‘Primate’ Review – Killer Chimp Horror Movie Delivers White Knuckle Thrills [Fantastic Fest]

In Stephen King’s Cujo, a family’s beloved pet St. Bernard turns homicidal and traps a mother and son in their car after catching rabies. In director Johannes Roberts’ Primate, it’s a pet chimpanzee who succumbs to the ruthless disease, and the car gets traded for the family’s swimming pool. Yet Roberts’ old school techniques, complete with stunning practical effects, and nail-biting suspense, ensure this animal attack feature has real bite.

After one poorly placed cold open that teases just how gnarly the killer chimp’s attacks will be, Primate introduces college student Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) as she departs for home in Hawaii after staying away for far too long. With friends in tow, Lucy reunites with her Deaf father, played by Academy Award winner Troy Kotsur, her younger sister, and the beloved Ben, the adorable chimp who’s already been bitten before Lucy’s arrival. Once dad heads out for a business trip, it doesn’t take long before Ben turns and the body count mounts along with the animal’s vicious rage.

Roberts, who co-wrote the script with Ernest Riera, spends enough time setting up the characters to ensure their brutal dispatching has impact, and that’s before you factor in just how dangerously strong a chimpanzee really is. Once the slayings begin, Roberts rolls out an intense roller coaster of horror, building taut tension that’s only relieved by a burst of gory violence. All of the character conflicts and backgrounds fly out the window once survival becomes paramount, though that’s not to this film’s detriment in this case.

Primate offers no frills intensity; the story is simple and straightforward by design. So much so that many plot or character details get dropped to streamline the terror. And Roberts delivers on the horror. Ben is practical, spectacularly crafted by Millennium FX, and played by movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba. The chimp’s quick but potent transformation from sweet pet to terrifying monster serves as the film’s biggest asset, enhanced by chilling shot composition and expert pacing that tests even the steeliest of nerves.

At its core, Roberts’ latest is a lean, mean horror throwback, wearing its influences on its sleeves while managing to inject enough freshness into the familiar concept through slick technical precision and a constant mounting of dread and death. It’s also not without humor. Primate may take its crazed beast with utmost seriousness, but it’s not afraid to get playful with its concept either. 

That the horror takes precedence means that some of the plot unravels the more you dwell on it, and it’s perhaps a bit over simplistic to the point of nearly switching allegiances to root for the rabid chimp, but Primate more than achieves its purpose as an edge-of-your-seat experience. Roberts ups the ante on his previous creature features, 47 Meters Down and its sequel, with more style, energetic set pieces, and one impressive killer chimp.

Sequoyah does make for a winsome enough heroine to maintain the high-stakes survival thrills, but the true star here is Ben, and the stunning creature performance and practical effects that bring him to life. Primate may not ultimately impress for originality, but as an old school animal attack creature feature, it’s an adrenaline rush of fun. 

Primate made its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest and releases in theaters on January 9, 2026.

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