Primal Force

A typically low budget, cheesy TV movie monster flick, starring Ron Perlman before he became a well-known Hollywood player. This one feels like a Sci-Fi Channel movie, even though it isn't, and it was filmed in Mexico, so at least it has something going for it. The plot sees a pack of genetically-modified baboons invading a small island, where they kill off anything and everything that moves. Unluckily for them, two survivors of a plane crash are stranded on the same island, so a rescue party headed by the grizzly Perlman is sent to rescue them.

What follows will surprise nobody: the group are whittled down by the killer baboons, while the bloodshed is kept to a bare minimum. The low budget hampers the production values, and the direction doesn't match the story: the baboon attacks are silly rather than frightening, and the special effects just aren't very special. Perlman is the only thing going for this, his performance standing out in a typical jumble of histrionic acting and clichéd situations.

A much-told story, a reluctant direction, some incompetent actors... Primal Force never seemed something unusual than a cheap TV feature. Basically the plot is a cheaper modification of Michael Crichton's Congo... where Perlman stars as a macho, experienced hunter and guide.

The movie, however easy the plot is, could be made better. It is not, mostly due to casual production. There should have been use of a little more money, with a bit more tolerable camera work and special effects.

Yes... it's another one of those "I can't believe somebody actually thought this would be a good film" movies. Admittedly, the premise is deliciously ludicrous (clean cut Americans menaced on godforsaken island by mutant killer baboons!) but once the film starts you realise that 'Primal Force' is BEYOND bad. The characters are ridiculous simpering idiots... their actions are completely schitzophrenic. One minute they are running frantically from a location in fear for their lives, another they are sitting calmly back in the same spot they were running from beforehand. Who wrote the script to this thing? One of the characters knows about the killer baboons, but rather than warning anybody else ("Um, did I mention this island is populated by mutant killer baboons?") he decides to keep quiet and occasionally deliver gruff hints at the carnage to follow ("They've shent you on a shooicide mission"). And the baboons themselves? Well, you'de think they would make them look mutant... indeed, some good costume design and effects work could possibly have saved the movie... but instead they simply make the baboons look like, well, your every day baboon. All in all, Primal Force is clearly an attempt at Jurrassic Park, only with men in monkey suits. It's irredeemably inept scripting and it's dull and predictable plot developments make it one of the worst of the generally dire 'evil creatures' films. Please don't waste your life watching this. Unless your an acute masochist with a penchant for bog standard nature gone wrong flicks. In which case it might be exactly your kind of thing. Worse than Deep Rising. And that's saying something.

A TVM that has an average vote of 3.6 ! Oh come on guys if this was a weepy drama with Jayne Seymour racing to save little Tammy from a life threatening illness this would be getting something in the region of a 5.5 average . At least some TV company realised that lads just home from the pub deserve TVMs sometimes

Yeah okay it's not an original plot as it features a deserted island , baboons on the rampage , the survivors of a plane crash , a macho man with internal demons that manifest itself as a drink problem etc . If Steven Spielberg directed this movie it would make lots of money at the box office and everyone would say it was a great movie . If I remember correctly Spielberg did indeed do a very similar movie in 1993

If JURRASSIC PARK 4 ooopps I mean PRIMAL FORCE suffers from anything it suffers from some internal continuity where a minor character is all alone and gets killed by a troop of baboons while a major character is alone with the mutant monkeys but for some reason the baboons don't attack thereby allowing the hero to turn up and rescue the character . I also noticed that the scenes where the baboons attack suffer from editing that is cut far too quickly which makes it difficult to see what's going on which is a common problem with these cheap and cheerful low budget productions . I feel no shame in giving this six out of ten

No mistake, this is a formula movie. The cynic imposed upon to go on a dangerous quest, teaching the others about the dangers. But it done exceptionally well. Ron Perlman has earned a lot of respect. He gives what could have been a stereotype a lot of character, but it isn't all him. Credit must also be given to the writers, director, and rest of the crew. It was a good team effort. The result is a fun, riveting film that leaves you hanging. The monsters in the case are mutant savage primates on an island. Perlman has dealt with before, and doesn't feel any impulse to deal with them again. He is coaxed into it, however. The story is good. The action well directed, the danger well defined. It lacks the silly blood and gore all over the place all the time that more comically inclined movies have, so you take it much more seriously. The reactions of the characters are well filmed. Stands out in the B monster movie genre.