Primitive

Released by: Lionsgate Entertainment
Released on: November 19th, 2013.
Director: Benjamin Cooper
Cast: Matt O'Neill, Kristin Lorenz, Jeff Ryan
Year: 2011
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The Movie:

Directed by Benjamin Cooper in 2011, Primitive tells the story of Martin Blaine (Matt O'Neill), a special effects artist who gets into it with the director on the set of a latest horror film he's been hired to work on after said director hits on his girlfriend (Kristin Lorenz). Realizing that he overreacted, Martin decides to get himself some anger management counseling and he enlists the aid of a psychologist named Doctor William Stein (Reggie Bannister). Initially, this seems to be just what he needed to help him regain control of his life, but shortly after things start looking up for him, he learns that his mother, who he hasn't seen in quite some time, has mysteriously and quite suddenly died.

And so Martin returns to his home town of Baronville, a tiny rural town where everyone seems to know everyone else. Shortly after he arrives, someone or something starts slaughtering the townsfolk in increasingly grizzly ways. The town Sheriff is sure that Martin is the madman behind the murders, and Martin is cognizant enough to realize that, yeah, things look pretty bad for him right now given that he knows each and every one of the victims. Add to that the fact that he's been having a series of very graphic and realistic nightmares that seem to indicate he knows more about the attacks than he should and it's no wonder the Sheriff has him in his sights… but is Martin really the one behind all of this is or it something else… some other part of him that has taken on a very real physical form?

Well-paced and well written by screenwriter Kenneth L. Province Jr., Primitive is a pretty entertaining monster movie. It borrows a bit from Doctor Jekyll And Mister Hyde and The Beast Within at times but has enough of its own thing going on to work. Cooper manages to get pretty solid work out of his cast with Matt O'Neill doing most of the heavy lifting here. He's convincing enough as the confused and conflicted lead and his on screen chemistry with pretty Kristin Lorenz is believable enough to give the main story a bit more emotion than it might have otherwise. Reggie Bannister's role is more of a supporting part but he's amusing as the doctor and does fine in the role.

The real reason most will want to seek this one out, however, is the effects work. There's no CGI here, this is all done the old fashioned way and the monster in the movie is quite literally a guy in a suit. Once things pick up in the last half of the picture, Cooper and company amp up the gore a fair bit, earning the movie it's R-rating and crafting a few memorably splattery set pieces along the way. The movie isn't deep but it offers enough plot and character development to hold out our interest and ultimately, this turned out to be a pretty fun ninety minute monster movie made with some obvious passion and enthusiasm for the genre.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Primitive is presented on DVD in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen in a transfer that is clean and colorful. The low budget film looks pretty good despite some softness inherent in the source and a little bit of shimmer here and there. Compression artifacts pop up once in a while but outside of that, things look nice. Colors are nicely reproduced and detail is fine.

The only audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track, but thankfully it's a good one. Though it isn't on par with the biggest and best surround mixes out there, it effectively handles some nice directional effects while keeping the levels properly balanced and the dialogue clear and easily discernible. Optional subtitles are provided in English and Spanish.

Extras start off with a commentary track from director Benjamin Cooper and actors Matt O'Neill, Rachel Riley and Gregory Paul Smith. It's a fairly active and engaging talk that talks about the origins of the picture, the locations, casting the movie, working with Reggie Bannister and other cast members, effects work and more.

Additionally we get a few featurettes, the first of which is an interview with Reggie Bannister who expresses his admiration for the role he was offered in the film. He seems to have enjoyed himself on this project and speaks of the experience quite fondly. Up next is Deconstructing The Special Effects Of Primitive, which as it sounds, is a look at what went into making the effects work as well as they do in the movie and some of the obstacles that were encountered here. Complimenting this is an interview with Creature Effects Creator Tom Devlin, who speaks in some detail about his efforts to bring the monster to life for the movie.

Rounding out the extras are a collection of outtakes, a trailer for the feature, previews for other Lionsgate properties, menus, chapter selection and a download code for an Ultraviolet copy of the movie.

The Final Word:

Primitive isn't deep and it won't change your life but it is a really enjoyable backwoods monster movie with some quality gore, refreshingly old school creature design and a fun cast. It moves at a good pace and is nothing if not entertaining. Lionsgate's DVD release offers up the movie in very nice shape and with quite a good selection of extra features too.