The Primevals

Are you ready for more yeti?

I streamed two films on Amazon today, though I think I'll have time for one review today. That lucky review is for The Primevals, a B-Movie that spent over fifty years in the making. No, I'm not kidding. It was spearheaded by famed stop-motion animator David W. Allen, who conceived it in the sixties, officially started production in 1978, actually started filming it in 1994 and died of cancer in 1999. Decades later, Charles Band, the film's producer, crowdfunded its completion.

This is the result.

Over in the Himalayas, the local Sherpa have a close encounter with an Abominable Snowman. The Yeti is killed when one of the Sherpa triggers an avalanche and its remains are brought to an American University for study. Dr. Claire Collier (Juliet Mills), the University's leading anthropologist, organizes an expedition to find the origins of this Missing Link. Her autopsy of the creature revealed its brain was tampered with. But by who?

Collier is joined by former student Matt Connor (Richard Joseph Paul), adventurer Rondo Montana (Leon Russom), young Sherpa Siku (Tai Thai), and scientist Kathleen Reidel (Walker Brandt). Their expedition leads them to a Lost World populated by more hominids and a race of sinister Lizardmen (that have me thinking of the Sleestaks from Land of the Lost). The Lizardmen don't intend to let our heroes get out alive. That's pretty much it.

Its protracted production is sometimes apparent. As I said, the live-action parts were filmed in 1994, but a few scenes, including a few in Siku's cabin, look much older. There's some obvious new computer displays when the party explore the not-Sleestaks' ship. There's also an egregious case of tell-don't-show when our heroes discover the aftermath of an attack on the hominids' village. Said village was in our heroes' line-of-sight when they set up camp. How did they not notice? On a storytelling perspective, the film never really explains how the first Yeti - there is another - got out. I can go on, but I can't. I also can't be too harsh on its imperfections considering the circumstances.

Thankfully, the creatures have aged pretty well. Allen, an Oscar-nominee for Young Sherlock Holmes and an animator for quite a few other films, left us some rather impressive stop-motion animation. There's also some modern effects work which blends surprisingly well with the old footage. Either way, the Yetis and Lizardmen move quite fluidly, and they blend pretty well with the live-action photography: no annoying chroma key washout or matte lines in sight! They are creatures with palpable personalities, so much so that the second Yeti is literally the best actor of the film. See, the Lizardmen have been brainwashing the Yetis into destructive monsters, and you'll feel for the Yeti as it fights its programming. These creatures really don't get much screentime, but it's a minor complaint.

What do I think of the human cast? They're all right. Collier and Connor seem to have sparks between them, even if their twenty-year age difference is beyond noticeable. Rondo Montana (what a name!) brings with him some likable charisma, while Kathleen's implied connections with the Sherpa are barely explored. Siku is determined to help the party after his brother was killed by the first Yeti. He nearly gets the group killed by provoking another Yeti, but is still a good character, and even gets a stellar big hero moment. The hominids, who are played by actors in makeup, are quite sympathetic when they're forced to fight the second Yeti in a gladiator match.

What else can I say about it? There's a pretty good score composed by Band's brother Richard. It's as melodramatic and bombastic as Max Steiner's work in the original King Kong; the opening chords may easily remind you of the older film's main theme. The non-creature effects, from matte paintings to laser blasts, blend with the actors as well as the creatures do. There's some good production design, with its best creation being the interior of the Lizardmen ship. Its Hominid Village is just a few buildings, but it's still an interesting enough locale.

I think The Primevals is at least worth a watch. For 91 minutes, you'll get a decent adventure story with astounding creatures and decent humans. Allen's filmography is astounding in its breadth, and despite some nitpicks, this film is a great legacy for him. If anything, this should make for an interesting study case along with other protracted productions like The Thief and the Cobbler. See it soon to see what I mean. I got to get Yeti for some Sasquatch tomorrow.