Reviews on movie Primal Rage (3)

Stepping into the previously unexplored land of the Indians, which later became known as North America, the fearless European colonizers suddenly realized that not everything would be subject to them in the new vast territories by means of firearms and swords. And not only the proud aborigines offered fierce resistance to the white invaders, but also some unknown creatures living in the forests. According to ancient Indian legends, spirits are responsible for everything in our lives, and sometimes they can acquire a material character in order to get even with those who behave dishonestly and violate the eternal natural balance. And as the story goes, many conquistadors actually lay far away from large Indian cities and villages, in impenetrable vast forests, where in addition to lost expeditions and animals, in theory, no one should be. Search teams and researchers could explain only a fraction of the suspicious disappearances and deaths, but some incidents remained a mystery, the answer to which lies only in the plane of faith. Of course, to believe in the reality of mythical Indian creatures given to few and quite naturally, that there is nothing easier than to explain the disturbing events with a fabulous motif with a bloody taste, and yet sometimes want to believe that our world is not so simple and monotonous, as says official science. Thanks to tireless fantasists and fans of all sorts of conspiracy theories in newspapers and on television, photos and information about the so-called Yeti periodically pop up, which have a number of features that coincide with the stories of the Indians about supernatural beings. And since people continue to be interested in ancient legends and beliefs, it means that it is simply necessary to play on this topic, which was done by the director-debutant Patrick Maji, who put the film “Primitive Fear” with a sense of respect for Indian customs and the desires of the audience to get scared. And although the tape has passed wide distribution, settling mainly on home video platforms, it has its own special artistic charm, which allows you to watch the development of the narrative with special interest, empathize with the characters and think again before going to the impenetrable thicket, where anything can actually be hidden.
So, the plot of the film introduces us to Ashley Carr (Casey Gagliardi), who goes in her car to her husband Max (Andrew Joseph Montgomery), who served a year in prison. And despite a rather serious offense, which turned out to be a legitimate punishment for the faithful, Ashley continues to feel warm feelings for him and is not going to end a joint married life with an annoying parting. After finally reaching his destination and meeting Max, Ashley sets out to go home as soon as possible. However, the return will not be as serene as she would like. Paving their way through huge, endless forests, about which the Indians have laid down many disturbing and frightening legends, Ashley and Max accidentally grab a suspicious elderly man with a car, whose body was littered with wounds that were simply impossible to get in a car accident. Realizing that something bad is happening here, the heroes almost immediately after the incident encounter someone else who throws stones at their car and in every possible way forces them to turn away from the intended path. Miraculously avoiding critical injuries, Ashley and Max find themselves in a river that took them far from where they could still easily get to the track, and now they begin a real mission of survival in the wild. The most frightening thing is that they are confronted in this difficult campaign by none other than the Bigfoot, whose existence has never been confirmed by the scientific community, but who was well known by the local Indians, revered as a forest spirit with whom, however, even they did not want to encounter themselves.
Patrick Maggie’s film is based on a very simple story about a monster that lives in the forests and attacks people who invade its eternal habitat. However, unlike most similar plot productions, "Primitive Fury" still boasts glimpses of enticing Indian color and is able to easily keep the audience close to the screens. The narrative unfolds in a dynamic way, but the haste of the director when watching was also not noticed. He thoroughly, but not without intrigue, introduces us to the main characters, tries to show their strengths and weaknesses of character, without going into the depths of their fictional biography. Maji reveals all the dramatic and semantic intricacies of her narrative through actions and decisions, abandoning the banal and easy way that allows you to describe the characters through a couple of intelligible dialogues, let go of the occasion or without. In this regard, Primitive Fury needs to be watched with full attention and thus gradually learn who Ashley really is, and why former prisoner Max deserves, if not sympathy, then at least respect. Faced with a tough and unpredictable threat, the Carr family discovers the forces that have previously been dormant, and we can clearly see that Ashley and Max are ready to do anything to save each other and prove that they are capable of much.
It is also worth noting that in addition to the fighting spouses in this story, there was a place for the ironic Indian sheriff performed by Eloy Casados, who, along with his assistant, perfectly ridicule the stereotypes that exist against their people and divert attention from the main narrative, giving us the opportunity to take a break, put thoughts in order and prepare for the next round of confrontation with a monster who has already smelled the smell of blood and at the same time does not mind satisfying his violent sexual fantasies in a warm embrace with Ashley. In addition, the close company of the two main characters is periodically diluted by hunters, perhaps the most colorful characters of this film, who cannot be called particularly pleasant people, but their presence in the frame definitely gives the plot a sharpness. Ashley and Max will meet them several times, and you never know what to expect from this company, which has a lot of weapons at its disposal and feels free to act in the middle of the woods.

