Rabia infernal

So in a plot that almost immediately makes you think of 28 Days Later, a possibly mad scientist inadvertently creates a deadly rabies-like virus while experimenting on the brain of a baboon to try and reanimate dead brain cells or whatever, that gradually transforms its victims into mostly mindless bloodthirsty savages, and when a shaggy-haired young student journalist breaks into the lab looking for a scoop gets bitten by the maddened creature, a slaughter looms unless the infected can be stopped! This frankly wasn't that much of a movie, and I'd never ever heard of it, but I was entertained and engaged enough while watching it, I liked how everything was eighties to the max and everyone had the hair shaped like a helmet and was rocking the colourful and very tight sweatpants! It's probably one of the most eighties horror movies ever made, I found that side of it quite cute! I thought it had a really weird atmosphere, it looked very American, but it felt distinctly like an Italian horror movie, there are certain unmistakable similarities to Argento's Demons movies, like how the fully infected act and when the soundtrack would spontaneously turn into fast metal during the action scenes! Some of the acting was downright bizarre, the trio of crazy bro-bullies who were pretty shameless about their nasty intentions towards the opposite sex are so dumb and over the top they're like live-action cartoons until they get infected and actually become a little scary as they descend on the big Halloween hi-school party like three jacked-up murderous Sketetors! Patrick Lowe was about as wooden and boring as his more famous brother, and he didn't do too much of anything except flee from the savage infected and try to look as cute as possible as he popped up in his silly little red motorbike. The most effective actors in the movie for me were Sara Burton and Mitch Williams as they slowly lost their minds to the rage and struggle not to kill their friends, except for the ridiculous ape sounds that he made! Whether it was because of budget reasons or not, I thought it played it a little safe in terms of the horror, I mean only a handful of people get infected and are killed during the big Halloween bash which I thought was the best part of the movie because I loved the costumes and how some of the movie played into a few of the victims' deaths in a darkly comedic way, it still needed a lot more blood though, which is too bad because when there was gore it was quite brutal and effective! So for me Primal Rage the movie not the video game, is definitely not a good movie but it's a fun entertaining little romp that's very enjoyable in an unintentionally bad kind of way, not nearly amongst the horror greats of the 80s but I liked it for the idea, the goofy 80s fun factor, the infected raving savages are genuinely scary and it's a pretty fun watch. Worth seeing if you never have for a harmless bit of old school bloody horror fun! X.

Virtually a little unknown b-grade campus-based oddball shocker that's efficiently catered for, but doesn't break any ground with its unspectacular story structure (written by Umberto Lenzi) and systematic thrills, despite its unsparingly nasty tone (which goes overboard in the film's last 30 minutes at a Halloween party) and suitably icky if makeshift make-up FX and special effects (done by Carlo Rambaldi who did such films like; 'Planet of the Vampires (1965)', 'A Bay of Blood (1971)', 'King Kong (1976)', 'Possession (1981)' and 'E.T (1982)'). While two different films, the way the story flowed kind of had me thinking of the 1989 sequel 'Gnaw: Food of the Gods II', but this one wasn't that shonky and campy. Again there's a focus on a cringe-worthy 80s tune, which oddly makes it way in the opening credits (which will have you thinking what am I getting myself into?) and then during the Halloween costume party as the band is performing live. Oh good.

The story sees two college students Sam Nash and Frank Duffy working as journalists for the campus paper, where they suspect a professor there is doing inhumane animal experiments in the quest to restore dead brain cells. So Frank sneaks into the laboratory one night to take pictures, where he encounters a very aggressive baboon that in the process of breaking out bites him. Slowly he begins to feel the effects, he starts forming ugly looking sores and then uncontrollable bursts of raging violence takes over. Soon the virus begins to spread leaving a bloody trail and Sam along with his girlfriend try to put a stop to it.

After quite a slow-going set-up, it goes on to build up a head of steam with some grisly strokes with chaos erupting and a few moments of kinkiness from a couple of ridiculously twisted beef heads. Vittorio Rambaldi direction is efficiently surefooted for its minor budget, but the half-baked execution just lacks that punch where atmosphere isn't projected and the suspense doesn't eventuate too much than just unpleasantly rowdy jolts. Then at the end you get sudden jump scene that comes from nowhere, as like a second thought because they forgot about a character. Claudio Simonetti's wonky score is just like a ragingly spreading virus with primal instincts and Antonio Climati lenses with a professional curtness. The performances are modest with Patrick Lowe and Cheryl Arutt making likable heroines. Sarah Buxton also shines in her part. Bo Svenson presenting a fashionable ponytail makes light work as the devious professor.

