Primordial

Director - Eric Widing (Hellhounds)
Starring - Marylee Osborne (Babysitter Massacre), Erin R. Ryan (Slimy Little Bastards), and Christopher Rowley (Return of the Red Ranger)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline - "You don't know where I've been"
Format - Streaming (online screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I get a lot of films sent to me to review.  A majority of them are sent to me from distribution companies while the rest are movies sent to me from indie production companies.  However, sometimes I come across movies that I had never heard of from social media. The horror community is vast and sometimes films are released and I never know it.  Not long ago my friend and fellow reviewer, Jason Limberg, reviewed the dark thriller Primordial.  The artwork looked great for the film and I noticed that it starred MaryLee Osborne who is known for her work with Henrique Couto.  I reached out to director Eric Widing and he was kind enough to send over a link to the online screener.  Thanks Eric for letting me check this one out!
     The film follows Valerie Graves (Osborne) who is down on her luck.  She is behind on her rent and is forced to take odd jobs to make some money.  She meets someone through a friend who offers her a job picking up around the office at his locksmith company.  Things look up for her and her attitude improves.  Her best friend Tina (Ryan) is there with her every step of the way through the ups and downs.  Valerie misreads her friendship as something else and often makes romantic advancements at her.  One day Valerie's boss tells her that he no longer has work for her but there is something else she can look into for money.  His locksmith company is just a front for him and his partner and now she is thrust into a dark world of goons and knee breakers.  This changes her for the worst and soon she finds herself on the opposite side when her former colleagues set their sights on her and Tina.
     Most of the time I review slashers and zombie flicks.  I love both sub-genres dearly but too much of a good thing can ruin it.  Slashers and zombie flicks are everywhere now.  Slashers can be made with little to no budget so filmmakers pump them out constantly while zombie flicks are trendy thanks to The Walking Dead.  You can't go grocery shopping. to pump gas, or even go shit in a gas station bathroom without seeing something now with a zombie on it.  There is zombie lighters, condoms, alcoholic drinks, and so forth out there and films are being released by the hundreds every week so it is nice to see indie filmmakers step outside of the easy and tackle something more complicated.  Primordial is a great character driven piece that really pulls the viewer in with some great storytelling.  The acting in this one is fantastic.  Marylee Osborne is fantastic as the film's lead.  Her character is very complicated and beautifully written.  I believe no one could have brought that complexity to the screen like Osborne.  Her co-star Erin R. Ryan is an amazing actress as well and has been in numerous films that I have reviewed over the years.  She adapts to any role and delivers a great performance.  Next up is Josh Miller.  I have seen Josh in several other films but none had the intensity this film had.  His performance honestly caught me off guard.  The story for this one is very impressive.  The film flows more like a dark drama or thriller than an actual horror flick and I am completely ok with that.  The film is very different and instead of relying on monster of myth and legend it follows the exploits of mankind and the horrors they are capable of.  I really enjoyed that aspect.  It made the film feel real and authentic where most monster movies can easily be separated between fiction and real life.  Finally, the has several on screen kills but they are nothing that amazing or entertaining.  The kills are mostly gunshot kills and they are not that effective.  The effects for these kills are minimal and not that impressive.  Overall, Primordial is not the film I was expecting.  The film is raw and powerful which is amazing especially considering the film's budget.  The cast is brilliant and the story is well written.  This year I have seen so many amazing indie features but this one is among the best.  Check this one out as soon as possible.