Primate review (2026)
Primate is a relatively smart horror film that gets pummeled by a series of poor choices to make for a very uncomfortable gorefest.
In fairness, the opening act provides plenty of clarity for what’s in store as the tone-setting first kill features a character getting their face peeled off. Director/co-writer Johannes Roberts (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City) isn’t going for subtlety at any point in Primate, but more restraint in letting viewers’ imagination tell more of the horror really could have pushed the film to a can’t miss level.
Sometimes filmmakers accomplish more by not showing everything — see the far more haunting opening act of Jordan Peele’s Nope. Primate had strong potential to be a great horror film, but the level of gratuitous violence places it closer to a Saw-style effort than even a base level 90s slasher.
Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera helpfully explain the catalyst for the mayhem to follow in Primate is an unexpected encounter with rabies. This almost feels like providing too much information early on as it gets addressed later on in the film in a manner that would have been far more impactful with no heads up what was playing out.
Following the death of her mother from cancer, Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah), hasn’t been home in a while, but now she’s ready to make her overdue homecoming. Also making the return flight back to Hawaii is her best friend Kate (Victoria Wyant) and their friend, Hannah (Jess Alexander). Initially, Hannah seems like she’s going to be that problem character since she’s not BFFs with Lucy, but she’s an engaging character in this mix.
Lucy reconnects with her father, Adam (Troy Kotsur, CODA) and sister, Erin (Gia Hunter) and the final member of the household, Ben, the chimpanzee who Lucy’s mother worked closely with for her linguistics studies.
For Primate, Roberts doesn’t go the expected route and just create Ben via CGI. Instead, Miguel Torres Umba plays Ben via practical effects, a commendable and impressive gesture given how the norm now is to lean as much on CGI help as much as possible.
The ensemble offers better than “good enough for a horror movie” performances, helping to elevate Primate from bottom tier shlock with Sequoyah, Wyant and Alexander in particular standing out.
MORE:
- Misdirection review (2026)
- Crime 101 review (2026)
- Standout: The Ben Kjar Story review (2026)
- Space Ghost vol 2 8 review – Dynamite Entertainment
With Adam heading out to an evening book signing, the girls have a relatively tame party — for teenage girls. Kate’s brother, Nick (Benjamin Cheng) returns with a joint, and the girls playfully call up the guys they met on the plane. Since Roberts and Riera already tip they’re hand, viewers know exactly what’s wrong with Ben when he starts acting a little off. Primate initially shows smart characters, who make the right decisions when Ben gets more aggressive.
That’s key since rabid Ben is pretty terrifying as far as horror movie villains go. By the halfway point of Primate, it’s clear Roberts and Riera back themselves into a corner. The characters are too smart to make the kind of idiotic decisions that get teens killed in horror movies and Ben is too smart to make things easy for them to survive.
Naturally something has to give otherwise Primate would be stuck in a standstill. In this case, the teens are forced to be the ones to make the questionable decisions simply to keep the film progressing. This is where the film becomes frustrating.
For a more cerebral horror film, Roberts unfortunately opts to go far too indulgent with the violence. In the standard horror film with obnoxious teens that’s fine, but the characters don’t do anything to warrant the awful deaths levied against them. Roberts’ instincts don’t serve him well here as the gory deaths are more uncomfortable to watch than terrifying.
Beyond the drooling and fits of rage, Ben acts more like a calculating psycho than a rabid animal. This raises the level of discomfort since Ben is choosing hyper violence instead of quickly destroying his prey.
He stalks the teens and seems to enjoy cruelly and savagely killing them in horrifying ways like ripping one victim’s jaw off. It’s a tad problematic when the rabid animal is more sadistic than Jigsaw since Ben doesn’t have a problem doing the dirty work himself.
Some horror films have no shot right from the start, but Primate is different. It’s just a few storytelling decisions and a more subtle approach to the kills away from being a truly great thriller.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
Pre-order Primate on Blu-Ray now at Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.