Primeval
User Score
4.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 31
  3. Negative: 15 out of 31

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  1. mykhawke
    Sep 14, 2012
    10
    One of the most entertaining killer croc films i've ever seen.
  2. Sachi
    Dec 14, 2011
    2
    Primeval is a very poor film that is a complete waste of time, I don't know what was going on in this film because it was so darn convoluted. The plot doesn't make any sense at all, I never realized it was about an alligator but I don't care either, the acting is bad and so is the dialogue. The whole film is a mess of a horror movie although you won't understand anything in this movie and whatever message it has is drowned out by all this dumb movie plot. Don't watch this B-movie or should I say F-movie flick. Breakdown for "Primeval": Presentation: 2, Plot: 1, Acting: 2.7, Script: 2.4, Lasting Appeal: 1, Verdict: 2.2 out of 10 "Terrible"… Collapse
  3. DanK.
    Apr 6, 2008
    5
    The Crocodile bits are well done, with the action being satisfyingly cheesy and exciting. However the performances are 2-D and it's mixing of real life tragedy and monster carnage does grate. A rental for fans of Alligator or Anaconda, but otherwise give it a miss.
  4. AlanR.
    Jun 12, 2007
    7
    Hey, stop trying to intellectualize this film. It's fun. It's scary and the effects are better than average. And much better than any of the Jaws epics. Give the film a break. It doesn't take itself seriously. Why should the reviewers.
  5. Sam
    Jun 11, 2007
    6
    Primeval isn't horrible, but what's with the "serial killer" crap? It's a movie about a crocodile for god's sake.
  6. ChadS.
    Mar 5, 2007
    2
    "Primeval" plays like a tribute to John Sayles. The war between the Rwandians and Hutus acknowledges Sayles' social consciousness he applies to his own films, while the giant crocodile addresses the auteur's Hollywood sidejob as a screenwriter of b-flicks like "Battle Beyond the Stars" and "Alligator". Based on what "Primeval" has to offer, this is a dialectic(thank you, "Half Nelson") that doesn't translate into a successful entertainment. Since innocent Africans are being slaughtered in a civil war, the filmmakers were forced to make an earnest film about..., and this is the problem, a big-ass crocodile. To position the massacre that took place in Rwanda as an afterthought is tasteless. To see Rwandians being killed execution-style juxtaposed against a merrier brand of violence, being eaten alive by a reptilian anomaly, is indescribably off-putting and borderline amoral.… Expand
  7. Andy
    Feb 9, 2007
    0
    My friend convinced me to see this movie, and I agreed, thinking it was gonna be this supernatural/hell-spawn slasher guy or something of that nature. I was expecting something along the lines of serial killer. But, nooooo. They give me a honkin' pile of stinkin' krap with a kapital K. [***SPOILER****] It'a about a giant man-eating croc? Oh, nice. It's like the producers just decided to change the whole thing from slasher to monster flick overnight. Even as a monster movie it sucks. An episode of the "croc hunter" is more exciting than this, and at least the the Crocodile Hunter the annoying characters eventually die.… Expand
  8. BillG.
    Jan 23, 2007
    0
    Maybe I shouldn't vote on this movie. After all, I did walk out 20 minutes early. But that's saying something. I never leave early, no matter how horrible a movie may be. I demanded my money back, and I got it. Do not see; avoid at all costs.
  9. KevinM.
    Jan 15, 2007
    0
    If I could give this movie a negative 10, I'd do it. This movie OWES ME four stars. Awful. Absolutely effing terrible. What else can I say? This goes down in history as the WORST movie I have ever seen. What happened to the serial killer?? I thought a crocodile was a hungry animal... not a mass murderer, as Warner Bros. previews would have you believe. Absolute crap. Terrible, half-assed, ADD-style plot, terrible acting, awful (& racist) writing, bad visual effects, just plain the biggest waste of money of my life. If you spend money on this movie, you will spend the rest of your life wishing to get it back. I feel so cheated. A score of 36 is WAY too high. A zero doesn't even begin to cover it.… Expand
  10. Brett
    Jan 13, 2007
    1
    What part of this movie is based on a true story? I'd really like to know. I bet it's the part where an ...... can sprint 50km/h across an open field for minutes at a time. A very bad movie that thinks it has something important to say.
  11. TriemanG.
    Jan 12, 2007
    8
    Not really a horror movie like I expected. More of an action film. Suprisingly Orlando Jones is the only charcter you care about and he dies-so no sequel for this film..
  12. SteveS.
    Jan 12, 2007
    0
    One of the 15 or 20 worst movies I've ever seen. It could have worked as camp had the filmmakers not taken themselves so seriously, attempting to interject serious social commentary about the plight of Africa into a ridiculous film centered around a gigantic, man-eating ....... created with extremely low-end computer models. And to have Orlando Jones say slavery was a good idea to get people out of Africa because it's such a horrible place (who cares if it's a joke) is in the worst taste imaginable. See this movie at your own peril.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
35 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 7 out of 11
  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    40
    Strangely self-serious, and without covering the prerequisites of top-shelf nastiness that contemporary horror requires, this giant crocodile movie turns out to be neither fish nor fowl.
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  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    One of the few monster-crocodile movies that simultaneously tries to rip off "Jaws" and "Meet the Press."
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  3. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    25
    By the end of the film, I was hoping everyone on two legs would die, preferably suffering as much on screen as I was in the audience.
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