Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23523 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, Kirundi, Swahili
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 93 minutes

On the DVD
"Croc-umentary: Bringing Gustave to Life"
Deleted scenes
Audio commentary with director Michael Katleman and visual effects supervisor Paul Linden

Synopsis
An American news crew travels to one of the most remote locations on the planet in hopes of capturing the savage serial killer rumored to have claimed over 300 lives in this white-knuckle horror-thriller starring Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones, and based on actual events. As the intrepid documentarians cautiously make their way upriver, they soon find that the brutality inflicted on man by his own kind pales in comparison to the relentless viciousness of mother nature's most resilient predator. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

DVD Menu

• Disc #1 -- Primeval
  • Play
  • Bonus Features
    • Crocumentary: Bringing Gustave to Life
    • Deleted Scenes
      • Play All
      • Pigman
      • Shower
      • Harry's Death
    • Audio Commentary
      • View the Film With Commentary by Director Michael Katleman and Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Linden: On
      • View the Film With Commentary by Director Michael Katleman and Visual Effects Supervisor Paul Linden: Off
  • Set Up
    • Subtitles
      • English for the Hearing Impaired
      • French
      • Spanish
      • Subtitles: None
    • Audio Options
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Register Your DVD
  • Scene Selection
  • Sneak Peeks
    • Play All
    • Mel Gibson's Apocalypto
    • Ratatouille
    • Renaissance
    • Roger Corman
    • The Lookout

Customer Reviews

That's one big croc -- but who or what is the real monster here?
You know, I didn't think this film was bad at all. I think there's actually a lot more to the movie than some viewers expect, and so it is that some end up disappointed by the fact that death by crocodile doesn't stand at the center of every scene. Frankly, I find it rather inane for some individuals to claim they were snookered by the film's billing as a story about "the world's most prolific serial killer." Look at the DVD case, people -- there's a great big crocodile on there. I'm also not going to fault Primeval for daring to go beyond the comfort zone of a mere killer monster movie, especially when it's helping to highlight the growing tragedies of civil war and genocide taking place in Africa (under the morally bankrupt UN's uncaring noses). One has to ask oneself exactly who the monster in this film really is -- as far as I'm concerned, it's not the crocodile.

With so many reporters out there writing fake stories, I sort of like the idea of sending these corrupt conmen to deepest Africa in search of a nine-meter-long killer crocodile. That's the fate that befalls Tim Manfrey (Dominic Purcell) when he fails to verify the facts on a major story he writes. This crocodile, dubbed Gustave by the locals, has been killing villagers in Burundi for years, but "the world" only starts to care when he kills a UN forensics expert working on the mass graves full of people recently executed in this war-torn country. Aviva Masters (Brooke Langton), the network's animal specialist, is all gung ho to go, as is a famous herpetologist determined to catch the creature alive. Orlando Bloom, in the form of cameraman Steven Johnson, is also sent along with the others; he's definitely the most memorable character, but that's largely because he's playing the stereotypical role of comic relief -- I'm not sure who thought the idea of sending a black man to Africa and stressing him out to the point that he starts seeing slavery in a positive light (anything to get out of Africa) was a good idea, but the fact is that he's the only real entertainment on display here.

The trip to the croc's hunting grounds is possibly even more dangerous that the mission itself, as you can be caught in the crossfire of the long-standing civil war just about anywhere. While Gustave the crocodile certainly does his share of killing, a local warlord calling himself Little Gustave is the true menace roaming this land, executing people at will. Personally, I have nothing but admiration and respect for the crocodile; sure, he's huge and it's certainly a tragedy that innocent folks are dying by his claws and teeth, but the big guy is just doing what comes naturally to him. A crocodile has to eat, you know -- and there's no doubt that he's definitely one bad dude with a very large appetite. I thought the special effects (you didn't think they worked with a real crocodile, did you?) were fairly impressive -- and I loved the most significant kill scene, as it serves up one of those juicy morsels that we gorehounds deeply appreciate. I was also impressed that the special effects guys didn't go overboard on the CGI design. If they made T-shirts for crocodiles, this guy would definitely need a size XXL, but he's not some Godzilla-sized monster.

