Joey Magidson
If you’ve ever been horrified at stories of pet chimpanzees mauling humans, well…Primate is not for you. Or, maybe it is? Imagine that instantly memorable scene in Nope, just extended for 89 minutes, and that’s what this film is. It’s not high art and it’s nothing to go ape over, but given what we’re usually served at the start of January, this horror movie is above average, if not better.
Primate is basically a slasher flick, just with Ben the chimp instead of Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees. The longer things go, the more Ben becomes a movie monster, but at the start, he’s a cuddly family member, then a confused animal suffering from rabies. Things get pretty dumb by the end, but for lizard brain horror, with some fun practical gore, it’s hard to argue that this doesn’t do exactly what it promises.
Ben the Chimpanzee was once part of a hugely successful linguistics study. However, after the scientist in question passes away from cancer, he now lives in Hawaii with her husband Adam (Troy Kotsur) and his daughters, Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) and Erin (Gia Hunter). Lucy has returned home after a long absence, taking her friend Kate (Victoria Wyant) on a vacation. Tagging along are Kate’s brother Nick (Benjamin Cheng), as well as her friend Hannah (Jess Alexander). Ben is delighted to have his family back, though as we see in the opening sequence, something is very wrong with him.
Bitten by a rabid mongoose, Ben quickly gets sick, turning more and more aggressive. Soon, he’s violent, murdering anyone who gets close to him. With Adam on a work trip, Ben is left alone with Lucy and company, quickly turning their house into a bloody mess. The higher the body count, the more savage Ben gets, until he’s literally taunting them. Is it silly? Of course. Is it also effective in its own gory way? You bet.
The cast are very much in horror movie mode here, give or take Troy Kotsur, who is doing a version of his CODA performance. The actual highlight is Miguel Torres Umba, who plays Ben, alongside some impressive animatronics. He gives the chimp real life, both when he’s cuddly, as well as when he turns cruel. Johnny Sequoyah is ostensibly the lead, but there’s not really anything here in the way of character development, so it’s just a matter of being a final girl/scream queen, which she’s fairly solid at. Rounding out the cast, in addition to Sequoyah’s co-stars, are Charlie Mann and Tienne Simon, among others.
Director and co-writer Johannes Roberts (working with his frequent collaborator Ernest Riera) puts forth his best effort behind the camera to date, which admittedly isn’t saying a ton, but shouldn’t dissuade you from this flick. Primate is gloriously stupid at times, but when Roberts shows Ben ripping a face off or tearing someone’s jaw apart, it’s hard not to get a dark kick out of it. Plus, Roberts knows not to overstay his welcome. Despite a first act that only features one moment of actual terror, he manages to have the film run under 90 minutes. More of that please. Hopefully 2026 is the year of short movies, though I know it won’t be. One can dream, right?
Primate is better than you’d expect for an early January release. Is that high praise? No, not really. Still, fright flick fans are going to enjoy the bloody antics of Ben. As long as you don’t expect the horror wheel to be reinvented, you’re likely to have fun with this gore fest. Just make sure you keep your distance next time you come across a chimpanzee, since you never know…
SCORE: ★★★
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