PopHorror Let's Get Scared
After returning home to Hawaii, Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah: Dexter: New Blood 2022) is excited to see her estranged family. She’s brought along her best friends to meet her eccentric kin. After years apart, she’s reunited with her novelist father (Troy Kotsur: The Number 23 2007), her sister Kate (Victoria Wyant: Foundation 2021), and their highly intelligent pet chimpanzee Ben. Soon, Ben begins to act violently and aggressively. Something’s wrong with Ben, and he’s about to go ape-sh*t.
Primate feels like a love letter to ’80s killer animal flicks. Inspired by films like Link (1986), Monkey Shines (1988), and more recently, Nope (2022), director Johannes Roberts is no stranger to the wild side of horror. His previous films run the gamut of creature terror, ranging from sharks (47 Meters Down 2017), to vultures (Roadkill 2011), to naked bisexual female monsters (Forest of the Damned 2005). This admittedly schlocky B-movie history has helped hone his craft in the genre because Primate has a lot of polish to it. With the killer animal sub-genre, the slope to corny is very slippery. Roberts has done a great job at keeping the entire film genuinely unsettling. Whether it’s the actors or the violence, there’s a strong level of tension throughout. It plays nicely on the big screen and doesn’t feel as though it would be better suited for the Syfy channel.
Tonally, Primate suffers from a mild identity crisis. Despite being a nod to the light and silly animal attack films of the ’80s, the film is shockingly mean-spirited. It feels conflicted whether it wants to be a fun popcorn flick or gruesome shocker because it contains extremely graphic and unsettling depictions of violence. There is almost no humor to be had when Ben begins to kill. The one instance of humor that is injected into a “jaw-dropping” kill is jarring because the effects are so visceral. The humorous interaction between Ben and the victim will leave the audience unsure whether to laugh or run out of the theater.
As far as movie monsters go, Ben is terrifying. Rather than just relying solely on a CGI avatar, Ben was brought to life with a combination of practical effects and an exceptional performance by creature actor Miguel Torres Umba (Institute 2020). Actors in suits can sometimes lead to hokey depictions – especially in killer animal movies – Umba does a fantastic job at bringing the crazed chimp to life. The performance leads to a sense of real danger for Lucy and her friends.
Within the first minute, Primate makes it clear that rabies will be the catalyst for the events to come. Ben’s symptoms were overlooked, as there was hesitation that his condition could be rabies. Multiple conversations were had between characters discussing how rabies doesn’t exist in Hawaii, so where did it come from? Either this was an abandoned plot point, or the film openly contradicted itself. On the other hand, this could potentially open the door to the idea of more animals going rabid on the island.
Having the film set in Hawaii was a smart choice. While Lucy’s family lives in a beautiful house, they are still surrounded by wilderness and all that it entails. Lush greenery adds a level of visual complexity that keeps the background almost claustrophobic to remind the characters that they are helplessly isolated. Despite the perceived safety of their home, they are still in Ben’s domain – the jungle. There is plenty of fun to be had throughout the runtime, but Primate is definitely not for the squeamish.
