Johannes Roberts’ Killer Chimp Movie Is a Blood Bath of Fun

PLOT: A group of teenagers in a remote location must barricade themselves in a pool to escape their rabies-infested pet chimp. No, seriously.

REVIEW: It was hard to know what to expect walking into Paramount Pictures’ Primate at Fantastic Fest, where it premiered a few months ago. All that was known at that point was it was a horror movie scheduled to release in January about a killer chimp directed by Johannes Roberts. When the Strangers: Prey at Night director introduced the film to the audience, he promised a real treat for Stephen King fans. He talked about being inspired by Cujo and Christine and how proud he was of the film and joked that he hoped this would make people forgive him for Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. As silly as the premise may sound, it was clear that everyone involved believed in this film. And it turns out they have every right to do just that.

Primate turned out to be an unapologetic blood bath of fun. The opening scene perfectly sets the tone and lets you know that this movie is going to have you laughing out loud while simultaneously squirming in your seat. For starters, the rabies-infested chimp Ben is amazing. It’s hard to discern exactly how they brought the adorable yet insane animal to life, but Roberts mentioned that they employed a variety of special effects techniques, including animatronics. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t done using very much CGI, if any at all, which brings you back to a better time of ’90s horror and action movies where maybe things didn’t always look perfect, but by God, they were far more entertaining. We also get more of this cute chimp turned sadistic little a-hole on screen than we ever could have imagined. He’s doing it all, from slow-stalking Michael Myers-esque suspense sequences to celebrating his kills in front of the crying friends of his victims. Therein lies the genius of Primate.

It’s an easy movie to snub your nose at if you are inclined to do so. Though our lead actors Troy Kotsur and Johnny Sequoyah are earnestly great, there’s a handful of dumb choices by our teens in peril. There are also some hilariously unbelievable moments involving what Ben is capable of doing. But the kicker is that everyone creating this madness is clearly in on the joke in a very meta way. You know this is the case when one character yells something completely stupid during an intense moment and the entire crowd bursts out in laughter together. It’s Neve Campbell talking about the big-breasted girl running upstairs when she should run out the front door. You’ll be feeling that way while you watch four human beings with at least almost fully grown brains unable to outsmart a rabies-crazed chimp hunting them down poolside. I don’t know what it is with Johannes Roberts and pool horror, but the man does his best work surrounded by floats and the smell of chlorine.

The music in Primate is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Steve Parr, who worked with Roberts on Prey at Night, returns and leaves his mark yet again. During a chase sequence or moment of over-the-top carnage, John Carpenter-esque synth music raises the stakes and the fun. On the flip side, when something especially messed up and dark happens on the screen, the notes turn darker and invasive in a way that reminded me of Marco Beltrami’s Sidney’s Lament from Scream. Which is the perfect dichotomy of Primate.

Yeah, this is a killer chimp movie with some dumb laughs, Terrifier 2-level kills (it doesn’t go quite THAT far, but it’s in the neighborhood), and is a lot better than should be expected for a dump month such as January. But Primate seems to know all that, embrace it, and deliver an insanely entertaining horror movie.