Primal Review

• 21st Feb 2011

Primal is another one of those titles to come to our door that we missed at last years FrightFest. As much as it is nice to catch up on missed titles, we don’t quite see what all the fuss is about in this Aussie horror thriller.

Let’s get right to it, six (three male, three female) friends head out to the middle of nowhere and discover a site that dates back to the ape-man age. There is something lurking in the water, something ready to infect anyone who might go for a swim. Duly, someone does and soon finds themselves falling under a bit of a fever. That fever quickly escalates and they regress to a primal state with the full intention of ripping the flesh from their friend’s bones with a fresh new set of razor sharp gnashers!

While this is an interesting idea, we get many clichés thrown at us. From excuses as to why they can’t just drive out of there to escape, to moments of silence before big scares happen. When the film eventually takes a detour in the third act it is such a bizarre turn that you are left in practical disbelief. Still, it stomps out any predictability you may have worried about.

For its low budget there are some good practical effects and stunts and even some rather nifty camera and editing work. None of this can distract you from the fact that the story is losing momentum though. This is largely due to the fact that the same location never ventured away from. But, for all the creativity involved, it is worth a watch. It still kicks the arse of most of the mainstream releases you are likely to see – but that isn’t likely to be news that will shock anyone!

Steven Hurst