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.
13 Articles
13 Articles
‘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…
‘Primate’ Review: Killer Chimp Horror Tale Is Jaws-Breakingly Familiar Teen Chomping Movie
The first movie out of the gate for 2026, Paramount’s Primate, is not a very encouraging start for the year, nor is it a good start for the first full year Skydance has been in charge of one of Hollywood’s great legacy studios. The film actually begins with that famous Paramount mountain logo and underneath saying “A Skydance Company.” This horror mashup looks more like an indie-level attempt to take an exploitable idea and run it into the gro…
“Primate” presents an intense survival story.Have you seen “Anaconda”, the film with Paul Rudd and Jack Black?One of the most frequent questions among horror movie fans who join in to enjoy the film “Primate” is whether or not the film by English director Johannes Roberts has a post-credit scene. So, if you want to know if it’s worth staying in the chair once the story of the rabid chimpanzee ends, this note is for you. In the following lines, f…
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- 50% of the sources lean Left, 50% of the sources are Center
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