Primate swings into a new year of horror movies

Paramount Pictures presents Primate, a new horror movie revolving around a rapid chimpanzee who betrays his host family to attack them on their home turf.

A science lesson is projected onto the screen, schooling the audience on hydrophobia, an irrational fear of water and a symptom of rabies. This comes into play later in the storyline and offers a unique spin to Stephen King's Cujo and other films in the virus genre.

Rabies lives in the saliva and water is a deterrent to the disease, so the victim feels the need to avoid it. This twisted tale is set in Hawaii within a breathtaking property built on a cliff.

Lucy returns home to visit her sister Erin and father Adam, with some friends tagging along for a vacation. The family's pet chimpanzee, Ben, contracts rabies and turns on everyone around him.

A battle ensues between humans and the chimp that will captivate ticket holders until the last bloody bite.

As the song goes, “One Monkey Don't Stop No Show,” but it sure worked as a palette cleanser for award show season. Primate doesn't overstay its welcome in the jungle and has a running time of 89 minutes. Another refreshing thing about the film is that it doesn't waste the spectator's time.

Primate swings into action early and doesn't play into Ben being a member of the family for too long before becoming a dark character. The film does a good job of not insulting the audience and creating the chimpanzee persona onscreen was no small feat. Movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba worked with Millennium FX for the physical aspects of Ben.

Society has come a long way since killer rats in the 1972 film Ben and the giant gorilla King Kong movies over the years. This endeavor is not campy or for the kiddies. It's for those who enjoy gore and unexpected pop-out scares.

English director Johannes Roberts, who co-wrote the Primate screenplay with Ernest Riera, has carved out a solid career in the horror genre. He is skilled at keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, proven by 47 Meters Down and The Stranger: Prey at Night.

Several of the cast members he has assembled are of British heritage, such as Jessica Alexander as Hannah, Victoria Wyant as Kate and Benjamin Cheng as Nick.

Some gay fans may recognize Johnny Sequoyah from her time on the series Love, Victor and she serves as the lead Lucy for Primate.

Troy Kotsur portrays the strong father, Adam and crafts layers to the role by providing a valuable deaf angle to this adventure on the island. He's teaming up with Primate's writing team again in the future for the standalone sequel 47 Meters Down: The Wreck.

People are already going bananas in previews for Primate and this could spawn a sequel one day. This primal project is a welcome distraction from the outside world and doesn't monkey around with its jaw-dropping material.

Primate bites into the box office starting on January 6, 2026.