Primal Rage

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_**MORE than just a Sasquatch creature feature and… Casey Gagliardi**_ A woman (Casey Gagliardi) in Northern California picks up her husband (Andrew Joseph Montgomery) from the state penitentiary after 13 months, but they soon find themselves lost in the woods with malevolent hunters on one side and a brutal creature on the other, not to mention a strange hermetic woman who lives in the dark woods. "Primal Rage" (2018), sometimes curiously subtitled “The Legend of Konga,” is a surprisingly well-done Bigfoot flick with authentic forest locations (listed below), a worthy cast of no-names, great creature effects, superb gore and a quality score. Not to mention cowriter/director Patrick Magee doesn’t fail to highlight Casey Gagliardi’s beauty in a tasteful way. The movie is artistic enough to transcend the Sasquatch horror genre. Anyone who appreciates deep forest thrillers, like “The Edge” (1997), “Hold the Dark” (2018) and “Into the Grizzly Maze” (2015), will find a lot to like. The problems, for me, are that (1) the depiction of the smart-aleck hunters is over-exaggerated to the point of taking you from the reality of the film and (2) the story needed more human interest or, at least, depth. For instance, “Sasquatch Mountain,” aka “Devil on the Mountain” (2006), is actually moving despite its low-budget; and “Wendigo” (2001) contains heavy spiritual food-for-thought in its brilliant low-key manner. This picture features a little of both, which is to be respected, but not enough. The ending is on the daft level of the same in “Abominable” (2006), which leaves you with a “Meh” feeling. I’d put it on par with “Exists” (2014), albeit more ambitious and imaginative. You just have to look past the eye-rolling rednecks and the out-of-place stabs at humor (which I didn’t mind so much). The film runs 1 hour, 45 minutes, and was shot in California (Smith River, Big Flat, Canyon Country, Crescent City, Fort Dick, Willow Creek, Santa Clarita & Los Angeles) and Oregon (Selma, Fall River, Cave Junction & Falls City). GRADE: B-