Reviews & Ratings for
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68 out of 87 people found the following review useful:
Nothing great, but above average horror flick, 12 January 2007

Author: godjunior71 from Winchester, MA, USA

I admit it, I have a soft spot for monster movies. Maybe it's the kid in me who watched all the old "creature features" at a young age, or maybe it's the fact that no one has really made a serious monster movie since...well, you tell me. That being said, "Primeval" is no work of genius, and like most mainstream films, is loaded with clichéd moments that we've seen in better movies. However, when compared to the films that pass for horror today, this one has surprising bite (no pun intended) at certain moments. The main complaint here seems to be the misleading advertising campaign of the film, hyping it up as a tale of serial killer in rural Africa. Of course, the actual story details an American news team (the brooding male leader, the hot female sidekick, and of course, the token black guy who serves mostly as comic relief) traveling to the war-torn Burundi to film and hopefully capture Gustave, an enormous crocodile who has eaten hundreds of people. Naturally, things go wrong, and the river soon runs red. An interesting aspect of the movie is the inclusion of a warlord in the plot, adding a second threat to the protagonists (Gustave is, of course, their first threat). This risky move sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but I applaud the filmmakers for trying something new at least. What really redeems the film however are a few key scenes that are surprisingly atmospheric (something most modern horror films have forgotten), well edited, and increasingly suspenseful. Without giving too much away, the croc itself is better than one may expect from this kind of a movie. The cast does what they can with a strictly average script, yet for the most part, manage to elicit some interest and sympathy. The final act is a bit of a disappointment, but by that point, it's already been a fun, exciting ride, and one doesn't really care. In short, "Primeval" is strictly what many of us go to the movies for: popcorn entertainment. I myself had originally gone to see "Pan's Labyrinth" but as the shows were sold out, my friends and I eventually decided to give "Primeval" a go. I wasn't dazzled, but then again, I wasn't expecting to be. It's simply fun, escapist entertainment, and despite what any film snob will tell you, there's nothing wrong with that. Just shut your brain off and you should have a good time.

53 out of 72 people found the following review useful:
Decent enough to enjoy, 14 January 2007

Author: ValianceInEnd from United States

I'm sure that I'm the only person here who really isn't going to bash on this film. Of course, I already knew it was a crocodile in stead of a serial killer. I mean c'mon, if you looked around on the internet you would of known, and the trailer made it apparent. Still I agree that it was a cheesy scam to call this killer croc "the world's most prolific serial killer". Aside from that, the movie had a simple (if not too simple) story line. Croc kills important person, team sent to catch it, croc is smarter then them, they try to survive. If you've seen Lake Placid, then this is generally the same idea. Just subtract one croc, set it in Africa, and put a really funny black guy in. Yeah, Orlando Jones does an exceptional job as Steve and makes you laugh more then once. Unfortunately, the other actors are so-so at best. The croc's animation was decent, but I felt he needed a better design. He just looked like a really big croc rather then anything original. And the gore was disappointing. The animated blood in the raining scenes was laughably bad. Overall, it might be worth a rent when it comes out on DVD, but it isn't going to ever be a vintage horror film. If you've seen Lake Placid, no need to apply here, except that this is the better Lake Placid.

69 out of 110 people found the following review useful:
Primeval Is Lake Placid Without The Humor, 13 January 2007

Author: walken_on_sunshine

Primeval was geniusly marketed as a slasher film and attempted to get people to pay for a ticket expecting a slasher flick and sucker them outta cash with a crocodile movie.Based on the amount of pi$$ed off people reviewing this film in anger of being scammed i'm going to say they succeeded.Now on to Primeval as a movie yes it has the token black guy, and the sexy blonde wearing pretty much nothing, and the tough guy who takes charge but after seeing Stomp The Yard I wanted to see people die and Primeval did that oh so well.Even though it's not technically a slasher flick it is a gore fest though and an enjoyable one with some very innovative kills and very little to know cheesy scenes.They don't make it intentionally cheesy like Freddy vs Jason, or See No Evil this film is completely serious which makes it more believable and more fun to watch.Is it scary sure if blood scares you but other than that it's the pulse pounding chase scenes that keep you watching and enjoying Primeval.Visually Primeval is beautiful and ugly at the same time as the locations are gorgeous yet the mud or the water looks eerie and murky it really gives you the impression that something is living there and it's not expecting company.Is it clichéd?Please..what movie isn't nowadays and better yet what horror film isn't nowadays so the clichés are easy to ignore and don't hurt the overall excitement of the film.Primeval has disturbing full out gore scenes with all the blood you wanna see and more.It certainly doesn't let you down in that department.Primeval has taught us all a lesson research what movie you're going to see before you go see it because personally i thought it was funny that Primeval screwed most of you other critics outta your money i on the other hand knew what i was going to see and enjoyed every minute of it.Overall ignore the more than likely low IMDb average rating because most critics gave this film a 1 because they were pi$$ed that they didn't get what they wanted like a little kid in a toy store.

