Primer

Play trailer

Primer

PG-13

Released Jan 16, 2004

1h 18m

Drama

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

130 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Intellectual engineers Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) build and sell error-checking technology with the help of their friends Robert (Casey Gooden) and Phillip (Anand Upadhyaya). But when Aaron and Abe accidentally invent what they think is a time machine, Abe builds a version capable of transporting a human and puts the device to the test. As the two friends obsess over their creation, they discover the dark consequences of their actions.

Critics Consensus

Dense, obtuse, but stimulating, Primer is a film for viewers ready for a cerebral challenge.

Read Critics Reviews

Scott Tobias

AV Club

Primer gains its seductive power by leaving the solution tantalizingly out of reach.

Jun 16, 2017

Full Review

Andrew Pulver

Guardian

Primer is off-putting: in trying to be elusive it's simply obstructive.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 16, 2017

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

An exhilarating, disturbing and funny experience.

Jun 16, 2017

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The storytelling is so confusing and the multiple timelines are so numerous that sorting out what exactly unfolds saps all the entertainment value.

Rated: 5/10

Nov 9, 2020

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Certainly there are many flaws with this project, most from a technical standpoint and obviously due to the budget, but despite those shortcomings, Primer still stands out as the most intellectually stimulating film of the year.

Nov 14, 2019

Full Review

Paul Dale

The List

Carruth's downbeat and unique debut feature is something of an anomaly in the low budget U.S. indie filmmaking scene: Played out like a deadpan, almost naturalistic political thriller...

Rated: 4/5

Apr 26, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Prabhu H

Had to stop halfway through. Unpolished dialogues mumbled throughout by all making it difficult to understand what the heck they are talking about. Movie made in 2004, yet looks like the entire production time travelled to the 70s by the looks of it. Looks like they used a camcorder with props, clothes and everything else bought from a thrift store. Worth a skip ...

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/20/25

Full Review

Rock H

Primer is what happens when two mid-level IT guys stumble into a time loop and decide to whisper through the whole movie so no one can tell they’re bullshitting. The science feels like it was cribbed from a C+ science fair project, and the dialogue is like watching 11th graders act out a fantasy of what smart people sound like. If you’re into cardboard pacing, mumbled jargon, and zero emotional stakes, buckle up. Everyone else—go rewatch The Langoliers and enjoy actual cosmic dread. Normally on RT I align with audience scores (popcornometer). This time I don’t. And I can’t even imagine why this has a 79% 🍿rating. 🤷🏼‍♂️ If you asked me without looking, I’d guess it had a 13% 🍿

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/09/25

Full Review

Dan P

The only way is would use the word “cerebral” to describe this smug, waxing poetic, existential melodrama, is that its head is buried so far up its own ass it reached its brain.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/17/25

Full Review

Mikael H

I’m sure I would like it a heck of a lot more if I could understand how it all worked

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/13/25

Full Review

Sayan B

I love everything about this Movie. Two accidental Time Travellers : Engineers Aaron and Abe accidentally invent a time-travel "box" that sends objects minutes into the past or future. Human-Sized Duplication: They scale up the device, creating larger boxes and using them to duplicate themselves as "fail-safes" for experiments. Fractured Trust & Paradoxes: Exploiting time travel for profit, their trust erodes as paradoxes emerge from multiple versions of themselves interfering with events. Escalating Temporal Chaos: The timeline becomes a mess of duplicates and confrontations as Aaron manipulates past events, leading to a crucial "failsafe" intervention. Divergent Paths: Aaron, aiming to control events and correct mistakes, builds a new, advanced machine and leaves, while Abe is left to deal with the chaotic aftermath. I loved this film 📽️ ❤️

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/26/25

Full Review

Austin D

It's a true achievement to take a plot device so interesting and create such a boring film out of it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/21/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Shane Carruth

Director

Shane Carruth

Aaron

David Sullivan

Abe

Casey Gooden

Robert

Anand Upadhyaya

Phillip

Carrie Crawford

Kara

The X-Files

66%

72%

The X-Files

Watchlist

Eva

50%

65%

Eva

Watchlist

Fire in the Sky

52%

57%

Fire in the Sky

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fire in the Sky

Another Earth

66%

66%

Another Earth

Watchlist

The Final Cut

37%

45%

The Final Cut

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Intellectual engineers Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) build and sell error-checking technology with the help of their friends Robert (Casey Gooden) and Phillip (Anand Upadhyaya). But when Aaron and Abe accidentally invent what they think is a time machine, Abe builds a version capable of transporting a human and puts the device to the test. As the two friends obsess over their creation, they discover the dark consequences of their actions.

Director: Shane Carruth
Producer: Shane Carruth
Screenwriter: Shane Carruth
Distributor: ThinkFilm
Production Co: ERBP
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Language)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 16, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $424.8K
Runtime: 1h 18m

Most Popular at Home Now