Folks, it’s January, that wonderful time of year when studios dump films they have little faith in. Although, every once in a while, one of these films turns out to actually be a real treat for genre fans. That film is Primate. Directed by executive producer Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City) and co-written with Ernest Riera, Primate follows a group of friends dealing with Ben (Miguel Torres Umba), a chimpanzee who comes down with rabies and begins to attack and kill the group. Stephen Murphy (Atlanta Season 3, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) serves as cinematographer, with Adrian Johnston (The Strangers: Prey at Night) composing the score.
The film stars Johnny Sequoyah (Dexter: New Blood) as Lucy Pinborough, Jessica Alexander (The Little Mermaid) as Hannah, Victoria Wyant as Kate, and Troy Kotsur (The Number 23, CODA) as Adam Pinborough, Lucy’s father.
Ben, the Killer Chimpanzee
From the marketing, you may be wondering how sympathetic the film makes Ben, the titular primate. Oftentimes, in reality, these cases of killer chimps stem from people’s gross misunderstanding of how these animals operate and what they need. Primate does not interest itself in that at all. Once Ben gets rabies, he transforms fully into a slasher movie villain; it is incredible. He’s scheming and, at times, downright enjoying himself as he kills these characters in the most gruesome fashion. It’s some of the most fun a horror film has had with an antagonist in a long time.
This is in large part thanks to Miguel Torres Umba’s incredible physical performance. Without it, the film would not work at all. It’s a testament to the power of physical effects and actors in an age wherein generative artificial intelligence (AI) seeps into every aspect of our lives and makes everything worse.
Lean and Mean
Since the film knows that we’re all here for the killer chimp, only one or two scenes with Ben pre-rabies serve to establish the characters’ relationship with him. Furthermore, once Ben goes off, there is very little downtime between the action. Primate makes good use of its ninety-minute runtime and constantly keeps both the characters and the audience alert and engaged. With that said, the first twenty-five minutes or so of setup and exposition can be a little rough and boring. Afterward, it’s all bloody fun.
It helps that all the kills are quite visceral. Depending on your temperament, they will either make you look away in disgust or laugh in delight. No spoilers here, but Ben does not enjoy people having fully intact faces. The kills are fairly varied, most of them are shown in all their gruesome glory, and as far as I can tell, they are done as practically as possible. There is no doubt a helping of visual effects throughout, but whatever was present blended seamlessly into the practical ones.
All this is enhanced by Johnston’s score, which is very synth and John Carpenter-inspired without ever feeling like a complete overbearing ’80s try-hard attempt. And Murphy’s cinematography is clean and makes it easy to stay grounded in the reality of the film. Additionally, it’s all set at night, and Murphy makes it very easy to see, something of a rarity these days.
Shallow Characters
If there is something to dock Primate on, then it’s the cast of characters. They are about as shallow as a kiddie pool. That is to expected in a film like this, and quite frankly they were far less annoying than characters in other similar horror films. They may not have much personality, and their plans at times are irrational, but they do make an active effort to fight back against Ben. It’s a simple choice, but goes a long way towards making them palatable and more than many other films give their characters. Yes, you could give them more distinct characteristics and stronger dialogue. However, that is not the point of them in this film. They are ultimately disposable props to be thrown in the path of Ben and his rampage. Their dynamics are simple enough that viewers can graft their own life experiences onto them.
What’s the Message?
I often write about how great horror films have more than just gnarly kills and scares; they have an underlying theme about what scares society. In Primate, there is not much in the way of themes to be found. There’s an attempt conveyed about family and the strength found in relying on them. Yet, the film has two scenes about it, and it’s perfunctory at best. Arguably, it’s about our fragile relationship with nature and how quickly nature can bite back. Then again, with how little sympathy the film displays towards its killer chimp, it’s hard to believe that’s the case. That’s not to say that it’s entirely without theme, but it’s tough to identify one.
The Verdict on Primate
Roberts and Riera’s film is certainly not for everyone, but if you are into this particular flavor of horror, then you’re going to have a real good time with Primate. Its simple but effective practical effects for bloody kills, topped with a dreamy synth score, make for one hell of a horror film.
Primate is now playing in theaters!
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