Primal Rage (1988) Rage, furia primitiva (original title)

Director:

Vittorio Rambaldi

Writer:

Umberto Lenzi (written by)

Release Date:

1 December 1988 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Primal Fears. Primal Screams.

Plot:

A scientist at a Florida university inadvertantly creates a "rage virus" while performing experiments intended to restore dead brain tissue in baboons...

Plot Keywords:

Baboon | University | Biology | Mouse | Animal Experimentation

Cast

Patrick Lowe	...	Sam Nash
Cheryl Arutt	...	Lauren Daly
Sarah Buxton	...	Debbie
Mitch Watson	...	Frank Duffy
Bo Svenson	...	Ethridge
Doug Sloan	...	Lovejoy
Luis Valderrama	...	Chat
John Baldwin	...	Bryan
Turk Harley	...	Prof. Jenkins
Jennifer Hingel	...	Kimberly
Barry Schreiber	...	Oakley (as Barry D. Schreiber)
Paul Bridges Thompson	...	Lab Assistant
Sally Carlson	...	Nurse
Greg Schmidt	...	Sam's roommate
Mal Jones	...	Janitor
Jenny Cooper		(as Jenny Levine)
Kristine Loyd	...	Babe 2
Tom Kouchalakos	...	Rookie cop
Brody Howell	...	Drunk student
Earl L. Simpson III	...	Baby Huey (as Earl Lee Simpson III)
Ben Stotes	...	Vampire
Joe Del Campo	...	FBI agent
Christopher David Brown	...	FBI agent
Eileen Engel	...	Dorm receptionist
Julian Byrd	...	University vice president
Jack McDermott	...	Police Chief
Darlene Wheatley	...	Editor
J.D. Steel	...	Tow truck driver
Tom Boykin	...	Fratter
R. Emmett Fitzsimmons	...	Campus cop
L.R. Dutchyshyn	...	Cop at halloween party
William Cagliostro	...	Infirmary student
Jay Amor	...	Orderly
Bill Wohrman	...	Veteran cop (as Bill Wohtmann)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bridge Carlson
Dong Sloun
Darlene Weather

Directed by
Vittorio Rambaldi

Writing credits
Umberto Lenzi		(written by) (as Harry Kirkpatrick)

Produced by
William J. Immerman	....	producer
Josi W. Konski	....	producer (as Josi Konski)

Original Music by
Claudio Simonetti

Cinematography by
Antonio Climati

Film Editing by
John Rawson

Casting by
Billy DaMota

Makeup Department
Frank Cacciatori	....	makeup artist

Special Effects by
Alex Rambaldi	....	special effects makeup
Carlo Rambaldi	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Carlo Rambaldi	....	special visual effects

Stunts
Jay Amor	....	stunts

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Leslie Herman	....	wardrobe supervisor

Production Companies

• El Pico S.A.
• Overseas FilmGroup

Distributors

• Code Red DVD (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1991) (Italy) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1992) (Portugal) (VHS)
• Daiei Home Video (1989) (Japan) (VHS)
• Excalibur Benelux (1990) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Millennium Storm (2004) (Italy) (video)
• Tritone Cinematografica
• Warner Home Video (video)

Also Known As:

"Rage, furia primitiva" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

Spain:87 min | USA:91 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted | Iceland:16

Company:

El Pico S.A.

Movie Connections:

References The Living Daylights (1987)

Soundtrack:

Headbangers

In No Way Related to the Video Game I Played Religiously as a Teen

Remember "28 Days Later"? You know, that movie in which a viral outbreak is caused by a diseased primate and dumb environmentalists? Well, it seems like Italy got there first with the 1988 movie "Primal Rage."

Dr. Ethridge (Bo Svenson) has been working on a new experiment on baboons that's supposed to heal damaged brain tissue. There's a bit of a problem though-said baboons carry a deadly virus that can cause people to be the victim of uncontrollable, murderous rage. Well, idiot/self proclaimed "gonzo journalist" Duffy (Mitch Wilson aka unknown actor with a generic name # 2061) decides to investigate, only to get infected. And he's spreading said infection. Can dull hero Sam Ashe (Patrick Lowe) protect his new love interest Lauren (Cheryl Arutt)? Will all hell break loose? Will bad 80's fashion and hair prevail?

An Italian/North American co-production directed by Vittorio Rambaldi and written by exploitation jack of all trades Umberto Lenzi, "Primal Rage" (which has nothing to do with the video game I played religiously back in the day) is a cheap little movie made in the ass end days of Italian exploitation. At this point, only guys like Dario Argento and Michel Soavi were doing anything worthwhile. Lucio Fulci's best days were behind him, Lamberto Bava never managed to do a good follow up to his "Demons" films, Lenzi had been regulated to bad straight to video and television fair-the list goes on. So while "Primal Rage" is a bad movie (complete with bad acting, questionable direction and logic, and horrible pop songs that make it feel like one of those old TGIF sitcoms) that hasn't aged well at all, it's at least an entertaining bad movie.

The movie manages to be one of the more graphic Italian horror movies from this part of the decade, which manages to help quite a bit. The viewer gets to see a scalping, torn out throats, crushed heads, gouged out eyes and more, especially in the last 20 something minutes at a Halloween party. It's also never boring, and moves at a reasonable clip for a 91 minute movie thanks to the fact that those behind it know what it is-dumb exploitation-and for the most part delivers what the viewer wants out of it. Also, Claudio Simmnetti's score is a lot of fun, and at times reminded me of his work for Bava's "Demons", and the the climax itself offers most of what one expects from a movie like this.

It may not be a great (or good) movie, but "Primal Rage" is a nice hunk of Italian Cheese made for a Saturday night with friends and some beer.