Primeval (2007) Review: War is a Croc
“Inspired by the true story of the most prolific serial killer in history.”Synopsis: 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. | ![]() Watch now on Amazon |
Calamity Brains:
Side Note: I’m not sure Primeval counts as a horror movie to me. It’s a gritty, mostly serious film that deals heavily with social and political unrest… which also has a giant crocodile in it. But it’s fairly brutal, has a decent amount of gore, and a lot of tense situations… and a giant, man-eating crocodile. So I can definitely see why others feel it belongs in the genre.
Like Jaws, this supposed “creature feature” also involves a completely normal creature in its own habitat that happens to sometimes eat humans… which doesn’t really make it a proper creature feature, IMO. But again, to each their own.
Primeval is more appropriately a war movie with horror elements. A small group of Americans go to film and possibly capture a man-eating crocodile named Gustave who has become a bit of a local legend. While in Burundi, they incur the wrath of a local warlord and find themselves stuck between Gustave and the warlord, unable to escape. Primeval is also based on a true story, in that there is actually a crocodile named Gustave who is suspected of killing over 300 people, and a team once did go to try and capture it.
It’s easy to take Primeval seriously, despite the often over-the-top croc attacks. The camera work is gritty and does a lot to heighten the mood, as does the music. Scenes with the warlord and his men are brutal and not for the tender-hearted. It’s hard not to sympathize with the hopelessness the characters face as they face danger and betrayal so far from home. Generally, the acting from leads Tim (Dominic Purcell) and Aviva (Brooke Langton) is acceptable, though generic sidekick comic relief Steve (Orlando Jones) seems a little out of place in a movie like this.
On a similar note, I feel that if a movie is going to try and be serious (as a horror movie, a war movie, a creature feature, whatever), it’s important to present everything it does seriously. I don’t know enough about Burundi to give detailed commentary on the accuracy of the country’s portrayal, but I’m going to guess the filmmakers took a decent amount of artistic license because… well… the crocodile roars. Even if everything else about the movie is perfectly factual (hint: it’s not), I’d view it all with suspicion. Because the crocodile roars.
War movies aren’t really my thing, but if you’re a fan, you’ll probably find a lot to like here. Primeval does a decent job of combining the combat zone and giant creature storylines, and while one is often more interesting than the other, the whole movie holds together decently well. If you like your creature features with a side of humans being horrible to each other, give Primeval a try.
Calamity Brains’ Rating: C+
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