Primal (2016) aka ‘Well’ - The jury's still out on this one

The credits have finally rolled and I can't make my mind up about whether I liked 'Well' or not.  I must confess that I have been getting more than a little tired about the 'formula' where hero gets powers and saves the world after defeating a villain with similar superpowers.

Lately, I've been crying out for a story have isn't a remake of something - meaning I know where it's going to go because I read the comic back in the nineties.  And this is it.  I didn't know what to expect and the fact that it was in among the 'horror' films, I thought there might even be an evil beastie hunting the protagnonists, but the story featured nothing like that.

It's about a mother who drops her deadbeat adult son off at his father's gas station in the middle of Eastern Europe,  The son hasn't seen his dad since he was little and he gets hardly any time to get to know him because gangsters and prostitutes soon gate crash and demand him hand over something he'd clearly stolen from them.

So there's plenty of tension between the various parties, as the van the thugs arrive in breaks down there and they have to stay at the gas station for a few nights.

Ultimately, what you have here is the simple definition of a 'slow burn,' Boy, is it slow.  Not to say that things are always hard to see, or even that nothing happens.  People come and go and as the scenes go by we do get a better idea as to what our characters are all about.  But you may be crying out for some sort of action.  I hate to disappoint, but you don't get any.  There are no stylised action scenes, hordes of computer-generated monsters or high octane car chases in sports cars.  There's a bit of gun play near the end if you've stuck it out that long, but that's about all you'll get.

The violence and decisions the characters make are actually quite toned down and sensible.  No one tales a hundred punches and keeps fighting.  Once someone is hurt, they're hurt and better pray no one goes for them white they're weak.

If you're looking for anything vaguely fast-paced, or the snappy banter of a Guy Ritchie/Tarrantino movie then you won't find what you're looking for here.  But if you're ready for something a lot more slow paced and just a little more thoughtful, this could be worth a watch.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that