PRIMAL

Australia, the Neolithic period: someone is in the midst of making a cave painting in the midst of a lush forest - but is he alone? A bloody encounter answers that question, and so begins the pre-credits action in Primal (2010). We then move to the modern day, and to a carful of twentysomethings all on their way to the same spot on the trail of Anja (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith)'s great-great uncle, who had been there to study the cave paintings 120 years before. They distract themselves on the journey with discussions about the appropriate context in which to use the word 'cunt' (I suppose it beats 'I-Spy') but, before you can start to wonder how these bright young things are going to be (mercifully) picked off, there's a brief plot marker - Something Traumatic Has Happened to Anja. After that, we're into the main cut and thrust of the action.

I had at first thought this film was going to be a rehash of The Descent - it isn't, although it does gather inspiration from that film, as well as from others. However, The Descent categorically doesn't include killer rabbits with sharp, pointy teeth. This is also a pretty dangerous forest even by Australian standards - so that, after an obligatory skinny-dipping scene, Mel (Krew Boylan) takes a turn for the worse…

The film then settles into its mode: and, it has to be said, it certainly doesn't overestimate its powers to scare. We have a standard crew of characters here with no major surprises, and we're assured of this quite early on. The script flows basically well and is light-touch - again, it doesn't try to paint fantastically complex characters but they're basically believable, and sometimes very funny. This level of self-awareness in a film is at least to be applauded. It's also a well-shot film - evidently with a fair budget, at least in indie horror terms - and manages a few good panic sequences as well as a few laugh-out-loud moments.

All of that said, as much as the film is aware of its limits, it's still a film with enough common limitations to make it unexciting. If you prefer more demanding or novel fare, then the easygoing, familiar style of Primal might not be for you. The film is full of horror clichés ("We don't have a choice", "I don't wanna die!" "That's not her anymore!") and it gets rather mired down around the one hour mark before launching into an exposition-lite conclusion and pitting a Nasty Thing against an Emaciated Female Lead, which always feels trite to me now.

There are some fun elements in Primal - it certainly doesn't require too much of its audience, and wrings some fun out of its whole set-up - but this fun is somewhat mitigated by some pacing problems and the tad too-much-in-common in has with other competent, but aimless indie horrors.

The film looks great, with vivid, tropical colouration, good contrast and rick blacks. The sound is also nicely-crisp and clear. Primal is presented in a 16:9 ratio and comes in at 1 hour 22 minutes. There weren't any extras on the screener I watched.

Review by Keri O'Shea