By Matthew Moorcroft

Solid Recommendation

• Directed by Johannes Roberts
• Starring Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Miguel Torres Umba
• R

Primate is one of those movies that tells you everything you need to know about it basically right away before you even see it. A pet chimpanzee, named Ben, has gone rabid (quite literally, actually) and his loving family is now the target of his aggression. And if you know chimps, this means lots of ripping apart, beating up, and throwing around violently – usually to gory, mangled results.

If that pleases the inner sadist in you, then Primate is absolutely going to thrill you and then some. Refreshingly sadistic and gnarly in it’s presentation, Primate wastes no time giving you exactly what you wanted and then some, only spending a tiny amount of time on those pesky things we call “character” and “story” in favor of routinely terrorizing our characters over the very real, primal fear of a shaken, scared animal who is more powerful then you. The cruelty displayed here is similar to that of the gore-splattered exploitation work of the 80s, with each kill designed to be as particularly painful as possible with two in particular being utterly brutal in a way that will certainly be hard to stomach for some of the more queasy people in the audience. Johannes Roberts, who is no stranger to that kind of 80s inspiration, feels right at home here because of that, and his usage of contained space – so much of this takes place in a single location inside of a single location – keeps things small, to the point, and easy to understand.

That 80s infused inspiration is everywhere in Primate even beyond it’s tone and gleeful kills. The synth score that blares out in the speakers is an easy highlight and feels right at home with the work of John Carpenter in his glory days, and heavy reds and blues that texture the film keep Ben obscured in darkness so you never know exactly where he is. Ben himself feels straight out of the old school, foregoing the usual CGI route in favor of an excellent practical costume and animatronic mask that you almost mistake for a real chimp if you aren’t paying attention. Miguel Torres Umba brings Ben to life through his movements here, and makes the otherwise rabid animal oddly sympathetic, especially in the brief moments where we see him lucid and more friendly. He’s easily the highlight of the whole picture, which is a good thing in a movie where the monkey that kills people is very clearly the main draw.

As for our cast of victims? Well, there really isn’t much to write about here, as Primate is so meat and potatoes driven and to the point with it’s material that writing about anything other then the chimp himself feels like a waste of time. Troy Kotsur making an appearance as a deaf author – also the father of our lead final girl – is nice to see, and the film takes great advantage of the lack of sound for moments of dark humor and tension, but outside of his usual great presence everyone else is just clearly here for a body count. That’s not to say they don’t put in decent work, with Jessica Alexander in particular probably being the easy standout of the cast, but all of them know what kind of movie they are in, even if they arrive late in the picture. Love a slasher film that brings in the Chekov’s Gun characters only to kill them immediately and without any remorse.

It’s a simple review for a simple flick, and that’s all Primate is at the end of the day. It’s certainly schlock, but as schlock comes, particularly creature feature schlock, you can certainly do a lot worse then this, especially when it’s clearly so handsomely made and gnarly in it’s aesthetics. Roberts clearly has a knack for these creature horrors, with his shark movies and now this being the clear highlights of his filmography. And while it’s certainly silly and lacks in depth, it’s in the moment thrills are plentiful and horror buffs will certainly be pleased.