US Edition'Primate' review: Monkey mayhem in effective horror thriller
Paramount and Skydance launch 2026 with Primate, an R-rated horror thriller featuring practical effects and an 89-minute Jason Voorhees-style rampage by a rabid chimpanzee.
- On Friday, January 9, Primate opens in theaters, a Johannes Roberts-directed Hawaii-set creature thriller about Ben, the adopted chimpanzee, turning violent with Troy Kotsur, Oscar-winner, in the cast.
- After a mongoose bite sent Ben ill, family grief over Adam's single parenting and teens left alone at the island house escalate tension and violence.
- A brutal cold-open dismemberment establishes a graphic tone early, while filmmakers used in-camera practical effects and Miguel Torres Umba, monkey-suit performer, for realism.
- Critics say Johannes Roberts' loud, repetitive style and Ernest Riera's screenplay with thin research and disprovable chimpanzee facts undermine the film's creature-feature promise.
- As Paramount and Skydance roll it out on January 9, Primate may shape early studio perceptions while its jump-scares and grossouts fuel audience polarization.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Review: The giddily unevolved gorefest 'Primate' makes humanity look like a species in decline
The team behind the Mandy Moore shark flick '47 Meters Down' returns with a murderous monkey and surprisingly good acting by Oscar winner Troy Kotsur and starlet Jess Alexander.
‘Primate’ Review: College Kids Fight to Survive a Rabid Pet Chimp in a Slasher Movie That’s as Enjoyably Nerve-Shredding as It Is Silly
Johnny Sequoyah, Troy Kotsur and a dude in a monkey suit star in Johannes Roberts’ creature feature about a secluded tropical vacation that goes bananas.
It's a low-budget horror, with teenagers trapped in a pool and harassed by the title character.Act Troy Kotsur ("CODA"), but not as the monkey.
‘Primate’ Review: Fine-Enough Killer Chimp Movie Will Beat You Over the Head
“There’s something wrong with Ben,” and several things wrong with “Primate” — a killer chimp outing that’s plenty bloody but grows more boring than brutal as the carnage rages on. Directed by Johannes Roberts, this Hawaii-set creature feature goes for the throat in the cold open with a spectacular dismemberment gag that works well… the first time. But even with his film clocking in at just 1 hour and 29 minutes, the divisive filmmaker behind “St…
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