Primeval (2007)

A news team is sent to Burundi to capture and bring home a legendary 25-foot crocodile. Their difficult task turns potentially deadly when a warlord targets them for death.

Director:

Michael Katleman

Writers:

John Brancato, Michael Ferris

Stars:

Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dominic Purcell	...	Tim Manfrey
Brooke Langton	...	Aviva Masters
Orlando Jones	...	Steven Johnson
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Jacob Krieg
Gideon Emery	...	Matt Collins
Gabriel Malema	...	Jojo
Linda Mpondo	...	Gold Tooth
Lehlohonolo Makoko	...	Beanpole
Dumisani Mbebe	...	Harry
Eddy 'Big Eddy' Bekombo	...	Ato
Chris April	...	Captain
Ernest Ndlovu	...	Shaman (as Ernest Ndhlovu)
Erica Wessels	...	Dr. Cathy Andrews
Vivian Moodley	...	Indian UN Officer
Lika Berning	...	Rachel (as Lika van den Bergh)

Storyline

TV show star reporter Tim Manfrey and his cameraman Steven Johnson travel to Burundi to get sensational footage of a giant crococilian monster which attacked a UN identification team and the Tutsi-Hutu tribal civil war carnage mass grave corpses it was digging up in a Great Lakes marsh area. But it turns out danger also lurks in the armed form of a local war lord.

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Plot Keywords:

based on true story | burundi | monster | corpse | mass grave | 

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Taglines:

Inspired by the true story of the most prolific serial killer in history.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Horror | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence, brutality, terror and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gustave was named by Patrice Faye, a herpetologist who has been studying and investigating him since the late 1990s. Much of what is known about Gustave stems from the film Capturing the Killer Croc, which aired in 2004 on PBS. The film documents a capture attempt and study on Gustave.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 25 mins) After crashing against the crocodile, the front part of the pick-up truck that Tim drives is not damaged at all.

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Quotes

Steven Johnson: [to villagers] Y'all ever seen Jaws, the movie? Might wanna check that out.

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Connections

References Jaws (1975)

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Soundtracks

Compe
Written by Simon Kimani
Performed by Bamboo
Courtesy of Project 254 Records, Incorporated

User Reviews

Could've Been Better

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Space [Canada]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swahili Kirundi French

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gustave

Filming Locations:

Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,048,315, 14 January 2007

Gross USA:

$10,597,734

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,291,277

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Pariah, Sarah James Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1