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Primal Scream

  • 19871987
  • RR
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
3.6/10
188
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
127,376
47,259
Primal Scream (1987)
Sci-FiThriller
In the future, a private detective tries to stop a large corporation from mining an element whose side effects include igniting human flesh and destroying internal body parts.In the future, a private detective tries to stop a large corporation from mining an element whose side effects include igniting human flesh and destroying internal body parts.In the future, a private detective tries to stop a large corporation from mining an element whose side effects include igniting human flesh and destroying internal body parts.
IMDb RATING
3.6/10
188
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
127,376
47,259
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • William J. Murray
    • Writers
      • William J. Murray
      • Dan Smeddy(original screenplay)
      • David di Pietro(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Kenneth McGregor
      • Sharon Mason
      • Julie Miller
    Top credits
    • Director
      • William J. Murray
    • Writers
      • William J. Murray
      • Dan Smeddy(original screenplay)
      • David di Pietro(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Kenneth McGregor
      • Sharon Mason
      • Julie Miller
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos6

    Keith Reamer and William J. Murray at an event for Primal Scream (1987)
    Primal Scream (1987)
    Primal Scream (1987)
    Primal Scream (1987)
    Primal Scream (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kenneth McGregor
    • Corby McHale
    Sharon Mason
    • Samantha Keller
    Julie Miller
    • Caitlin Foster
    Joseph White
    • Nickey Fingers
    Jon Maurice
    • Captain Frank Gitto
    Stephen Caldwell
    • Olan Robert Foster
    Edward N. Fallon
    • Dr. Charles Kesselman
    Mickey Shaughnessy
    Mickey Shaughnessy
    • Charlie Waxman
    Jenny Albert
    • Vice President Clarke
    Stephen Emhe
    • Barman
    Susan Farrell
    • Santhany
    Ann Horne Foulkrod
    • Paramedic
    Peter Harp
    • Traffic Controller
    Ryn Hodes
    • Lisa
    Morton Hodge
    • Anton Kirar
    Lon Hoffman
    • Truck Driver
    Gary Hollrah
    • Bartender
    Herb James
    • Traffic Controller
    • Director
      • William J. Murray
    • Writers
      • William J. Murray
      • Dan Smeddy(original screenplay)
      • David di Pietro(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Mickey Shaughnessy's final film. He died prior to the film's release.
    • Connections
      Featured in Made a Movie, Lived to Tell (2018)

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    In the line of doooteee!
    What an "unusual" movie.

    This is probably not even a B movie but a C movie.

    Its plot seems to be something about a policeman investigating an alien substance which can turn people into charcoal in seconds. It seems to be set in the future and is an odd mix of sci-fi, horror and detective story. Sound good but its not. It would probably have made a great graphic novel. That is as much as I could understand as the plot is very confusing. As is the acting.

    The acting is some of the worst I have ever seen, almost every actor involved seems to experience episodic brain freeze as they forget their lines mid sentence and......then remember but not without it being obvious its a fluffed take. There seems to be quite a few cuts which made the movie where actors make mistakes but somehow they made the edit. There are also scenes where actors seem to jump position, maybe because they have stopped and started filming but didn't manage to reset correctly.

    Surprisingly some of the special effects look quite good, the death scenes of the alien substance are actually not bad, but the spaceships and other gore scenes are quite poor in comparison. The fight scenes are terrible though with some pretty strange fight noises going on. It seems to haven been an ambitious production, very ambitious based on the tiny budget spent.

    The soundtrack is basically one man or woman? and their Casio keyboard apart from the one actual song about the line of doooteee at the end credits. If you make it this far you are a man my son.

    The dialogue is hard to follow and even care about as are many of the characters. You may struggle to know who is who, what they are or do they even matter.

    The main character Corby is played as if he is a private detective, complete with monologues and haunting saxophone while he moans about his life. Even though women seem to be throwing themselves at him everywhere he goes.

    I could only recommend this kind of movie if you enjoy bad movies when you are drunk to enjoy picking holes in them. The poster is by far the best thing about this.

    Watching this is not a constructive use of your time on this planet.
    helpful•13
    3
    • torrascotia
    • Aug 29, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 29, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Hellfire
    • Filming locations
      • Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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