Primate is a cautionary tale of what can happen when a beloved family member gets rabies and turns against those they know and love. Primates are a biological order that includes lemurs, monkeys, apes and humans. They typically have large brains, grasping hands and feet, and forward facing eyes. They can be gentle and kind or evil and destructive. Many times they are portrayed in films as the latter because, let's face it, that makes for a better story and character. Will the chimpanzee remember its parents and siblings or will it see them as nothing more than enemies to be eliminated?
Ben (Miguel Torres Umba; Institute) has been raised in Hawaii with Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah; Dexter: New Blood) and Erin (Gia Hunter; Sherlock & Daughter) who are the daughters of a Linguistics professor. Ben is one of the family and learned sign language in order to communicate. Even after their mom passed away from cancer, Ben has remained with the family. However, after fighting and getting bitten by a mongoose, Ben seems to not be feeling well but when the local veterinarian goes to check on Ben in his enclosure, what he finds is not only disturbing but sets off a chain of events that changes everyone's lives forever.
Co-writer and director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) is no stranger to making bloody horror films or including animals in the movie. As with his other work, Roberts understands the need to build tension and he deliberately inserts sequences that seem as if they are in slow-motion in order to ramp up to the disturbing moments in the movie. He also adds moments of humor to lull the audience into a temporary sense of security before increasing the tension and ultimately the horror once again.
The cast is mostly made up of talented newcomers who do a great job of acting terrified whenever the rabid chimp is in view. Sequoyah helms this film like a veteran actor and she is joined by Hunter, Victoria Wyant (My Fault: London), Jess Alexander (The Little Mermaid), and Benjamin Cheng in his debut acting role. However, the real star of the film is Ben and the actor who portrays him, Umba. His movements and gestures were incredible and he looked so realistic (with an animatronic head) that it is unbelievable to think that the chimp had to be created without any CGI.
Despite all the positives though, there are some negatives that can't be ignored. First, when one of the victims goes over the cliff, it is obviously a green screen background making that scene look cheesy and almost amateurish. Second, the kills are incredibly bloody and gross (even when they look a little fake). Sometimes, a lot is simply too much. Finally, the movie starts to feel repetitive as Roberts shows Ben stalking his next "victim," then attacking and Ben walking away victorious in the end.
I am actually surprised this film is being released in January which is a month known for having some of the worst films debut. Primate has some strong moments and is overall a good time if you are a horror movie fan so it could have been released later in the year. Having said that, it isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination and if you were alive to have watched Cujo in 1983, then Primate will seem somewhat familiar.
As horror movies go, Primate delivers on the suspense, the blood and gore and has a decent cast. It also offers some humor and some truly disgusting deaths so by and large, if you are a fan of gory horror stories, this film won't disappoint.
Grade: B
