Primer (2004)

I saw someone mention this movie in a thread and it caught my eye. I searched the forum but couldn't find the discussion, which is weird because the movie is phenomenal.
Honestly, I watched it once and didn't grasp everything. Planning to watch it again and do some digging, but I'm curious to hear what everyone here thinks.
After that first viewing, it feels like certain scenes were intentionally left out so we have to fill in the blanks ourselves. Most of all, I was struck by the chills I got halfway through—that scene where they're being followed by a car. I can't remember the last time a movie gave me that kind of dread and suspense.

Overall, I highly recommend it. It’s a brilliant example of how to pull off a sci-fi concept with a tiny budget, minimal characters, and few locations. I love movies and shows about time travel and shifting perspectives. It's great that you don't know who the good guys or the bad guys are until the end. The non-linear timeline makes it tricky to follow, which might turn some people off, but if you stick with it, it pays off big time. At the very least, you'll want to rewatch it or dive into forums to make sense of it.

For those who've seen it, are there any similar, maybe more obscure films I missed? I thought I'd seen most of the classics in this genre, then suddenly I stumble upon this one from 2004. I'm six years late to the party! 😁

Going to do some thinking and maybe sketch out some diagrams to clear my head. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the comments. Feel free to spoil.

Edward Price6 said:I saw someone mention this movie in a thread and it caught my eye. I searched the forum but couldn't find the discussion, which is weird because the movie is phenomenal.
Honestly, I watched it once and didn't grasp everything. Planning to watch it again and do some digging, but I'm curious to hear what everyone here thinks.
After that first viewing, it feels like certain scenes were intentionally left out so we have to fill in the blanks ourselves. Most of all, I was struck by the chills I got halfway through—that scene where they're being followed by a car. I can't remember the last time a movie gave me that kind of dread and suspense.

Overall, I highly recommend it. It’s a brilliant example of how to pull off a sci-fi concept with a tiny budget, minimal characters, and few locations. I love movies and shows about time travel and shifting perspectives. It's great that you don't know who the good guys or the bad guys are until the end. The non-linear timeline makes it tricky to follow, which might turn some people off, but if you stick with it, it pays off big time. At the very least, you'll want to rewatch it or dive into forums to make sense of it.

For those who've seen it, are there any similar, maybe more obscure films I missed? I thought I'd seen most of the classics in this genre, then suddenly I stumble upon this one from 2004. I'm six years late to the party! 😁

Going to do some thinking and maybe sketch out some diagrams to clear my head. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the comments. Feel free to spoil.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480669/ 🤷
Most of the ones I can think of are way too mainstream, like Donnie Darko, so you probably already saw those. 🙂

Thanks! I've already seen all of those. A few times, actually.
Cronocrimenes is easily in my top 5 movies.

The Jacket
The Machinist
Pi
Jacob's Ladder
The Jacket The Machinist pi Jacob's Ladder Ink triangl
triangl
session 9 Identity The Butterfly Effect Final ( 2001 ) Stay Frequency
Identity
The Butterfly Effect
session 9 Identity The Butterfly Effect Final ( 2001 ) Stay Frequency
Stay
session 9 Identity The Butterfly Effect Final ( 2001 ) Stay Frequency

Quote : Michael Ortiz68

Michael Ortiz68 said:The Jacket
The Machinist
Pi
Jacob's Ladder
The Jacket The Machinist pi Jacob's Ladder Ink triangl
triangl
session 9 Identity The Butterfly Effect Final ( 2001 ) Stay Frequency
Identity
The Butterfly Effect
session 9 Identity The Butterfly Effect Final ( 2001 ) Stay Frequency
Stay
session 9 Identity The Butterfly Effect Final ( 2001 ) Stay Frequency

Awesome! Thanks. I haven't seen some of these yet, but the others are fantastic! Especially triangl and Identity.

