Creature features often live and die not just on the execution of their main attraction, but also on the cast of actors they can assemble. Anaconda (1997), Deep Blue Sea (1999), and Lake Placid (1999) work because they’re films that combine A-list stars with a central exercise in horror thrills. Whether it’s genetically-modified sharks, a large crocodile, or an angry snake—creature features thrive off the thrills of their special effects and nailing a specific tone, which works for their conceit. Primate is a fun, B-movie concoction, combining a phenomenal special effect of a raging, pissed-off chimpanzee with an unrelenting sense of animalistic carnage. It’s a film that recognizes its weaknesses and does everything possible to punctuate its strengths, despite a wobbly screenplay and the confines of its binary, albeit beautiful, location.
College student Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) returns home to Hawaii, along with a couple of friends, for summer vacation. At home are Lucy’s estranged younger sister, Erin (Gia Hunter), and her deaf father, Adam (Troy Kotsur). There’s also their domesticated chimp, Ben (Miguel Torres Umba), who was rescued and studied by Lucy’s now-deceased mother, and is now their primal sibling, communicating through a tablet and missing Lucy.
One night, as Adam is away for a business trip, Lucy, her three friends, and Erin are left to have a pool party, whilst Ben suffers a bite from an animal with rabies, thus transforming Ben from a calm, amiable chimp to a violently aggressive animal, resigned to his basic instincts. Ben attacks them until they’re left to float in the middle of a pool as a last resort, and there’s no way to contact the outside world, with Ben circling them like a predator toying with its food.
This setup and concept fuel this ninety-minute horror fest, as director Johannes Roberts ratchets up the intensity of Ben’s savage behavior and conniving circumvention of how he can inflict as much harm as possible. The film becomes a survival thriller until morning, similar to Robert’s The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), and has no delusions of being anything more than an entertaining romp of monster thrills and dumb characters making the least amount of dumb decisions to survive. Yet, the pacing is efficient and quick, with Lucy and her friends trying to figure out ways they can outsmart a rabies-riddled Chimp. Even as they try to plead to the Ben they once interacted with, it’s clear the Ben they remember is now a craven, bloodthirsty monster hellbent on chaos.
This is perhaps Roberts’ most technically impressive film, bringing Ben to life through Umba’s movements, practical and CGI effects all combined to make Ben feel as tangible and real as possible. Even through his behaviors, Ben feels real, as he’s often taunting the gang with smirks and laughs, clearly aware he’s reveling in the trauma he’s inflicting upon them. The film lives and dies by the creation of Ben, and regardless of how dumb it becomes or repetitive it feels, Ben is brought to life the same way Caesar was in the Planet of the Apes films; It’s an amazing achievement.
The screenplay, co-written by Roberts and Ernest Riera, tries its best to imbue these characters with morsels of characterization. Sadly, they feel more strained than natural. The pretext for why Lucy and Erin have a conflicted, distant relationship is thrown away as soon as Ben wreaks havoc, so why include it other than to have some character conflict? Lucy’s best friend, Hannah (Jessica Alexander), has substantial screentime, yet her performance barely registers as a supporting character, separate from her airy friendship with Lucy. The one-location thriller can feel rudderless, as characters will try and fail to leave this pool, limiting any forward momentum in the plot and making the ordeal more stagnant than propulsive. The script is sparse in its ability to offer engaging dialogue and thoughtful storytelling, outside of some cringy dialogue on how to outsmart Ben.
Primate becomes entertaining once Ben starts munching on legs and ripping faces apart, as his violence becomes widespread, where even unsuspecting visitors find themselves at the brutal end of his mighty hands. The gnarliness of seeing a Chimp attack his human captors has a sort of gleeful, ironic hilarity, as anyone with a brain would question the practicality and safety of having a domesticated chimp at home. By the time a character is punching Ben like they’re UFC fighters, the film is perceptively aware of what its audience wants. The exploitation and absurdism of the scenario lend themselves for Roberts and the cast to go full-tilt bananas in getting down and dirty in the blood-soaked mayhem.
Primate is a wicked ride that feels much closer to the more modern-day creature features, like Crawl (2019) and Beast (2022). The film is supported by lean-mean filmmaking, combined with an oppressive antagonist brought beautifully to life by detailed, pitch-perfect special effects, and a macabre mean streak. Roberts keeps the B-movie creature feature genre afloat and understands the assignment that sometimes, one wants to see animals fight back at dumb humans in glorious, bloody fashion.
Review Courtesy of Amritpal Rai
Feature Image Credited to Paramount via But Why Tho?