Primal Rage

Saw the film last night. For a low budget film there are some good moments. Some parts work better than others and it's a little slow setting up the characters but when the creature enters the film that's when it works great. The action scenes are well done and on the most part the acting is good. It doesn't shy away from the gore like the films from the 80's. It could have done with some tighter editing here and there too. music is very good . all in all the director who wrote, directed, built and played the creature did a great job. hats off to him.

I'm not going to pretend this movie was exactly original, the formula has been done over and over for decades at this point. A couple finds themselves stranded and hunted by a dangerous predator, but there was a twist that's not normally seen in a creature feature like this. It's sort of a mash up of "Predator" meets Big Foot meets Native American folk lore.

The plot synopsis is exactly what you get in this movie, so there's no real point in going in to too much detail. A couple gets stranded in the woods, there's some dealings with weird redneck locals, and a monster. That's the movie. As others have stated, the acting isn't really all that great either.

Now why did I rate it a 6? Because it has some really good special effects gore. No CGI, real old fashioned special effects, which is always nice to see. Also I like the twist on the monster, it's not just a mindless beast, but a cunning, plotting, and motivated by pure hate and evil. Also the leading actress is really attractive so that's a plus, no nudity though.

If you're looking for a gore filled creature feature then this is for you.

The director is the man behind the special effects of Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Death Sentence, Alien vs Predator.

So obviously there gonna be some good kills n yes the kill scenes are the dominating factor. The Sasquatch when it opens up its jaw looks more like Predator.

The character development is good n the cinematography is striking. The wide shots of the forest, the road n the river, are all striking. Thankfully none of the kill scenes r shot in the dark.

Coming to the bad things, initially when the couple is standing out of the car to see the injured man, the lead actor is hit by some stones n he falls into the river. After being rescued by his wife, our guy forgets everything about the pelting stones. Maybe temporary amnesia. Lol.

During the kill scenes, the big foot spares or misses killing the lead guy n he is being rescued n healed by some witch doctor who looks more scarier.

No background story about the witch.

The sheriff n the guy goes to the forest to rescue our heroine n it takes hell lottuva time for the big foot to fight our guy.

The final confrontation is laughable, our guy fighting the big foot. Lol.

The ending was predictable for me.

I have to disagree with the two reviewers who think this is rubbish , its actually quite a well made film and the special effects / makeup is pretty damn good for a low budget movie - easily Stan Winston level of 80's makeup and monster effects.

Patrick Magee is a name to watch out for as he wrote, produced, directed and did the special effects - usually I would cringe at that as no one ever can do all these things well and it usually means the film is going to be utter pants but i was wrong on this occasion - You can clearly see that the guy is actually interested in making horror and seems to like the werewolf genre - well done sir!

Hollywood should give this guy a blockbuster to direct and I bet he would make a better movie than any of the big names are doing now having just watched the awful Jurassic World and the rest of the duff movies coming out of Hollywood this year!

The problem the film has though is the poor acting and it is just not very scary.

I did like the addition of the old mediaeval hag/witch - very unusual and seemingly out of place as was the Indian hunter lol but it gave us a few laughs which is not a bad thing these days.

If you are into your horror in a big way then this will pass an evening but its just not very scary even though the gore quotient is quite high and well done - loved the chin ripping move; only seen that once or twice before and quite gory but as I said its just not scary and that's what kills the film and leaves it in the 5/10 average shelf! Its such a shame as Patrick Magee seems to have a high level of talent judging by his first movie!

Lets start with the bad. I really don't see why writers seem to think making key and peripheral characters, mostly unlikable, is a good thing in the context of a survivalist horror? After all if you can't empathise with the characters predicament, how can you genuinely feel afraid for them when things turn sour? Its a mistake I see again and again.

I think too, the decision to introduce the creature stalking them so early in the piece, in its entirety, wasn't well considered either. The sense of the unknown, the half seen or glimpsed adds to the creeping sense of mystery and menace in a poorly lit forest setting.

On the upside the pacing of this film is decent. It builds well as a group of suspect hunters and an unfortunate couple make their way through the woods. The gun ho antics and at times menacing attitudes of the hunters is gradually eroded as they come to realise there is something else lurking in the woods and its by no means friendly.

It leads into some fairly intense action which includes more than its share of blood soaked horror, that reminded me, in a low tech, cave man kind of way, of films like Predator .

In short Primal Rage is a moderately watchable B grade horror flick that's acceptable fare for a slow wet weekend. A 6/10 from me.