Primeval (R)
Grisly croc tale lacks any meaningful bite.
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Seen the movie?
Movie details
- Studio: Hollywood Pictures, Hollywood Pictures
- Directed By: Michael Katleman
- Cast: Orlando Jones, Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton
- Running Time: 094 minutes
- Release Date: 01/12/2007
- Video/DVD Release Date: 06/12/2007
- Genre: Horror
- MPAA Rating: R
- MPAA Explanation: strong graphic violence, brutality, terror, and language.
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that this creature-centric horror movie includes lots of bloody violence: The film's giant crocodile rips up and eats people, militiamen shoot at civilians, a family is executed, and more. There's discussion of "black-on-black violence" in the United States and Africa. A teenager character shoots a villain and is upset by it. An attempted rape scene involves a rough assault, ripped clothing, and the female victim's distress. Some drinking and smoking; language includes multiple uses of "f--k," plus other obscenities and sexual slang.
Families can talk about the characters' different attitudes toward the crocodile. Why does Matt want to capture it and Krieg want to kill it? Is either of them right? How do the civil war storyline and the crocodile-hunting plot parallel each other? The movie claims to be based on true events; how accurate do you think it is? If you've seen it, how does this movie compare to National Geographic's story of the real Gustave?
Families can talk about the characters' different attitudes toward the crocodile. Why does Matt want to capture it and Krieg want to kill it? Is either of them right? How do the civil war storyline and the crocodile-hunting plot parallel each other? The movie claims to be based on true events; how accurate do you think it is? If you've seen it, how does this movie compare to National Geographic's story of the real Gustave?
Message
Social Behavior:
Croc hunters range from cynical to well-intentioned, but all are ignorant and cocky (until they die or are taught lesson); villains are greedy, bloodthirsty, cruel.
Consumerism:
Verbal reference to Starbucks, visuals for Nike and Fubu (T-shirts), Budweiser (sweatband), Sony (camcorder).
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Cigar smoking by villain; beers for protagonists.
Violence
Movie opens with shot of a mass grave (closeups of worms, rotting remains); crocodile attacks are brutal (chomping bodies, crunching a skull, screaming victims); fights (punching, kicking, hit to crotch); fairly explicit shooting executions; weapons include axe, machete, AK-47s, handguns, knives, grenades; war participants shoot repeatedly (bodies thrown, bloodied, dismembered); attempted rape; blood splattering onto observers during violent scenes; dismembered limbs, skulls, bones; boy shoots a villain in the back; Krieg describes watching his wife be eaten; blood spreads in water (shown from overhead); blood/urine mix (made to attract croc) thrown on villain.
Sex
Some cleavage shots; Steven makes sexually themed jokes about the croc (puts his hand through his fly as if it's the croc; alludes to too-small cage as a too-small "condom"); sexual slang ("tap that ass," "hard-on"); jokes about a closeted gay man getting his "ass tapped").
Language
Multiple uses of "f--k" (about 15, some with "mother"); other language includes "s--t" (20+), "ass," "damn," "hell."
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Cynthia Fuchs
After Burundi's legendary 20-foot crocodile, Gustave, kills a white female forensics expert who's examining a mass grave, a tabloid-esque TV station sends a crew to capture the beast. Along with cameraman Steven (Orlando Jones), the team includes producer Tim (Dominic Purcell), "animal reporter" Aviva (Brooke Langton) -- whose moral compass is revealed when she saves a dog left out as bait for the monster croc -- and Matt (Gideon Emery), a self-absorbed Aussie croc expert. Matt wants to preserve Gustave and manages to affix a tracking device to the croc. Weathered guide Krieg (Jürgen Prochnow) is determined to kill the beast rather than capture it. Tim and Aviva come to appreciate Krieg's view, as Gustave attacks the group repeatedly. But the crocodile isn't their only problem. Steven befriends war-orphaned teenager Jojo (Gabriel Malema), and also witnesses an execution by the warlord known as "Little Gustave."
Is it any good?
Inconsistent and conventional, Primeval claims to be "inspired by true events." Namely, the reported attacks by Gustave and the country's civil war, which has raged since 1993. The two plotlines come together thematically, with the movie positioning the militias as "killing machines" much like the crocodile -- both of which fail to attract the attention of white, Western media or intervention by international peacekeepers.
While it’s worthwhile for the filmmakers to try to compare the two, the intriguing idea is trivialized and lost in the formulaic plot and characters of this mostly hum-drum horror flick. On top of that, the special effects are lacking -- Gustave is a not-very-convincing mix of animatronics and CGI.
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Parents and kids say
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