Primitive (2011) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Benjamin Cooper
Starring: Matt O’Neill, Kristin Lorenz, Jeff Ryan
Rated: R/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Lions Gate
After being forced to visit a hypnotist, Martin receives news of his estranged mother’s passing. He returns home for the funeral, and before long, people begin dropping dead. The victims – brutally torn apart by what appears to be a predatory monster – convince the local police that Martin is somehow responsible, and soon he comes to believe it too, as all the victims are connected to the evil within him.
I like monster movies as much as the next obnoxious guy with a keyboard, but this movie didn’t do a whole lot for me outside of the gore. I’m sure that is mostly do to the effects of Tom Devlin, who you might recall from the SyFy show Face-Off. I’m sure he might be the reason this 2011 film is now seeing life from Lions Gate on DVD. The movie also features Reggie Bannister from Phantasm, but he isn’t enough to save this one as whole I’m afraid. Have a mentioned the gore is at least good?
The movie use a lot of the same things we have seen in other films that have came and went in horror. I know I’ve seen the whole “guy is being accused of being a killer while it is actually something or someone else” storyline over and over again. I guess I just wanted something more from this film that we sadly don’t get. The acting isn’t bad, it has some blood, but it still falls just a bit flat.
– Audio Commentary with Director Benjamin Cooper and Actors Matt O’Neill, Rachel Riley, and Gregory Paul Smith
– Deconstructing the Special Effects of Primitive featurette
– Interview with Actor Reggie Bannister
– Interview with Creature Effects Artist Tom Devlin
– Outtakes
