub-par cinematography, the dreadful dubbing, precious little nudity, several poorly staged action scenes (in one especially unimpressive scene a native feebly wrestles with a python), the mild gore, Gatot Sudarto's mostly insipid, only sporadically lively score, a pitifully dumb and nonexplicit attempted rape that's followed by an equally lousy off-screen castration, and the colorless, unappealing main characters (Rita in particular is insufferably whiny) all leave a great deal to be desired. The fact that the DVD source print is clearly taken a beat-up VHS tape complete with drop-outs and occasional faulty tracking doesn't help matters in the least. This stinker quite simply lacks the essential sleaze and vigor that it needs in order to qualify as an entertaining piece of trash. Only the beautiful jungle scenery and the inspired use of Kraftwork's insanely funky "We Are the Robots" as the opening credits theme song offer some relief from the overall stupefying tedium. A dismally dull and dissatisfying dud.