Also there's a connection there with some of the cast and crew which saw them do the Italian cash-in of an American influenced slasher 'Nightmare Beach' in the same year.

Passably average, but it does have some twisted novelty moments within.

A professor at a university in Miami (Bo Svenson) is developing a serum that restores dead brain cells using a baboon for testing. When a student is inadvertently bitten, an infection spreads through the campus during a Halloween celebration. Horror thrills ensue.

"Primal Rage" (1988) takes the setting of "Pieces" (1982) and mixes in elements of the Kolchak episode "Primal Scream" (1975) and "Altered States" (1980). It's basically a reimagining of "Monster on the Campus" (1958) for the '80s.

Patrick Lowe makes for a quality male protagonist while Mitch Watson is effective as the edgy student-journalist, who's reminiscent of John Lennon. The flick's worth watching just for winsome Cheryl Arutt (Lauren). Sarah Buxton is also worth noting as Debbie. Meanwhile towering Doug Sloan stands out as the violent bastage on campus, Lovejoy.

The first act works quite well, but the last act devolves into shallow action thrills with a garnishment of horror. Still, the no-name 80's rock/metal soundtrack is kinetic and I always wondered what would happen if someone was under the bleachers when they rolled 'em back.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in Miami, particularly Florida International University.

GRADE: B-

Leave it to the Italians to come up with one of the most engrossing, cheesiest and outrageously entertaining splatter flicks of the 80s! Umberto Lenzi, here under his favorite pseudonym Harry Kirkpatrick, wrote the fantastically bonkers script but offered the director's chair to his lesser known buddy Vittorio Rambaldi. "Primal Rage" is as eighties as it gets: the über-cheesy and misfit pop song "Say the Word" doesn't just feature once or twice but three times integrally, there are loads of beautiful girls with humongous hairdos and sexy aerobic outfits and even the obsessive evil scientist sports a ridiculous little mullet-ponytail! There were quite many horror movies with monkeys during the late 80s, but unlike you'd suspect from Lenzi, "Primal Rage" isn't a clone of "Monkey Shines", "Link" or "Shadow of Kilimanjaro". Dr. Ethridge is working at a Florida University campus and uses a baboon as guinea pig for his research involving brain diseases, but he accidentally saddled the poor animal up with a virus that invokes rage and rabies. When the rebellious campus reporter Frank Duffy breaks into Ethridge's laboratory, he releases the baboon but gets bitten and thus contaminated with the virus. Duffy passes forward the virus to a cute girl he met during a blind date and she, at her turn, contaminates a trio of vicious rapists. Each virus carrier goes on his/her own killing spree during the night of the annual campus Halloween party. "Primal Rage" is clichéd, derivative and predictable, but oh-so-entertaining! The film is fast-paced and features terrific make-up art as well as countless of gory highlights, including beheadings and impalements. Hunky 80s kid Patrick Lowe is rather annoying, but the rest of the cast is decent, with young and yummy actresses Cheryl Arutt, Sarah Buxton and Jennifer Hingel. Naturally, of course, it's Bo Svenson who steals the show as the fanatic scientist (with ponytail). Special kudos for the creative minds who thought up and designed all the dozens of great costumes that people are wearing during the Halloween party! I honestly never saw any cooler or creepier horror costumes in my life.

In case you hadn't guessed by the cheesy title, 'Primal Rage' is B-movie horror flick that delivers a mix of camp, chaos, and commendable creativity. Despite its low-budget constraints, this film manages to carve out a niche for itself with reasonable gore effects and a plot that, in hindsight, feels like an early precursor to the zombie resurgence seen in 2001's "28 Days Later."

The story revolves around a rage-inducing virus that run rampant around a university and turns people into rabid, bloodthirsty maniacs. The narrative is straightforward but effective, following a group of students as they battle the escalating chaos caused by the outbreak. The film's practical effects deserve a nod; the gore, while not overly gratuitous, is enough to satisfy genre enthusiasts without descending into excessive brutality.

It may not have the dread and genuine scares of '28 Days Later,' it is a decent enough little B-movie if you're into your eighties horror films and chooses not to have 'traditional' zombies, in favour of Danny Boyle's 'infected.'

The acting is - at best - average (but you probably wouldn't be expecting Oscar-worthy performances with a film like this!). However, this adds to the movie's charm and you'll know it's from the eighties as soon as the opening theme starts playing.

It may not be the greatest zombie/infected offering, but it's a solid enough entry in the B-movie horror canon. It doesn't break new ground but delivers what it promises: a fun, gory romp that entertains without demanding too much from its audience.