All in all, Primeval is a pretty decent effort that transcends the strict monster movie limitations of its genre, actually putting forth a political point about the plight of Africans in places such as Darfur, Rwanda, and Burundi pretty effectively. Several plot twists kept my attention from ever flagging (as did my worry for a cute little dog that kept turning up in dangerous situations), and I found the ending perfectly suited to the story. In my book, Primeval is definitely worth watching.

One intense movie!
This movie was pretty good -- Was expecting some B-grade monster movie and got a whole lot more... Makes you wonder who is the monster - the croc, the Americans looking for a story at other people's expense or African goons out for blood. I noticed how the croc and the political story don't mesh overly well... They could have been two separate movies. My biggest concern is the title... It SCREAMS straight to video croc movie. It needed a better title... And maybe something besides the croc on the cover, since the movie attempts to capture so much more. I still like it though. :) Check this one out!

A typical B movie for monster fans
When I was in kindergarten, we always used to sing this crocodile song (I forgot the name of) and according to the lyrics, her jaws were never closed because she always gossiped about the rest of the animal kingdom. Well now, the croc in "Primeval" answers to the name Gustave and his jaws are never closed neither, but for a completely different reason. Since the beginning of time, he reigns over the swamps & rivers in the poorest regions of Burundi and he supposedly devoured over 300 people already. Gustave normally just feeds on locals, so nobody in the Western world cares whether he lives or dies, but he now made the terrible mistake of eating a female white reporter and his quiet and peaceful days of over for good. A prominent American newspaper sends out an expedition, complete with reporters, local guides and a professional crocodile hunter, to capture Gustave alive.

When "Primeval" came out a couple of months ago, it already earned itself to be noted one of the worst films and receives one harshly negative review after the other. Quite undeservedly if you ask me, because it really isn't such a terrible movie and even benefices from a handful of good aspects, like a solid cast and engaging CGI-monster effects. The scriptwriters simply made one incomprehensible and unforgivable mistake! Why on earth did John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris had the ambition to use the premise of a low-brained monster feature to alert us about the disastrous political situation in Southern Africa? There's a 25-foot-long crocodile running amok and yet this movie mainly criticizes how the Western world shamelessly turned its back on the poverty & civil war issues in Burundi. If they wanted to make a harrowing and insightful follow-up to "Hotel Rwanda" that's perfect by me, but please don't pretend it's a non-stop gory and exciting creature-feature! It's like the characters in the film say themselves: nobody cares about politics as long as there's a croc involved! Mixing big-animal-horror with political drama topics, as well as the supposedly heart-breaking sub plot revolving on an African adolescent who'd do everything (literally EVERYTHING!) to enter the USA, is probably Hollywood's worst spontaneous decision to date, and it's really no surprise the public hates this movie for it. If "Primeval" simply had focused on the bloody crocodile-hunting mission, everything would have been a-okay and it definitely would have ranked on the list of above average monster films. All the necessary ingredients and stereotype characters to make a delightfully cheesy and entertaining creature feature are present.

The crew exists of a reluctant reporter who considers his trip to Burundi as a punishment for ruining a previous assignment, a new and ambitious female reporter who desperately wants to prove herself, the 'token-black-guy' cameraman, the overly self-confident expert who thinks he's even better than Steve Irwin (RIP) and of course the introvert guide who has a personal score to settle with Gustave. Director Michael Katleman patiently waits a good 45 minutes before properly showing the crocodile - and hence effectively builds up tension - and it has to be said the animal looks very impressive. Gustave is big, but not over-the-top big, and he looks genuinely menacing when speeding through the swamps and destroying cages of solid steel. But then, completely out of the blue, the cameraman accidentally witnesses a political execution in the middle of nowhere and suddenly the Americans have to flee from local crime-networks instead of from Gustave. The sudden change in tone & message is impossible to cope with and the rest of the film is giant disaster. Not even the fairly spectacular finale can undo the damage. The cast is pretty decent, with Dominic Purcell ("Prison Break"), Brooke Langton ("The Replacements"), Orlando Jones ("Evolution") and a typical supportive role for B-movie veteran Jürgen Prochnow. I say see it if you ran out of rental ideas.