Curator Watchlist
A scrappy, high-concept B-movie that mostly delivers on its promise of Vietnam War chaos plus dinosaur carnage. The action, creature work, and grindhouse energy seem to be the main draw, while the writing, performances, and pacing are uneven enough that enjoyment will depend on how much you value spectacle over… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Thu · 2h 15m
Director: Luke Sparke
Starring: Ryan Kwanten, Tricia Helfer, Nick Wechsler
During the Vietnam War, a recon unit ventures to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing platoon. They soon find themselves in a fight for their lives against an unexpected enemy — prehistoric dinosaurs.
Luke Sparke
Ryan Kwanten, Tricia Helfer, Nick Wechsler
A scrappy, high-concept B-movie that mostly delivers on its promise of Vietnam War chaos plus dinosaur carnage. The action, creature work, and grindhouse energy seem to be the main draw, while the writing, performances, and pacing are uneven enough that enjoyment will depend on how much you value spectacle over polish.
Primitive War is exactly the kind of premise that can live or die on execution: Vietnam War recon unit, isolated jungle valley, dinosaurs. The good news is that the movie appears to understand the assignment on the spectacle side, leaning into bloody creature attacks, military chaos, and a pulpy survival-movie rhythm that gives it a strong late-night drive-in appeal.
The tradeoff is that the film’s ambitions are bigger than its polish. Reviews suggest the acting and writing can be rough, and the pacing may sag between the set pieces. Still, there’s a real sense of resourceful filmmaking here, with the dinosaur action often punching above its budget and generating the kind of “how is this working?” energy that genre fans love.
If you’re in the mood for a shamelessly high-concept B-movie that wants to be loud, violent, and entertaining more than elegant, this has a decent shot at landing. If you need credibility, nuance, or a genuinely moving war story, it’s probably not the right jungle mission.
Brian (4★) · 709 likes
These Vietnam vets will be suffering later from PTSD...Prehistoric Traumatic Stress Disorder. 😂 I'll see myself out...
tkthetank (2★) · 526 likes
“I’ve been shot man, in dinosaur Vietnam!” The sound design on the T-Rex chomp SENT ME
arossberg (4★) · 495 likes
Legitimately more enjoyable than like the last three Jurassic World movies. Shocked at how good some of these dinos look considering the budget. It’s hard to believe this is an indie Aussie movie at times but Sparke pulls off a lot of magic tricks to make this thing punch way above its weight class. My only complaint would be that it could use some tightening and there are some… questionable… accents, but when the dino action hits it hits hard and this movie enters Dino Crisis territory in the best way.
frejaoneill (3.5★) · 287 likes
if warfare and jurassic world had a baby
Horror Syndrome (3.5★) · 245 likes
An R-Rated Jurassic World with lots of pew pew and dinosaurs viciously eating humans. Hell yes I liked this.
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A cheesy prehistoric adventure with the kind of bargain-bin imagination that genre fans often seek out.
If the appeal is absurdity and monster-movie silliness, this is a knowingly ridiculous companion piece.
Jungle expedition horror with crew dynamics, escalating creature attacks, and a strong B-movie pulse.
A pulp expedition movie with a monster-movie premise, jungle peril, and big-studio adventure energy.
A period survival thriller built around men being hunted in the wild, with a tense, animal-attack structure.
survival, war trauma, creature feature, military mission, jungle horror, prehistoric monsters, B-movie spectacle, body-count action
action horror, war movie, dinosaurs, jungle survival, creature feature, B-movie, gory, pulpy, low-budget spectacle, monster mayhem