24 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Could've Been Better, 20 January 2007

Author: The_Defiant1 from United States

This movie seems to suffer from a low budget. The writing is okay. The plotting was okay. The actors are okay. The special effects are weak. All could have been better. This movie could be compared to Anaconda, but replace the snake with a killer crocodile. Swap out South America and see Africa instead. Unlike Anaconda, Primeval makes a social statement about the political unrest in Africa. In the back drop of filming a crocodile documentary, political unrest and murder is happening all around them. Where this movie suffers is the pacing. It starts out slow and isn't even interesting until the crocodile appears. Once the crocodile appears, that's really all you may care to see. Unfortunately, the special effects are too obvious and the crocodile acts fake and looks fake. It's only at this point that the movie even gets up to the quality of Anaconda which also had fake looking effects.

Orlando Jones as Steven Johnson brings a welcome light touch of humor to an otherwise serious movie. Brooke Langton as Aviva Masters brings a welcome touch of beauty to a dirty and unattractive African setting. The other characters aren't quite as appealing.

This movie is worth seeing, but just barely. Wait for the DVD.

41 out of 67 people found the following review useful:
Advertisements are Unforgivable, 15 January 2007

Author: binks761 from United States

When I realized about 10 minutes into the film that I had paid to see a crocodile movie and not one about a serial killer as advertised, I was mad as h*ll!. For the first time I was about to demand my money back. However, I gave the movie a chance. I did end up enjoying it, but not enough to forgive being duped into paying the price. It is a pretty fun movie, but it's the same thing we've seen before on Sci-Fi Channel for a fraction of the price. To the distributors credit, they knew what they were doing. No one wants to pay to see a run-of-the-mill crocodile movie when they can see an giant reptile, insect, or animal/human hybrid film on cable each weekend. I love "Lake Placid", but if I knew this movie was about a croc I would not have gone to see it. It was a fun film, so if you want to pay to see Sci-Fi fare, you'll enjoy it.

28 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
Misleading advertisement: Actually an action-adventure thriller worth giving a shot, 14 January 2007

Author: lanmwolf from United States

I thought that this movie was very well done, but like many other people have said the advertisements were extremely misleading. My mom and I are big fans of horror movies and went expecting to see a slasher film, but once the movie started we quickly realized that it was an action adventure thriller. However, despite the fact that the movie was not what we were expecting, we both ended up really enjoying it (probably because we are fans of both genres).

Now on to the movie: The script was extremely well written, managing to bring the broader issues of genocide and civil war to light while at the same time delivering plenty of action and scare sequences, as well as humor to lighten the mood between the thrill sequences.

In addition to the writing, the actors only further contribute to the high quality of the script by consistently hitting their marks and clearly conveying the intended humor, horror, or whatever else is called for during the different scenes.

I was also impressed by the directing and cinematography. The combination of the two resulted in creating a movie that manages to involve the audience and provide footage that matches whatever mood is needed at the time; whether it be awe at the beauty of Africa or the fear when the characters are facing a dangerous situation.

To be fair, I must admit that the movie did not have very good graphics and audiences will be able to easily tell that the crocodile is done through CGI. However, between a little imagination and the actors believable performances, this does not detract from the thrills of the movie.

Ultimately if you are a fan of action-adventure and enjoy a good thrill I would highly recommend this movie, but if you are looking for a slasher film don't bother.

17 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
OK, if there is a cover of a crocodile, I'm expecting the crocodile to make more than a 5 minute appearance, 11 July 2007

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

I have no idea why, but from the cover and short summary in back, I thought that Primevil might have been an entertaining horror film. I'm not really into crocodile stories, they usually don't work, but for some reason this one looked very promising. When I started watching it, I kept checking the cover just to make sure I was on track, but the story just seemed to get lost somewhere. Now I don't mind different stories, but the cover promised something else and I wasn't even really that entertained or moved by the story.

Basically there is a killer crocodile in Africa, apparently he is a big one to be very frightened of. So an American crew of reporters wish to capture the beast or get him on film so they can help these villages and become famous more so. But there is another major problem that takes the story to a completely different place, where there is a huge war going on and starts to terrorize these reporters and one by one they are killed off before the crocodile gets to them.

Primevil would have had good potential for a horror movie, but it just went in an intense turn where you had no idea where the film would take you. The script was also in some ways done in poor taste and wasn't well thought out, like I'm not offended easily usually when it comes to racial jokes, but Orlando going on about slavery in Africa went a little too far and was ridiculous. The acting is so so, not the worst I've seen, but the effects are not that impressive, a warning in advance. But if you would like to check out this film, please feel free, but I wouldn't really recommend it.

