Primeval deserves big props for what has got to be one of the most deceptive marketing campaigns in the history of motion pictures. It's so deceptive that to tell you what the film is really about, seems unfair. Not knowing what this flick is about going in, would probably benefit you the viewer. Alas, because I'm such a movie nerd (and because, like an idiot, I read about it on IMDB), I knew going in the true nature of Primeval. At the risk of pissing the movie going public off, I'm going to lay out the true nature of this movie in this review (as if anyone really cares). If you have no idea what Primeval is really about and you don't want it spoiled, stop reading now. For those who don't give a crap – enjoy.

The coming attraction trailers for Primeval pass the flick off as a true story about of one of the most prolific serial killers of all time. The preview then goes on to show the viewer shots of folks screaming and running as if they were being chased by a Freddy or Jason caliber villain. What the preview doesn't tell you is, that Primeval is actually about . . . a massive killer crocodile. That's right. The serial killer in question is actually a croc.

That in of itself is a riot, but the film gets crazier because, lurking beneath this silly B-monster movie is a political agenda. Yes, this movie dares to delve into the real life nightmare that is genocide. And given that the flick takes place in Africa, perhaps a better title for Primeval would be Hotel Anaconda. No, this flick doesn't really feature snakes (actually, there is one), but it has much in common with a certain J. Lo flick from 1997. It also has a lot in common with a couple of Steven Spielberg movies (most notably Jaws and Jurassic Park). Too bad, this film doesn't generate any real scares or dramatic tension. It's clumsy and poorly directed, and the crocodile scenes look as if they went unfinished due to lack of production funds. I could count the number of times the crocodile actually appears with a person on screen, on one hand.

Having said that, I didn't hate the movie. It's so bizarre in terms of the way it's put together, that I don't know where to begin. But like all great bad movies, it appears to think it's smarter than it actually is.

Of the unimpressive cast, there are a few recognizable faces. Prison Break's Dominic Purcell appears as a journalist who agrees to do a story on the man-eating-croc so that he might save his job. Purcell looks completely dumbfounded throughout the film. Jurgen Prochnow (of Das Boot fame) has the thankless task of playing a low-rent version of Robert Shaw's brilliant role in Jaws. Finally, we have funny man Orlando Jones who provides the film with outbursts of inappropriate humor (at one point, he even blurts; "I hate Africa!" –funny.) At least Jones has the good sense to know that none of this silliness will be taken seriously. The proceedings are so laughable, that the movie isn't even worth being offended by.

Primeval does offer up a few moments of grand gore. In particular, I like a pivotal moment in which a man's head, while in the jaws of the croc, pops like a great big zit. Now that's entertainment.

In the end, Primeval is simply a stupid movie. It treads waters that would even make folks at Troma films scratch their heads. At one point, this film even has the balls to bridge the killer croc and genocide storylines together. Simply hilarious. Primeval's half baked attempt at fusing horror with social commentary, fails miserably. This sort of thing can work in the genre (i.e. I love George A. Romero's shrewd attack on consumerism in the original Dawn of the Dead), but here, it's dead in the water.

I suppose the all out silliness of Primeval makes it better than Steve Miner and David E. Kelley's dull Lake Placid, but it has nothing on the B-movie brilliance that was 1980's Alligator. Oh wait, that was an alligator. This is a crocodile. Whatever. You get the idea.