1x09 The Night Feeder

[7.2/10] This one was a little too slow and quiet, even for me. I like the idea for this one (or what I take to be the idea of this one), namely doing a slasher movie in the context of the prehistoric era. A lot of Primal so far has been taking horror concepts and translating them to the time of dinosaurs. That gives the show a unique flavor, but it doesn’t really work as well here. While there’s merit in attempting something like Halloween or even Jaws, and not showing us the killer except through POV shots, there’s just not enough incident to justify the half hour.

There is something cool, at least in terms of the idea, of seeing the results of the titular Night Feeder’s handiwork without actually seeing how it happens. For a while, it creates a nice build, but we don’t get to the reveal soon enough. Likewise, there’s some emotional juice to Spear wanting to go help when he hears other creatures crying in pain, only for Fang to stop him, sensing the danger of what’s out there. But it’s just a little smidgeon of something in an episode that largely drags.

Once we get to the actual fight, things pick up a bit. There’s tension as Spear and Fang try to make their way through the jungle knowing that their predator is looming in the darkness. The realization that fie is a deterrent is a good one too, creating a plausible reason for our heroes to escape beyond just better fighting prowess.

But the look of it is off and a little too different for the show. While the POV shots are good in general, there was something that almost looked like low-quality CGI to being behind the killer’s eyes while looking at columns of fire. That said, the ultimate glimpse we get of the dino burning up is cool, albeit a little disturbing.

Overall, this is a lesser light for the show, albeit one that tries for a cool concept even if it comes up short.