Prime (2025)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

When Claire (Katie Mumford), a trauma survivor, arrives at a utopian farming community, she quickly realizes that there is more to these homesteaders that have welcomed her in than she may have initially realized. Prime is an analysis of human tendencies as well as the risks that come with confronting your past. 

Visually, Prime is one of the most grotesque, yet equally stunning films that I’ve seen so far this year. It blends a strange combination of enigmatic, visceral, and hyperreal visuals that effectively express Claire’s past, present, and future emotional states. The vast, yet equally confined filming locations push and pull at viewers and insert them into the story and into the mind of the struggling Claire. There’s so much to be seen in the background of the film, and yet it all feels unreachable—mirroring the sentiment that is ever present in Prime. 

Nearly every bit of Prime lends itself to setting the tone and ensuring that it remains tonally balanced throughout. A sense of unease exists in nearly every moment of Prime, and that comes in the form of the acting, the dialogue, and, again, the set. As the narrative slowly, but consistently moves forward, the mystery surrounding Claire’s current predicament grows stronger, and the intensity that is ingrained in every fiber of this film along with it. As the film intensifies, questions are slowly answered, but questions continue to arise as well—similar to the ebb and flow of the rest of the film. 

What Writer-Director Meagan Coyle is able to so brilliantly accomplish is to create a film that is oddly balanced. The film is both vast and confined, aggressive and subtle, otherworldly and grounded. Every ounce of Prime contradicts itself in the best way, allowing the film to become well rounded, powerful, and easily accessible. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a film quite like Prime, a film that manages to be so many things and still has a clear identity. 

Existing in the same vein as 2019’s Midsommar, Prime is an eerily relevant, and horrifyingly grounded venture into the world of cultist behaviors, still finding a place of its own in this ever growing world of cinema. Visually appealing, Prime immerses viewers in this tedious world of simplicity and pretension from start to finish, and it’s ultimately the impeccable balancing act that allows this to happen. 

Written & Directed by Meagan Coyle. 

Starring Katie Mumford, Anita Durst, Michele Farbman, etc. 

8.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING