If Nope or the Planet of the Apes trilogy didn’t make you fear chimps, Primate certainly will. Johannes Roberts’ new horror film follows a group of friends vacationing in Hawaii when Ben, the pet chimp of one of the girls, is bitten by a rabid animal. The infection turns him from a docile companion into a relentless killer, and soon the group is forced to hide in a pool while the creature circles above, waiting for any chance to strike.
The idea came to Roberts while watching a dog circle a pool, which led him to imagine how much scarier it would be with a chimp. He was right. Smaller than humans but five times stronger, a chimp carries a natural intimidation that is both physical and psychological. Its human-like expressions, gestures, and hands make its intelligence believable, so the film never loses credibility, even as Ben starts moving and thinking like a hunter.
Roberts wastes no time proving that no character is safe and turns the chimpanzee into a terrifying force of nature. His attacks are fast, vicious, and gruesome. Faces are ripped apart, chins torn off, and hair yanked in chunks, all realized with convincing practical effects. Played by a man in costume rather than CGI, Ben feels disturbingly real. His weight, movement, and unpredictability keep you on edge whenever he is on screen.
Adding to the film’s style is a cool, synth-heavy score that recalls John Carpenter’s classic sound, especially his Halloween scores. The first act sketches the group’s dynamic effectively before chaos erupts, though character development mostly disappears once the blood starts flowing. Still, the pacing and sheer energy keep it entertaining, even if the film misses a true countdown element that could have raised its suspense to unbearable levels. There is a character who needs to get out of the water at some point, but the film never gives us a reason why they could not just stay there until the chimp eventually grew bored. Now imagine if the chimp had found a way to empty the pool!
Although not the next horror classic, Primate delivers exactly what you would hope for from a killer-chimp movie: gory, intense, and always gripping. If Roberts wanted to build a franchise out of this madness, I would not complain.