Primitives – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Indonesia, 1978
Director: Sisworo Gautama Putra
Writers: Imam Tantowi, Rukman Lukito
Cast: Enny Haryono, Barry Prima, Johann Mardjono, Rukman Herman, Jafarpree York

Release Date: September 29th, 2020
Approximate running time: 90 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Indonesian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.98

"When three naïve anthropology students go in search of a lost primitive tribe, they’ll instead discover a nightmare of bloody rituals, depraved torture, jaw-dropping music cues and flesh-chomping brutality." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Primitives has been remastered from the original negative in Jakarta. However, the opening and closing titles sequences were missing from the negative and are considered lost. The titles herein were scanned from a 35mm German release print.”

Primitives comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.6 GB

Feature: 20.2 GB

Though there is source debris and emulsion stains, it is a substantial improvement over all of its previous home video releases. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look good, image clarity is strong, black levels are good, and compression is very good. That said, there appears to be some digital noise reduction; fortunately, it is mild and never intrusive.

Audio: 3.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Indonesian), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Indonesian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The English-language track sounds fuller than the Indonesian-language track, which sounds muffled. That said, the dialog comes through clearly enough to follow. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the Indonesian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), alternate UK opening and closing credits (5 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), an interview with screenwriter Imam Tantowi titled Way Down in the Deep Jungle (10 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Indonesian with non-removable English subtitles) and an interview with producer Gope T. Samtani titled Producing Primitives (7 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Indonesian with non-removable English subtitles).

Summary:

Directed by Sisworo Gautama Putra, whose other notable films include Satan’s Slave, The Warrior, Sundelbolong, and The Hungry Snake Woman.

The narrative revolves around three anthropology students who get trapped in a jungle inhabited by cannibals.

Primitives is clearly an Indonesian cash-in on the Italian cannibal films that were at the peak of their popularity in the early 1980’s. And just like its Italian contemporaries, Primitives features an anemic narrative that’s driven by a handful of brutal moments. That said, though there are a few brutal moments, none of these moments ever come close to delivering shock like the Cannibal Holocaust or Cannibal Ferox.

There’s minimal dialog, with most dialog exchanges occurring via grunts. And anyone expecting to see some gratuitous T&A should look elsewhere. And though there are ample moments where the main characters are in danger, a poorly constructed narrative that’s predictable quickly diffuses any tension.

The performances are best described as serviceable. The most memorable performance was when Barry Prima (The Devil’s Sword) made his acting debut in the role of one of the three anthropology students.

The premise covers well-covered ground, and when it comes to shots of wildlife, these look like stock footage, which lessens their impact. On a positive note, the electronic main theme with a robot voice is one area where Primitives comes out on top. Also, at the end of the film, the song The Lonely Shepherd, mostly known for its inclusion in Kill Bill Volume 1, makes an appearance. Ultimately, Primitives is a mediocre cannibal film that lacks the shock and awe that Italian cannibal films are known for.

Severin Films gives Primitives a strong release that comes with a good audio/video presentation and a pair of informative interviews.

Written by Michael Den Boer