There’s no point in burying the lede here. “Primate” is straight up apeshit. A creature feature that evokes the horror greats like John Carpenter and Stephen King and makes no apologies for its nastiness. Hilariously silly and downright terrifying in equal measure, it delivers exactly the kind of movie you’d expect if you’re willing to sit down and watch a killer chimp murder humans for a brisk 89 minutes. For all the faults of that premise – who in the world still has a chimp as a pet in 2026? – none of them really matter by the time the monkey mayhem begins. This film knows itself well and rather than try to overexplain things and make sense of its own nonsense, it instead asks you sit down, shut up, and enjoy the ride.
There’s a lot to appreciate here from writer/director Johannes Roberts, who smartly builds with filmmaking blocks we don’t see nearly enough. “Primate” keeps its premise simply, its violence gnarly, its runtime lean and mean, and its effects practical. All filmmaking choices that elevate the entertainment value without the need to bog it down with thematic richness. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for “the monkey was actually a metaphor for grief” elevated horror genre. But sometimes you just want a rabid monkey to be just that; a rabid monkey on the hunt for human carnage. It’s a tight, 0 fat 89 minutes that gets in and out quickly, just long enough to enjoy the ride without lingering too long you start asking questions.
And you really shouldn’t, because it isn’t interested in answering them. The characters are paper thin on purpose, with protagonists like Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) and best friend Hannah (Jessica Alexander) being indistinguishable from a myriad of final girls or family reuniting after some time away. Even Academy award winner Troy Kotsur as the father is largely undefined, his job as a famous author barely even whispered with any exposition. It is actually better for this, and we know very early on that the bodies exist to hit the floor when shit starts popping off. We spend no time whatsoever meandering around trying to give people depth or trauma bonding. Instead, we get to the house, something’s wrong with their pet monkey Ben (an incredibly physical Miguel Torres Umba) and before anyone can figure it out he’s gone mad with rabies and starts violently killing anything he sees.
“Primate” gets right to it and never lets go once it has its grip on you. Roberts seems to have learned a lot about effective and entertaining filmmaking, utilizing slow pans that scan dark settings, noting the surroundings to clue the audiences in on the possibilities for what’s next, and using a deaf actor for some impeccable sound design. There’s a chilling scene where Kotsur arrives at the house in the middle of the madness but because he is deaf he has no idea his chimp is terrorizing everyone and Roberts relishes in playing with this dynamic a bit.
It sports some pretty excellent practical effects, too. Umba’s monkey is really well designed and looks about as good as you can make a guy in a monkey suit look. These practical effects heighten everything and make it easier to suspend disbelief and feel true terror whenever we zoom in on its drooling, nasty snarl or mischievous grin right before it’s about to bash someone’s face in . Also some of the most violent, in-camera kills I’ve seen in a long time and reminded me how much I miss seeing creation onscreen. Ripped off mandibles, rocks bashing heads, snapping limbs; “Primate” has it all and more and takes every step it can towards the extreme.
There’s a digital version of this with a CGI monkey and digitalized brutality that can make the case for being the worst streaming slop you can find in the depths of Prime Video. The film works overtime to narrowly avoid those pitfalls, walking a tight rope between ridiculousness and terror and succeeding at both quite often thanks to to its taut pacing and smart use of filmmaking craft. I know it’s hard to believe, but I DO like fun things and sometimes a fun, dumb, creature feature like this is exactly the kind of film I need in my life.
You’ll laugh, you’ll scream, you’ll look away, you’ll jump. Hell, you may roll your eyes a few times – I certainly did during a particular scene involving a set of car keys – but no matter what, “Primate” does the one thing it’s suppose to do and that’s be entertaining. It is pure, unadulterated monkey business, owning every part of its wacky premise and giving you exactly what you asked for every chance it gets.
“Primate” is a blast, and worth seeing in a theater with a big crowd. Movies don’t always have to mean something. Sometimes they can just be popcorn fun and that works so long as the film itself knows that that’s what it is trying to be. Add a layer of strong craft work and you’ve got yourself an unhinged, no holds barred, violent flick. And that’s a pretty good way to spend an evening at the theater.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find out why an actress who looks like she could be related to Lily James is named Johnny.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Primate” is in theaters January 9th. You can watch the trailer below.
