There tends to be a solid balance between tension and fun when it comes to “man vs. nature” horror flicks and thrillers. It has to do with the notion of taking something that exists in a plausible reality and pushing it to the extreme. One may not believe their eyes when it comes to the violence and mayhem happening, yet still accept it as some level of truth, while also finding time to laugh at something that provides bleak amusement or simply to break the tension. Primate works on these…primal levels. It’s well-constructed suspense rooted in the notion of a family member turning bad for unfortunate yet understandable reasons. The film is also quickly paced and not afraid to make it clear that anyone could succumb to a killer chimp’s rage in a given moment.
Now for some setup – Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) is returning home to Hawaii for summer break, and bringing a couple of friends with her (Victoria Wyant and Jess Alexander). Once at home, Lucy will be reunited with her father (Troy Kotsur), her sister (Gia Hunter), and their pet chimpanzee, Ben. Sadly, it’s not long before Ben has been bitten by a rabid animal, and circumstances have left the girls at home, alone. They barricade themselves in the pool, as Ben can’t swim, but they’ll need more than just that strategy to figure out how to survive this ordeal.
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This film is directed and co-written by Johannes Roberts, who also directed and co-wrote the “When Animals Attack” movies 47 Meters Down and its sequel, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged. With that in mind, while those films are similarly mean, lean, and set in one general location, Primate had a lot more in common with another Roberts-directed horror film – The Strangers: Prey at Night. That 2018 sequel ditched the slick grittiness of Bryan Bertino’s original 2008 effort in favor of an ‘80s-inspired homage to colorful slasher flicks (features an all-timer horror movie pool scene), and worked better than expected. It is also far better than the 2 out of 3 Strangers films so far released as a newly and poorly conceived trilogy reboot, but enough about that series.
While that Strangers film wasn’t written by Roberts and his longtime writing partner, Ernest Riera, the two certainly seemed to take some notes. The elaborate house allows for a variety of ways to ramp up the tension. Every time a character leaves the pool, it makes for a new game of cat-and-mouse, with the production design getting a lot of mileage out of the different moods and color choices that can be used depending on the part of the home they are in. Adrian Johnston’s throwback score similarly adds to the feel of each suspenseful scenario.
Additionally, credit goes to Roberts for deciding to keep things practical. Yes, there’s a welcome aid of digital effects to realize certain moments fully, but Ben is a practical creation, performed superbly by actor and movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba. Given how we’ve seen a variety of ape performances in mo-cap, it was a nice change of pace to see a modern “man in a suit” performance that could use proper filmmaking techniques to convey Ben’s emotions.
That being said, when it comes to rabid animals, obviously, some audiences won’t be able to think of Stephen King’s Cujo, and Roberts is very aware of this. Beyond a couple of clear nods to that story, a hefty dose of gory violence does make its way into this film, speaking to the savage nature of how much rabis can corrupt the mind of a beloved animal in a horror universe. The film is even efficient enough to find quick reasons for audiences to keep watching as more unwitting victims meet their demise at the hands of Ben, alongside our very vulnerable lead characters.
Does one feel like any of these kids deserves to have their heads smashed or jaws ripped off? Of course not, and there could be something to be said about the nasty violence put on display for the sake of satiating a bloodthirsty audience. That said, letting it all out in a mean yet effectively made horror film has a way of being satisfying. Roberts is certainly not advocating for horrible things like this actually to happen, and the film even goes so far as to plainly establish the root cause as unfortunate circumstances, rather than something more nefarious at work.
Again, the nature of pitting an animal or nature against humans can be viscerally satisfying when the effort is achieved successfully. Roberts stages a number of solid horror moments with the sort of professionalism one wants from a genre filmmaker who has been around the block several times. No one in the cast makes egregiously terrible decisions once fully aware of the danger at play, and the actors are all giving what’s needed for a film like this. It’s a shame poor Ben loses his innocence, but I had a good time feeling Ben’s wrath.
Primate opens in theaters on January 9, 2026.
