Primal Rage Review: A couple go head-to-head with Bigfoot in this riff on Predator.
Primal Rage review by Kat Hughes.
Primal Rage Review
Sasquatch, or Bigfoot as it is better known, is one of mankind’s biggest myths. Unlike vampires, werewolves and mummies, there are plenty of people who believe that the forest-dwelling beast could exist. It’s strange then that there aren’t many movies featuring Bigfoot, especially in the horror arenas, as all other monstrous entities have had hundreds, if not thousands, of cinematic adventures. When pushed to name a Bigfoot-centric film, all that springs to mind is Harry and the Hendersons, and that’s not exactly frightening. All of these reasons make director Patrick Magee’s movie Primal Rage a very intriguing prospect.
Screening in Glasgow as part of the Horror Channel Frightfest programme, Primal Rage offers a dark tale of a couple lost in the woods battling a vicious, and highly skilled big-footed creature. Ashley (Casey Gagliardi) and Max (Andrew Joseph Montgomery) are an estranged couple trying to reconnect after Max’s stint in jail; on their way back to their baby son they become stranded after hitting an unidentified animal which renders their vehicle unusable. They soon find themselves lost in the wilderness at which point they encounter a shady group of hunters. The group offer to help the couple, but it soon becomes clear that something isn’t quite right, and then members of the group start dying, picked off by some unseen menace in the trees. So do Ashley and Max have what it takes to make it out of the woods alive?
Primal Rage Review
Primal Rage is a film of two distinct halves, the first being much more solid than the last. It starts strong, but eventually succumbs to silliness with too many unnecessary characters and subplots spoiling the narrative. Towards the end we get a lot of Native American mythology whacked in, and it bogs the pace right down. Monsters are always more terrifying when you know nothing – or very little – of their origins. Here we get almost a full history which spoils some of the mystery. Also weighing down the final act is a sequence with a Witch Doctor trying to revive Max which really detracts from the tone and pace of the film. Worse still, it conjures up far too many memories of that scene with the old Alaskan woman and Homer in The Simpsons Movie.
The Bigfoot itself is handled very well. The creature could have all too easily been a stupid rampaging giant primate killing machine, but is instead an intelligent being. It is even capable of making weapons and laying traps. In many ways, Magee’s creation is a Sasquatch Predator. The iconic film has clearly influenced the director with several scenes clear homages to John McTiernan’s Arnie classic. It is in these moments when Primal Rage is at its best.
Primal Rage Review
Magee, who also plays the creature, is very clever with how he displays it. Practical effects are hard to achieve on a limited budget, but Magee’s background in visual effects means he knows just how to cheat things. He never shows too much, especially early on, and even when we do see more, it’s in fleeting snatches.
With perhaps one too many homages to a classic to be seen as truly original, Primal Rage is a film of two halves. It starts stripped and simple, but veers off into unnecessary territory towards the end. However, it is still an exciting entry into the criminally sparse Bigfoot genre.
Primal Rage review by Kat Hughes, March 2018.
Primal Rage was reviewed at the 2018 Horror Channel Frightfest event which formed part of the 2018 Glasgow Film Festival.