Not every flick deals with time travel, but they’re all solid. Most of them either force you to really strain your brain or deliver a killer twist at the end. I’m betting you’ve seen most of these, but if there's one you missed, consider this a recommendation. As for Primer, honestly, I don't think anyone actually wraps their head around that one on the first watch.

eXistenZ
The 13th Floor
Identity
Lost Highway
Memento
Dark City
The Number 23
The Nines

Dennis Doyle3 said:Not every flick deals with time travel, but they’re all solid. Most of them either force you to really strain your brain or deliver a killer twist at the end. I’m betting you’ve seen most of these, but if there's one you missed, consider this a recommendation. As for Primer, honestly, I don't think anyone actually wraps their head around that one on the first watch.

eXistenZ
The 13th Floor
Identity
Lost Highway
Memento
Dark City
The Number 23
The Nines

Seen them all except The Number 23 since I heard it's bad. And Lost Highway looks interesting. If I get the time...
Thanks.

Everything you need to know is laid out in detail right here—I honestly don't get why anyone would bother drawing up diagrams or whatever blup. Anyway, the movie is a total masterpiece, truly ☕

Edward Price6 said:Seen them all except The Number 23 since I heard it's bad. And Lost Highway looks interesting. If I get the time...
Thanks.

Personally, I thought The Number 23 was actually pretty solid.🤷
I don't think the massive critical backlash was definitely deserved.

Edward Price6 said:Seen them all except The Number 23 since I heard it's bad. And Lost Highway looks interesting. If I get the time...
Thanks.

The Number 23 isn't a bad movie at all. And you absolutely have to watch Lost Highway. Seriously, if nothing else, it’s worth it just for one of the most intense scenes ever put on film (featuring Bill Pullman and Robert Blake).

Edward Price6 said:I saw someone mention this movie in a thread and it caught my eye. I searched the forum but couldn't find the discussion, which is weird because the movie is phenomenal.
Honestly, I watched it once and didn't grasp everything. Planning to watch it again and do some digging, but I'm curious to hear what everyone here thinks.
After that first viewing, it feels like certain scenes were intentionally left out so we have to fill in the blanks ourselves. Most of all, I was struck by the chills I got halfway through—that scene where they're being followed by a car. I can't remember the last time a movie gave me that kind of dread and suspense.

Overall, I highly recommend it. It’s a brilliant example of how to pull off a sci-fi concept with a tiny budget, minimal characters, and few locations. I love movies and shows about time travel and shifting perspectives. It's great that you don't know who the good guys or the bad guys are until the end. The non-linear timeline makes it tricky to follow, which might turn some people off, but if you stick with it, it pays off big time. At the very least, you'll want to rewatch it or dive into forums to make sense of it.

For those who've seen it, are there any similar, maybe more obscure films I missed? I thought I'd seen most of the classics in this genre, then suddenly I stumble upon this one from 2004. I'm six years late to the party! 😁

Going to do some thinking and maybe sketch out some diagrams to clear my head. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the comments. Feel free to spoil.

So, I finally sat down to watch this today because someone recommended it, and I was actually hanging out with the person who told me about it! Since we kept pausing to chat about the big moments, I followed the plot pretty easily on the first pass, but honestly, if I’d been watching solo, I probably would’ve had to rewatch it by tomorrow just to wrap my head around everything. Either way, I’m definitely planning a rewatch soon to really soak in all the details I might have missed. 😁

I'm with them on this one. Such an awesome low-budget gem.

Highly recommend it to anyone who loves a movie that actually makes you use your brain.

EDIT: Just checked Wikipedia—the budget was only $7,000. Hard to believe, right? 👍 props to the film and the director

It’s been ages since I watched this, so I went looking for the thread.

A total masterpiece.
The concept is brilliant and executed with incredible precision. After the credits rolled, I spent hours reading up on it just to wrap my head around how the entire system works. It’s genius without feeling overblown or pretentious. 😁

My only gripe is that it can be a bit of a struggle to follow because of all the heavy technical jargon.

Quote : Michael Ortiz68

Austin Rodriguez5 said:It’s been ages since I watched this, so I went looking for the thread.

A total masterpiece.
The concept is brilliant and executed with incredible precision. After the credits rolled, I spent hours reading up on it just to wrap my head around how the entire system works. It’s genius without feeling overblown or pretentious. 😁

My only gripe is that it can be a bit of a struggle to follow because of all the heavy technical jargon.

