Tube Thursday : Are the gruesome extra features found on “Primeval” ‘ s promotional website eventually going to bite Disney in the butt ?

Jim Hill

17 years ago

How many of you remember “Primeval,” that “R” rated horror flick that Walt Disney Studios released through its seldom-used Hollywood Pictures arm back in January ?

Obviously, this isn’t the sort of movie that Mickey usually makes. But given that a lot of other studios have made an awful lot of money off of (More importantly, been able to launch incredibly lucrative franchises on the backs of ) gruesome little films like “Saw,” Mouse House execs eventually decided to go forward with production of this Michael Katleman project.

Which — FYI — was originally called “Gustave.” Which is the actual name of the real-life saltwater crocodile that inspired this motion picture. This 100-year-amphibian who has reportedly killed over 300 people in the small African nation of Burundi.

Anyway … Disney’s marketing department decided that — if they kept things mysterious & didn’t immediately reveal that this film’s “serial killer” wasn’t actually human, but — rather — a 20-foot-long croc … Well, a gimmick like that might then make their movie seem that much more appealing to “Primeval” ‘s primary target audience. Which was young adult males ages 17-to-24.

Which is why — as you look over all of the pictures & posters that were originally used to help promote the theatrical release of this movie — you’ll notice that there are absolutely no images of Gustave the crocodile. Just the bones of his victims and / or the stars of this film trying to get away from whatever or whomever is just off-camera.

Orlando Jones (left) and Brooke Langton in Hollywood Pictures’ January 2007
release, “Primeval.” Copyright 2007 Hollywood Pictures Company.
All Rights Reserved. Photo by Joe Alblas

Of course, the only problem with a promotional campaign like this is that it can sometimes backfire on you. And that’s exactly what happened with “Primeval.” Disney’s marketing team did such a good job of keeping their horror movie’s villain under wraps that … Well, this film’s intended audience didn’t know what to make of the movie. Which is why they ultimately took a pass on this project.

As a direct result of “Primeval” ‘s mis-managed marketing campaign, this Hollywood Pictures production only sold $10 million worth of tickets during the 8 weeks that it spent in domestic release. Which didn’t even come close to covering the initial costs of this shot-on-location-in-South-Africa film.

So six months later — when it finally came time to release “Primeval” on DVD — Buena Vista Home Entertainment didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes that Hollywood Pictures had made. Which is why BVHE took an entirely different approach with the promotion of this motion picture. This time around, there was no being coy. No “hiding” of the villain. Gustave the crocodile was placed front and center in all of this film’s advertising material.

And notice that this film’s tag line is no longer “Inspired by the true story of the most prolific serial killer in history.” But — rather — “Inspired by the true story of the most bloodthirsty crocodile ever.” Again making sure that would-be consumers knew exactly what this movie was supposed to be about.

Which is all well & good. Except that … Well, given “Primeval” ‘s poor performance at the box office earlier this year, BVHE knew that they were going to have to do something extra in order to catch the attention of the film’s original target audience. You know ? Those easily distracted young adult males ages 17-to-24 ? Which is why this arm of the Walt Disney Company then set up a most unusual website.

“What’s so unusual about the ‘Primeval’ site ?,” you ask. Well, for starters, Buena Vista Home Entertainment insists that you must be at least eighteen years or older before you’re allowed onto this website. I mean, you actually have to confirm your age before you can then gain access to the games & extra features found on this webpage.

“And why is BVHE trying to keep folks 17-and-under away from this particular website ?,” you wonder. Well, for starters, there’s “The Hunt” on-line game. Where you can actually play the role of Gustave. And — according to this game’s description …

” … You have one thing on your mind — To hunt down and destroy your nemesis, the Poacher.

Your mission won’t be an easy one. The Poacher’s well-armed mercenaries stand between you and your prey. Elude their gunfire, but remember, they’ll serve as a perfect snack to keep your energy up ! “

Or — better yet — how about the “Primeval” website’s interactive “Blood Trail” feature ? Which — tying back to that “most prolific serial killer in history” gimmick that Hollywood Pictures initially used to try & promote the theatrical release of this film — presents a map of the not-so-civilized world …

… Where — if you click on all of the little red circles — you can then learn about all-too-human serial killers like Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy.

To be fair, I guess I should stress here that the folks at BVHE didn’t put together this online serial killer guide. Truth be told, this particular feature is a holdover from the website that Hollywood Pictures created late last year to help promote “Primeval” ‘s theatrical release. You can actually see the tab for that site’s “Interactive Trail of Blood” in the upper right hand corner of the image capture below. Just above the skull that’s facing up.

And (Again, I’m just trying to be fair here) let’s remember that we’re talking about a website that was deliberately designed to help promote the sales of a horror movie DVD. A film that makes no bones (Sorry about that) about the fact that “Primeval” received an “R” rating because it features ” … Strong Graphic Violence, Brutality, Terror and Language.”

But — that said … I have to admit that I find it a trifle bizarre that the Walt Disney Company is actually paying for a website that features a “Know Your Serial Killers” guide. Where visitors can also pretend to be a man-eating crocodile and then consume — with blood and body parts flying everywhere — machine-gun-toting mercenaries.

Look, it’s not like Disney hasn’t ever been involved in the production of horror films before. Let’s remember that — back in the late 1990s — the Mouse made tons of money off of that trio of “Scream” movies (Which were produced through the Dimension Films division of the studio’s Miramax Films arm).

And as I watched my review copy of “Primeval” yesterday (Which hit store shelves on June 12th, by the way), I have to admit that I thought that it was a fairly well-put-together horror movie. If you like that sort of thing.

More importantly, I enjoyed the “Crocumentary” portion of this DVD. Which was a featurette that showed all of the various CG & physical effects that the film-makers used in order to help create the illusion that their version of Gustave was the real thing.

But I’m still somewhat troubled by that “Primeval” promotional website. I mean, am I being a prude here ? Or was it really going over the line (in order to help sell this DVD to young adult males ages 17-to-24) to include that “The Hunt” on-line game as well as that “Blood Trail” interactive feature ?

Your thoughts ?