Movie: Primate (2026)
Production Companies: 18Hz Productions
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Producer(s): Walter Hamada, John Hodges, Bradley Pilz
Directed by: Johannes Roberts
Written by: Johannes Roberts, Ernest Riera
Starring: Johnny Sequoyah, Jess Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Miguel Torres Umba
Review by: Stefano Todaro

There’s a time and a place for B-horror movies, and that’s usually late at night on a streaming service. I’m here to tell you that Johannes Roberts’ Primate deserves to be seen on the big screen with an auditorium full of moviegoers. Primate isn’t accomplishing anything particularly industry-shaking, but what it is doing, it’s doing very well. Given some shaky trailers and a premise that feels too silly for its own good, it’s understandable why even fans of the horror genre might have initially wanted to skip Primate. 

Lucy, played by Johnny Sequoyah, is visiting her home in Hawaii during time off from school. She’s bringing her best friend, Kate (played by Victoria Wyant), along with her. Hannah, played by Jess Alexander, is a surprise addition to the Hawaiian getaway after Kate invited her without Lucy’s knowledge. A beautiful house, a father, a sister, and a pet monkey are all waiting for Lucy in Hawaii. What was supposed to be a relaxing getaway quickly turns into mayhem when Lucy’s pet chimp, Ben, becomes rabid. Lucy, her sister, and her friends must fight for survival while Lucy’s father is away at a work event.

One of Primate’s most brutal kills is in the film’s cold opening, and it’s a sign of what’s to come because Roberts doesn’t hold anything back for the remainder of the run time. Roberts cares enough about his characters to give each of them at least a little weight, but nobody is safe from his monstrous chimpanzee. The uncertainty of when Pete will attack, how he’ll attack, and who he’ll attack builds palpable tension. The sheer amount of suspense is impressive. Not only is suspense built from Ben’s physicality, but it’s built into the structure of the set; it’s a house with numerous rooms and levels, leaving characters exposed at all times. It’s all enveloped in a relentless John Carpenter-esque score from Adrian Johnston. I can only assume Johnston wanted to pay homage to one of horror’s very best composers.

I want to return to my mention of Ben’s physicality, because what’s maybe the most exciting element of Primate is the use of an actor in a suit to bring the titular chimp to life. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Roberts says that Primate was always going to be a practical monster movie and that Cujo was an obvious source of inspiration for him and this project. When we say practical in this instance, we mean that the monster would not be computer-generated, but instead a puppet or a person wearing a suit. After open auditions, they found their Ben in Miguel Torres Umba. Umba’s performance as Ben is so menacing and so chimp-like that it’s astonishing that it is a human wearing a suit. Had Ben been an animated monster and not Umba in a suit, I don’t think the film works nearly as well as it does. The realism in such a silly film heightens the stakes and builds suspense. 

The scale of Primate is small, so if any obvious plot mechanism isn’t revisited or used again in some way, it’d be hard to brush off. The film introduces certain mechanisms and characters that all return or play a part in some way, even if it’s just to provide more blood and gore. One of the film’s most intriguing plot mechanisms is Lucy’s father, played by the amazing Troy Kotsur, being deaf. His lack of hearing contributes to some of the film’s most tense moments and is the reason why much of the film unfolds as it does. 

When it comes to this type of horror film, one that is simply trying to shock and entertain you, there can be a ceiling for quality. In Primate, not all of the acting is great, and some of the dialogue is questionable, but there is also an intentionality to some of that. I’m not trying to make excuses for this film’s quality, but it’s important to understand the subgenre we’re playing in. If a movie like Primate, or other similar horror films (think Alexandre Aja’s Crawl), take themselves too seriously, then it would be more difficult to have a good time.

7/10

By: Stefano Todaro