Director Johannes Roberts knows a thing or two about enraged animal horror flicks. Roberts has helped make sharks scary again with his 47 Meters Down franchise, and directed the psychopathic masked savages in Strangers: Prey at Night. His movies are extremely violent, tense as Hell, and also a lot of fun. Roberts has grasped that these movies, brutal though they might be, should also be a really good time that a bunch of friends can enjoy together. And that comes through in his latest, Primate, where you’ll never have so much fun watching a rabies-infected chimp go…well, apeshit.
Clearly inspired by the works of John Carpenter, especially in the synth-heavy score, Primate makes Monkey Shines look tame by comparison. Set in gorgeous Hawaii, the film’s premise is as simple as we’d want it to be. A group of friends in an idyllic coastal home, are terrorized by Ben, a chimpanzee who has gone mad with rabies. Ben belonged to a scientist in the field of linguistics, and is highly intelligent, capable of sign language and simple communications via an electronic device. When the scientist died, Ben stayed with her family and indeed became part of the family. But now he’s pissed off and not even a banana is going to shake him out of this rage.
Deaf Oscar winner Troy Kotsur plays the family patriarch, Adam, a busy writer constantly on the go and away from his daughters, Lucy, played by Johnny Sequoyah, and Erin, played by Gia Hunter. Lucy’s been gone a long time, which has sewn resentment between the sisters. But now she’s back with her lifelong best friend Kate (Victoria Wyant) in tow, and frisky tag-along Hannah (Jessica Alexander), which doesn’t make Lucy happy. The performances aren’t anything to write home about, but they are effective in capturing the terror, as well as the wild disbelief that they are all under attack by a pet monkey. Most importantly, you get the sense that every single actor knows how silly this is, too, and are laughing right along with the audience.
Much of the film involves the girls, and hunky Hawaiian pal Nick (Benjamin Cheng) trapped in the pool while Ben howls threateningly. It’s a predicament that’s pretty similar to what Roberts pulled off with 47 Meters Down, and the ratcheting up of tension is the same. There’s a ticking clock aspect as one of the girls is injured and in need of medical help, but there’s also an air of hoplessness because they can’t just float there forever. Eventually, they are going to have to confront Ben and he looks pretty pissed off.
Of course, the characters make some pretty stupid choices because this is a horror movie, after all. And when they do, the consequences are wonderfully disgusting. The film’s opening sequence, in which a local vet enters Ben’s enclosure, sets the tone perfectly. Roberts isn’t screwing around here in showing, not only Ben’s massive strength, but unchecked ability to rip and tear a person to shreds. The special effects used to create Ben, presumably some mix of CGI and practical, are great and we see quite a lot of it. Ben isn’t Jaws, hidden away in shadow. He’s right there in everyone’s faces, and for all of the savagery, he’s also pretty clever. I mean, a bunch of grown-ass teens can’t figure out how to outwit him, so…
When one manages to escape to a nearby vehicle, imagine her shock when Ben reveals that he knows how to use a keyfob better than she does. Whomp whomp whomp.
Yes, it’s all pretty ridiculous. But what do you expect from a movie about a killer chimp? Primate leans into the gore and the black humor, making this the kind of movie that you’ll want to enjoy with a bunch of your pals at a late-night screening. Also, it’s practically built to become a franchise, so don’t be surprised if we see more monkey business in the future. If there is a sequel, I’d like to see Kotsur somehow be factored into the equation. The deaf actor’s scenes are particularly effective, as his character is placed in a different level of peril due to the disability. The sound design in those scenes, drowning everything out as Ben lurks menacingly in the background, are particularly effective.
Primate is open in theaters now via Paramount Pictures.
