- Date of Release: 09 January 2026 (In India - 23rd January 2026)
- Genre: Horror
- Language: English
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Primate
Introduction
There are slasher films, there are wannabe slasher films and then there is a film called Primate that takes the basic concept of a slasher film, only to replace the killer with a chimpanzee. If this concept were to excite you, I wouldn’t blame you – for we are in the midst of times where cinema is the only medium that we are forgiving towards. Even films that feel average are rated richly, so much so that the ratings and the reviews at times don’t match. Mediocrity is thriving and I can’t wait to witness the new stoop now, cinematically speaking. Perhaps I may sound harsh with my views about this film, but only replacing a killer with a ‘Primate’ cannot make this film a ‘High Concept’ horror. There seems to be some method to the madness, specifically with the writing that is packaged to be a tight 90 minute ‘hunting’ saga. But who am I kidding anyway – nobody looks for stories and screenplays in slasher films, we just need to be entertained by the gore, however brain-dead it might be! If you live on that philosophy, you will definitely find Primate entertaining.
Story & Screenplay
Written by Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera, Primate works on a slasher template right from the start wherein an unassuming ‘side’ character gets his face ripped off by a chimpanzee. But what I wished for was a little more world building, something that felt wafer-thin with the introduction of the protagonist Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) who you do suspect would be the last character standing at the end of the film. And whilst you are introduced to her friends Kate (Victoria Wyant), Nick (Benjamin Cheng) – her friend of a friend Hannah (Jessica Alexander), and two acquaintances Drew (Charlie Mann) and Brad (Tienne Simon), on her way to her home in Hawaii, you do know where this is headed. At home, you are also acquainted with the ‘killer’ monkey Ben (Miguel Torres Umba) in his most adorable state, even as he is fascinated by a stuffed toy. Oh how the times would change going ahead.
There is little to no scope given to a sense of characterization here, wherein the only focus remains on survival. There is zero emotional pull to either of the characters, something that immediately makes the drama corny and dated. And I say corny because I began to question the basic mannerisms of the characters in a crisis situation. After Ben goes wild having being bitten by a mongoose previously, you see him getting aggressive and dangerous while suffering from hydrophobia. So once all characters are in water, you would consider them to be safe! But no, you always have one unassuming character who wishes to break the rules, try to be over smart and later get killed. And that is exactly what happens here, did I mention that the ‘horror’ was predictable too? This, while the subtext of domestification of wild animals gets lost in the garb of horror.
To be fair to the narrative, there is a decent about of tension built up in a couple of sequences – be it Kate and Lucy’s venture into the living room that decently held my attention. Or a spectacular ‘kill’ on the bed wherein a character has his jaws ripped off. Or even a case of lost opportunity for a character who gets into a wrong vehicle while trying to escape – only to be met with her worst fate. But the fillers in between these stellar sequences weren’t as decisive, often taking me in and out of the drama. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that I wasn’t at any point settled with the proceedings, with each of these sequences holding my attention in isolation. And much of it had to do with the campy setting too, which after a point got repetitive in a very big way.
One of the things that I was anticipating after a brief passage of tension and gore was a delicious finale wherein everything was supposed to come together. But instead what I was witness to remained a generic and abrupt finale that literally flatters to deceive. The entire sequence at the end was mediocrity at its peak, with writing that was filled with cliches and convenience. Even the anticipated jump-scares felt straight from the slasher films of the 80s and 90s. Being self aware about the silliness of the drama is fine, but you sure do need to back it up with a screenplay that is consistently self-aware and entertaining too. This one though, just impressed in parts.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are corny but do little to raise the urgency in the drama. On the flip side, the BGM does its bit to elevate the levels of tension in the drama, even using silence to great effect in a couple of sequences that elevate the standard of horror in the drama. The cinematography comprises of frames that don’t shy away from the gore and violence while catering to the bloody nature of the drama, which at times does distract you from its one-tone nature. The editing pattern is crisp given how the overall runtime of the drama is kept under check, but there are moments of lag sprinkled at a few specific junctures in the narrative too. Director Johannes Roberts has a mixed outing here, constructing a few specific sequences to great effect but not always maintaining a grip on the proceedings and his characters. The moments of lag distract you from the drama while never allowing all the ‘kills’ to land smoothly, thereby making for an outing that is rewarding and frustrating in equal measures.
Performances
The performances are decent by the members of the cast. The idea to cast Miguel Hernando Torres Umba as Ben as opposed to opting for a VFX genetated animal has got to be a smart casting choice here. Gia Hunter as Erin, Benjamin Cheng as Nick, Tienne Simon as Brad and Troy Kotsur as Adam are alright, although each of the two don’t really have much to do. Victoria Wyrant as Kate and Jessica Alexander as Hannah are effective while putting forth a commendable act. Charlie Mann as Drew remains the best actor on display simply because he did understand the silliness of his character to great effect while playing around with this trait brilliantly. Johnny Sequoyah as Lucy is decent but she doesn’t always have a defining screen presence to make her stand out from the crowd. That for me exposed the writing even more, given how hollow it felt in investing in her survival.
Conclusion
Primate is a hit-and-miss slasher horror that misses more than it hits. While a few sequences are incredibly well constructed, the drama on the whole is middling, thereby making it an above-average watch. Available in a theatre near you.