3/10

21 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Not Terrible...Just Boring, 29 May 2007

Author: slasherguyy

Primeval, by all means, isn't a terrible movie to the point where it is unwatchable and receiving so many negative reviews. It actually starts off quite well and shows promise, but when the movie more-or-less forgets about one of it's main stars - The Crocodile - it slips into a boring movie about a group of people being attacked by angry African soldiers rather than being a movie about a group of people being killed off by a big nasty croc. The movie is meant to be about a news team, including Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton and Orlando Jones out to catch a giant croc by the name of "Gustav" that has tormenting local villagers and killing. However, the movie soon turns into a movie about, well lets just say, a lot of angry men in the African jungle firing bullets at the news team and killing them - with a crocodile thrown in the middle of it. That is what I feel the main problem is the movie - The Croc just seems to randomly pop up in the middle of a shootout and take out some of the characters. It's like a boring, slow movie "action" movie in Africa...then a crocodile just pops up occasionally and brutally kills off someone and gets in the middle of it. It's a shame, as the croc in the movie seems like a nasty, big croc - but it's wasted and gets less screen time than you would think. This made the movie boring and dull, and not what I was expecting - after all it is supposed to be about a crocodile. The acting, on the other hand, is actually good - but the characters aren't. The characters are completely boring and the only character who I'd say is likable in the movie is Orlando Jones' character as he provides a quick couple of laughs. Every other character is just dull and unlikeable, but like I said - the actors do well with what they are given. The movie isn't all bad though, the crocodile is quite nasty when it pops up, there are one or two nice, brutal kills, some laughs and good CGI for the crock - as well as like I said before, good acting and a good cast. But the movie is just ultimately boring and slow, and while it's not the worst of some of the crocodile flicks I've seen (*cough* Crocodile), it's not the best and it is far from the best - but actually not as bad as people are saying to the extent of getting so many 1 votes. It deserves a 4/10 from me and no more, no less. Wait for late night TV or pick it up when it's a bargain...but either buy some alcohol with it or watch it really late...cause it is one boring flick and you'll probably fall asleep due to it's slowness. Not recommended, and disappointing.

4/10

21 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Mismatched creature feature, 18 January 2007

Author: BroadswordCallinDannyBoy from Boston, MA

After a noted scientist is killed by what can only be described as some sort of beast an expedition is sent to track it down. Dealing with their own problems, conflicts, and the fact they are in country torn part by civil war.

The film starts as a typical monster flick with an intense death scene and a hint of political agenda. It then proceeds to be a typical creature feature with some decent gore and terror, but the political agenda brought up subtly in the beginning resurfaces and the film becomes mismatched. Fans of gore and horror will have fun with the gore and horror, but the political theme is sorely out of place. It is hard to say that it is irrelevant, because if it was well developed it could serve as a decent metaphor.

Godzilla, for one, is a monster metaphor - the bastard of the nuclear age. Here that is what the film tries to do with Gustave - the HUGE killer croc. It fails - whether it is noble failure or pathetic failure is ultimately up to you - but the failure to intertwine themes and idea throughout the movie results in this mismatching. Things just seems to appear out of nowhere, like a long sequence where the main beast literally disappears from the film. It was right there in the previous scene, but for a while it is gone. Then it is conveniently back for the conclusion. In a funny way this seems to be a monster horror flick from the Sci-Fi channel that has the seriousness of "Blood Diamond" here and there. That just doesn't work, folks. Metaphors and themes must be a pervasive presence to work. --- 4/10

Rated R: graphic violence/gore and profanity

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Goremongral's Review: Primeval, 25 June 2007

Author: ChiefGoreMongral from Knoxville Cannibal Pygmy Reservation

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Killer Crocs and Gator movies are a dime a dozen for every "Alligator" there is "Lake Placid 2". However the concept of a very violent and aggressive Crocodile movie gets me a tad excited. Unfortunately for Primeval more hopes were dashed as we get a tad to much comic relief and way to much political/civil war story and not enough Croc action.

The story is about a news crew who are sent in to South Africa to capture a 25 foot long killer Croc dubbed "Gustave". Unfortunately for us the film-goer there is a civil war that has broken out which we are surrounded with for much to long of the stories running time. Be it the tribes in the area or the military men that are with them the movie just really wanted to hammer that fact home, with the Crocodile as the side story. We do get the Croc and when it was on screen it was a bad sucker unfortunately they opted for more CGI then you could shake a stick at but it was not of "The Mummy/Mummy Returns" crappiness so I guess we can let it slide to a point but would a prosthetic monster Croc be too much to ask for in some of the scenes as it would have been more effective.

The shame here is that the whole myth and legend of this creature was very cool but ruined by the fact that we hardly see it for most of the running time. I believe total there is about 20 minutes at best of Croc action. The rest well you get the point. I highly recommend getting the original "Alligator" or the lesser known Austrailian Croc film "Dark Age" as they are more effective and you get to see what the movie intends for you to see...Croc and gator action.

In the end this is a waste of time, it really is a "just there" movie with a few good Croc scenes (the cage scene comes to mind). If you have seen all the Croc movies and want to see another well have at it but for the average horror movie/ nature amok fan this one is just not that good.

4/10: Below Average: A few Croc scenes that are good otherwise a lame excuse to shove info on South African civil war at us.....go figure?

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