'Primate' Review
- Connor Petrey
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 16 hours ago
Release Date: 01/09/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Horror.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures.
The Verdict: A Must-See
From the director of the 47 Meters Down films and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City comes the year’s biggest surprise: Primate. Consider this - a slasher with a chimpanzee as the killer. While that premise sounds like the making of a cheap B-movie with little to no value beyond it, that is not the case with Primate. This horror is tense from the jump, always looking for where our titular Ben may be stalking and unaware of just how far he’ll go.
In the first few seconds we are introduced to the concept that this is a film about rabies and the insanity that can transpire when the disease is pumping through an animal's veins. We only have a few glimpses of Ben in his former calm self before he goes full maniac with no regard for those he loves. The film goes from zero to apeshit in no time with some over-the-top gross fatalities.
The anxiety levels are through the roof as more time goes by and hope begins to go out the window. It’s easy to begin squirming in your seat as more people become fodder for Ben to produce more gore with a smile sprawled across his face. What sets things to a whole new level is a brief pan out that showcases just how secluded this residence is, indicating that no matter how loud they scream, help isn’t coming.
What makes Primate so compelling is just how effectively Johannes Roberts was able to make his practical monkey (aka a man in a suit) look so horrifying and surprisingly real. The gore is excellent throughout and the choice to only rarely show the clear result of the carnage is actually more terrifying with some of the brutality left to your imagination.
The film can get darkly comedic with just how far it’ll go and with some of the actions that Ben chooses. Surprisingly this film has an Academy Award winner in one of the leads with Coda’s Troy Kotsur. As a Deaf individual, his use of signing with the fellow members of the house and with Ben can produce some of the funniest moments and interactions. The rest of the cast are younger, lesser known actors as of this release, however they all offer a sense of terror that is natural when a friend becomes a vicious foe. When all is said and done, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more from the film’s lead, Johnny Sequoyah, especially if this gains a cult following or better yet becomes a bonafide hit for the studio.
Being one of the first theatrical films of the year is always a questionable position for any cinemagoer and luckily Primate is a horrific start in the best possible way. This is a film not for the faint of heart as it truly delivers on being both a brutal slasher film and a creature feature with ease - it has no right to go as hard as it does, even more so at the start of the new year.
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