Primitive War is the kind of indie movie that shouldn’t exist, yet somehow does. Made by Sparke Films, it’s directed, edited, and VFX’d all by founder Luke Sparke, who seems to have taken on every job except craft services. With a tiny crew of (what appears to be) friends and family, you’d expect a scrappy production where the seams show. The miracle is: they don’t. This thing looks like it cost a fortune.
Based on the novel by Ethan Pettus, the film follows the Vulture Squad, a platoon known for pulling off specialized missions during the Vietnam War. When their commander Jericho (Jeremy Piven, chewing through the role like he’ll never eat again) sends them on a confidential rescue mission into an isolated valley, suspicions run high. Their leader, Sergeant Baker (Ryan Kwanten, True Blood), doesn’t like being kept in the dark, but orders are orders. So, with grumbles and growls, the ragtag crew is dropped in to find two missing soldiers.
Instead, they find dinosaurs!
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Not just one or two for shock value, but a buffet of prehistoric predators. Raptors, T-Rexes, Stegosauruses, the works. The Squad reacts like they’re in a first-person shooter by unloading an apparently bottomless supply of bullets into anything that moves. The bigger dinos – T-Rexes, especially – shrug off the punishment, while the smaller, feathered raptors fall a little easier… until you realize they travel in packs. Lots and lots of packs.
Here’s where things get interesting: Sparke doesn’t just give us your standard-issue Jurassic Park knockoffs. His dinos are modeled on the latest scientific findings: more colorful, layered with feathers, sometimes strikingly birdlike. It’s a bold move that makes them fresh, though occasionally less terrifying. A feathery raptor is scientifically accurate, sure, but when it looks like a six-foot murder chicken, the scare factor is… complicated.
Eventually, two of the Squad stumble upon Sophia (Tricia Helfer, Battlestar Galactica), a Russian paleontologist barely hanging on in a makeshift research facility, numbing her wounds with morphine and sheer willpower. She becomes the film’s exposition machine, explaining the valley’s bizarre secret and helping the men craft a plan to prevent a prehistoric apocalypse.
If you’re looking for layered character work, you won’t find it here. Most of the Squad exists to bark orders, argue, or get eaten. Kwanten and Piven both operate at maximum volume, which can sometimes elicit a giggle or two. Still, Helfer shines, grounding the story with grit, toughness, and enough presence to make you wish the movie had more of her.
Where the film really delivers is spectacle. Wade Muller’s cinematography is gorgeous, showcasing sweeping landscapes and kinetic action. And the dinosaurs? They look shockingly good for an indie production. In fact, the sheer number of creatures on screen might outdo any Jurassic Park or World entry. It’s creature-feature overload in the best way.
But even with all the dino carnage, Primitive War stumbles a bit. At two hours and fifteen minutes, it drags in spots. Suspense is light (though there’s one killer jump scare), and dialogue often gets lost in the actors’ grumbling. Still, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the ambition on display.
What could’ve been a cheesy SyFy Original with a laughable title instead feels like a large-scale monster mash made with real conviction. Primitive War is Platoon meets Jurassic World – a concept so wild you almost can’t believe it works. And for Sparke Films to pull it off with a ragtag crew and indie resources? That’s nothing short of impressive.
It’s not perfect, but it’s fun, fierce, and a reminder that sometimes a scrappy underdog production can punch way above its weight. And really, who doesn’t want to watch battle-hardened soldiers take on dinosaurs in the middle of Vietnam?
Primitive War will open in select theaters on August 21, 2025.