A little tipsy right now.
But I recall you giving that movie a thumbs up over on Looper.
Honestly, this movie is a total indie gem. I'd definitely recommend it to any sci-fi fans out there.
By the way, just an idea.
Imagine watching this movie while you're buzzed. It would be quite an experience.
Might be worth a shot. Seems like it could be great.

Basically, it just proves what I was saying back during Prometheus.
I'm honestly gravitating more and more toward movies where you have to fill in the blanks yourself. You brought this topic back from the dead, Austin Rodriguez5, so I went back and read my very first post. Everything else just feels monotonous and exhausting lately. I’d definitely recommend checking out the Triangle thread—there were some great discussions there—and Cronocrimenes, which I think I actually started myself. Maybe Exam, too. It's a shame these kinds of films aren't more mainstream.
Basically, I'm about to go rewatch Triangl.
I'm really in the mood right now.
I'm pretty much a legend at this point.
Cheers!

Edward Price6 said:Quote : Michael Ortiz68

A little tipsy right now.
But I recall you giving that movie a thumbs up over on Looper.
Honestly, this movie is a total indie gem. I'd definitely recommend it to any sci-fi fans out there.
By the way, just an idea.
Imagine watching this movie while you're buzzed. It would be quite an experience.
Might be worth a shot. Seems like it could be great.

Basically, it just proves what I was saying back during Prometheus.
I'm honestly gravitating more and more toward movies where you have to fill in the blanks yourself. You brought this topic back from the dead, Austin Rodriguez5, so I went back and read my very first post. Everything else just feels monotonous and exhausting lately. I’d definitely recommend checking out the Triangle thread—there were some great discussions there—and Cronocrimenes, which I think I actually started myself. Maybe Exam, too. It's a shame these kinds of films aren't more mainstream.
Basically, I'm about to go rewatch Triangl.
I'm really in the mood right now.
I'm pretty much a legend at this point.
Cheers!

I don't think Primer would work well with alcohol; it would simply be too difficult to follow.😁

But I agree, I also prefer films that give you the chance to fill in the gaps and form your own vision of everything.

To me, Primer was fascinating because of the concept and how it handled time travel. It was totally minimalist, and it's actually quite easy to apply that idea to a modern context since it doesn't rely on heavy technology.
Everything is explained very well, yet despite that, I spent hours after watching it scouring various forums and websites dedicated to the film. A true indie gem.

I'll add Triangle and Cronocrimenes to my list.
I've seen Exam, but in my opinion, it's just a weaker clone of The Cube. Especially because of the ending.

I totally agree that you need at least a basic grasp of math and physics to really wrap your head around some of these movies, which is exactly why I couldn't even make it to the end of this one. Speaking of which, has anyone here actually sat through eXistenZ? I know what kind of filmmaker we're dealing with—Cronenberg definitely has his absolute gems, but he’s also thrown out some pretty mediocre stuff over the years. It seems like people either absolutely despise this movie or they're hailing it as a masterpiece, so I'm wondering... is it actually worth my time?

brightseal3 said:I totally agree that you need at least a basic grasp of math and physics to really wrap your head around some of these movies, which is exactly why I couldn't even make it to the end of this one. Speaking of which, has anyone here actually sat through eXistenZ? I know what kind of filmmaker we're dealing with—Cronenberg definitely has his absolute gems, but he’s also thrown out some pretty mediocre stuff over the years. It seems like people either absolutely despise this movie or they're hailing it as a masterpiece, so I'm wondering... is it actually worth my time?

It’s worth it. Between Videodrome and Shivers, this stands as one of the most powerful pieces Cronenberg has ever done.
You should check out Shivers too.

The first thirty minutes of 77 are just mirrors—how long can anyone actually sit through that? I honestly died of boredom and had to turn it off. Life is far too short to spend it being this bored, don't you think?☕

Low budget, solid concept though. You can definitely see the potential in the story, and I think it could’ve been way more engaging if they hadn't gone so cheap on the production side, but... honestly? It was just incredibly dull to me. There wasn't even a hint of atmosphere. The only thing that kind of hits is the premise, but overall, it felt pretty lackluster. 3/10