And yet, despite the memorable and sharp parts of the sheriff and hunters, almost all the attention is taken by the unique Yeti, who appeared before us in all its glory not without the help of a director, whose main profession is the skill of a professional makeup artist. Having invested in his favorite monster all the skills gained during the work on large-scale Hollywood blockbusters of the caliber “Men in Black 3”, Patrick Magee tried to do everything in his power to make the audience really surprised and believe in the existence of Bigfoot. And such serious technical work was carried out by the director without much expense, because he perfectly learned all the subtleties of the work, using them to the fullest extent so that a full debut was successful and did not cause any unnecessary questions.
8 out of 10

For a long time I was looking for a movie to pass the evening, until I came across Primitive fury. The poster is very smart, interesting, although I did not expect much from the film. Lately, the Yeti films are not smart. But not this time. About the film:

Ashley went through the Indian woods to prison to take home her husband. On the way back, they accidentally hit an old man who had no pieces of meat on his body. And then someone attacks the couple, driving into the depths of the Indian forest.
The movie liked everything. Musical design does not spoil the picture, everything in the rhythm of the film. The picture is also good - you can immediately see that it was not some Asilum shot. Bright, colorful. Species are well shown - the dense forest is shown in all its beauty, revealing all its secrets.

Big Foot itself is perfectly executed, quite realistic. A couple of years ago I watched a movie about the Yeti, the name of which I do not remember, so there this monster was just annoying, because the actor in the suit did not inspire confidence. Well, my opinion on that movie is clear, since I don't remember the title. It all worked out great here.

The actors also did not disappoint, although absolutely unknown.
The lead actor Casey Gagliardi coped well with the role of a frightened girl, being trapped in the monster. This is almost her first role.

Andrew Joseph Montgomery, who played her husband, is also a film debutant. He's got a worse game. In some scenes, emotions were not fully conveyed: fear, surprise, rage - everything was mixed up and turned out not super. But in principle, he also played well.

The group of hunters was a kind of hillbillies who didn’t care about everyone, especially the city. The actors who played the hunters also did not disappoint.
Director Patrick Maggie, who is also a producer and screenwriter, did well. There are no complaints, if only for small things, but we will not talk about it.
The ending gives a chance for a possible continuation, which I would be quite happy about.
A powerful, interesting movie, albeit a little protracted at the beginning, but the middle turned killer. This movie is purely relaxing. No conspiracy or mystery. Just a good Bigfoot movie. About the struggle of random people with the error of nature.
Advice: Look, the film deserves its audience.

8 out of 10

To expect a lot from a movie with a similar synopsis means watching a low-budget horror movie for the first time in your life. So I thought, swinging for the background viewing another treshak with a score of about 4. But the lack of canonical for the subgenre of introductory senseless reprisals and an abundance of cliche dialogues forced to closely monitor what is happening. The fact is that the film, having no claims to creative value, gives us a completely adequate setup, ambiguous characters, albeit not of Shakespearean level, but alive and aware of themselves as such. There is no idiotic chatter designed to tell the backstory of the character in the shortest possible time, which is sometimes not disdained by the producers of AAA films. We are gently immersed in the car of not the luckiest couple and as a random traveler make it clear that their lives are not smooth. Through silent pauses, through their actions, when their partner is not looking at them. The film is surprisingly catching attention.

This unjustified scrupulousness concerns not only the main characters. In parallel with a couple of antagonists, we are shown a very unusual sheriff with his assistant. Funny mocking each other and stereotypes about their ethnicity, the Indian guardians of the law also do not let you get bored watching in anticipation of the next scene with the main action and, moreover, very organically fit into the story built by the creators of the film.

There are not so many characters in the film, but even the simplest of them are at least a little, but they open up and provoke the viewer to think about the reasons for their actions. At the beginning of the film, the characters meet an unpleasant company of hunters, with whom a conflict immediately arises. In the future, they meet again, which leads to a rather tense scene when you and GG doubt the intentions of the bad company, but it is simply impossible to determine whether they pose a real danger until the last moment.
Technically, the painting was also enjoyable. Beautiful views of dense forest and sleepy American outback, adequate camera work, good acting of actors, pleasant practical special effects and, most importantly, the forest creature O-Ma - all this gives true pleasure.
And yet, a little bit about the bad. In the final act, the film sags significantly in terms of plot and performance, causing slight bewilderment. These hulking 5-10 minutes of timekeeping thoroughly spoil the impression. Unfortunately, the denouement is also unlikely to surprise anyone.

Bottom line: "Primitive Fury" looks very advantageous in comparison with any other film with a similar theme and genre in principle. So I highly recommend watching! Spiritually do not enrich, but you will clearly spend time with interest!
7 out of 10