Director – David Allen (The Dungeonmaster, Puppet Master II)
Starring – Juliet Mills (Ark: The Animated Series, Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar), Richard Joseph Paul (Oblivion, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise), and Leon Russom (The X-Files, Tales from the Darkside)
Release Date – 2023
Rating – 4/5
Blu Release – 4.5/5
Full Moon Entertainment has done a lot of good for horror history over the several decades they have been in business. Starting all the way back when Charles Band launched Empire International Pictures and the release of the classic films Re-Animator, From Beyond, Rawhead Rex, and Crawl Space just to name a few. When Empire went out in 1988, Band launched Full Moon Entertainment the same year and has been making films under that banner ever since.
While some of the Full Moon releases are easily forgettable, he has still turned out classics like Puppet Master, Evil Bong, Subspecies, The Gingerdea Man, and many more. Band and both companies have one hell of a track record. That’s why I began following The Primevals so intently when it was announced. The film was a dream project by David Allen that began filming in the 80s but was shelved due to budget issues.
A few years back Full Moon began raising funds to finish this film and get it released. I’m glad Band took the time to get this one out to fans of Full Moon and stop motion animation because it’s a fantastic film!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a group of scientists who venture deep into the Hymalayas in hopes of finding a live yeti after the remains of one was sent to them showing signs of brain surgery. What they discover is a civilization lost to time that is being terrorized by ancient aliens that are using this ancient race of humanoids for experiments and entertainment. **Spoiler Alert**
The Primevals is a film that I can see a lot of the pop genre fans brushing off and I get it. This film isn’t for them. It’s for cinema fans that grew up on stop motion like Allen was known for. This was a style that was over before my time but I always watched the films when I was little when I was a kid with my grandmother. I remember watching all the Ray Harryhausen classics with her and often wished there was more movies with stop-motion. This one doesn’t disappoint especially if those style of films are your thing.
The acting in this one is very well done. While the characters are very one dimensional and uncharismatic, the cast still does a phenomenal job at moving the film along. The dialogue is very heavy but the cast does a fantastic job at finding the correct emotion for the scene which really does help with the film’s pacing.
The story for this one is a bit out there but I really enjoyed it. It’s something different and makes great use of the stop-motion. An ancient alien race enslaving a humanoid ape like species deep in the Himalayan mountains is something that would have been a wild story during the height of stop-motion. Add in the characters, yetis, and the rest of the film and you are given something that you can watch over and over without tiring of it. I found myself wanting to talk about it for days after watching it. It sounds a bit goofy typing it out but it really was compelling.
Finally, the film has a little blood but the focus of the film is the creatures and the stop-motion which is absolutely gorgeous. I loved the looked of the reptilian aliens, the missing link type creatures, and the yetis. You can tell a lot of time and passion went into crafting these and I’m sure fans of stop-motion can appreciate the models as well. Overall, The Primevals is a must see for fans of stop-motion and Full Moon alike. It’s a film that will go on to become a timeless classic and a staple in any Full Moon collection. Check it out!
Special Features:
A Celebration of Tenacity: Q/A at Industrial Light and Magic
Charles Band and David Allen on The Primevals
Randall William Cook visits The Primevals
The Primevals – 1984 promo reel
The Primevals – 1997 promo reel
Raiders of the Stone Ring – promo reel
The Primevals – Time-lapse animation
The Beginning and the End
David Allen at the Moviola
Primevals – A False Start
