Primeval

Here's another LookingForClues movie review; this time it's for Primeval, a movie about a giant man-eating crocodile! Haven't seen it? Buy your own copy. It's out on DVD - Own it now! Plot Synopsis: Inspired by the true story of a legendary 25-foot man-eating crocodile comes the intense, terrifying horror movie PRIMEVAL, starring Dominic Purcell (TV's PRISON BREAK) and Orlando Jones (RUNAWAY JURY, EVOLUTION). An American news crew, determined to capture this voracious monster and stop his demonic rampage, travel deep within the darkest reaches of Africa to hunt their prey. But Gustave, as the natives call him, is also on the hunt - always on the move, always elusive, always hungry for human flesh. Heart-pounding fear is nonstop in this edge-of-your-seat nail-biter about the cunning killer who continues to blaze his blood-soaked trail of terror. Please read our review of Primeval, below. To own your own copy of the movie, click on this ad, or click on one of the other DVDs for sale at Amazon.com.

Modernly Primeval by Lynda Rey    7/31/07 I remember the trailers in all their teasing glory, full of quick shots you'd never catch unless you were watching them in slow motion, and yet still revealing enough to get the viewing public at least slightly interested in the actual movie. "Inspired by a true story" would appear on the screen, followed by short yet clear descriptions about a serial killer who had claimed over 300 victims' lives and "is still at large." At first, I wasn't at all interested. "Another slasher flick?" I thought. Quite frankly, I've seen too many of them to be intrigued by yet another addition to the bunch. As a result, I ignored the constant teasers and trailers on television, convinced that another movie focusing on psychotic behavior of serial killers would never lure me in again. But then something interesting emanated from one of the latter trailers: "He is not human." Well you can imagine my budding interest after hearing that. Not human? What's a serial killer who isn't a human? What could it be? My research started soon after, since my curiosity level was steadily climbing. A movie covering a human serial killer would have been typical, even if it was based on true events, but a non-human killer surely was not quite as such. Finally, after a bit of digging, it came to my knowledge. This movie was about a killer named Gustave, and Gustave was and still is a known man-eating crocodile in Africa. Well my interest was finally peaked to the maximum after learning that fact, and it was then that I decided that I would give the movie more chance than I originally intended. And I'm glad I did. Though the plotline was obviously fabricated, I was still fascinated by the fact that it was based on a creature in the real world, a creature that seemingly no one can kill even after numerous attempts. Frankly, I found the experience of this film to be a rather satisfying adventure, albeit a horrendous one, since it not only included the menacing killer crocodile, but also the gruesome violence in a war-stricken Burundi, Africa, where the crocodile presided. Sadly, not too many other moviegoers felt the same as I did, and "Primeval" slipped off the radar rather quickly by the weight of the negative reviews. But I'm not one to follow the trends, and "Primeval" was enjoyable enough to join my collection once it debuted on DVD. In my opinion, it was one of the best "killer crocodile" movies I've seen, which may have been due to the fact that this was inspired by an actual crocodile in existence and not some fabricated one. True, the movie isn't in totality truth, but for me, it was still enough. After an anthropologist falls victim to Gustave during her researching a series of mysterious deaths, a team is recruited and sent to investigate and attempt to capture the elusive beast. Among them is Tim, a news producer portrayed by Dominic Purcell, and Steve the cameraman, played to comedic perfection by Orlando Jones. Just when they start to get close to their target, their plans become thwarted as they find themselves caught in the middle of an ongoing war, run by a vicious warlord who refers to himself in the same name as the killer crocodile, killing without mercy in much the same way. A mission of capture inevitably evolves into a mission of survival, as the constant threat on the crews' lives barely eases up. While negative critics won't find the idea of two plots intertwining as one too appealing, I kind of liked the idea. As a whole, they both conveyed the overall threat in Africa for the characters, both human and non-human threats alike. Perhaps the plot was "deeper" than it needed to be for many moviegoers out there, but for a monster movie, it was a refreshing take. It wasn't goofy or lacking in any serious tone. And even despite the fact that the movie isn't entirely true, I still found myself getting involved in what was being presented to me, namely the plot involving the Burundi war zone, which was actually a major part of the story. Many people were perhaps displeased with that fact, but not me. I found it to add to the drama. Gustave was at times a background character in "Primeval" which was a slight disappointment, but other than that, the movie was quite a thrill ride, full of suspense and intense drama. Of course, I can't forget to mention the visual effects as well as the bloody violence, which this movie has plenty of both. While the visuals are great to look at, the violence is the dominant feature here, and understandably so, since the characters are not only smack dab in the middle of a civil war, they also have that man-eating crocodile to contend with. The visuals were very well done, and to see yet another more improved onscreen crocodile was very refreshing. It was almost enough to really have you believe that an actual crocodile may have really been yet another actor in the film. The DVD isn't jam-packed with goodies, unfortunately, and it consists of only one disk. However, there are some interesting little tidbits, like an impressive behind-the-scenes documentary, (or a "crocumentary" in this DVD's case) that focuses on adding life to Gustave. There are also a few deleted scenes with commentary. While Primeval may still be one of those movies that vanishes rather quickly off the radar, I still am very comfortably labeling it as an adventure in its own right, a modern story of a very real primeval creature called Gustave, the perfect star of the present-day horror movie. Lynda is 25 years old, lives in Indiana, and hopes to one day pursue a career working with animals. She enjoys many forms of self-expression, including art, poetry, and writing, which is one of the latter additions to her list of hobbies. Comments

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