Review: Primate

Synopsis:

In PRIMATE, a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.

What We Thought:

Is Primate a good movie? Absolutely not. Is Primate a good time at the movies? Absolutely. Everyone involved knew exactly what they were making and I respect the heck out of them for sticking to it and giving us a rabid chimp killing humans movie.

It’s January. January at the cinema is usually the last of the Oscar-bait movies or, over the last few years, throwaway horror. Movies like Night Swim and Wolf Man have come out the past two Januarys and this year we get Primate. Because of the past few years I had low expectations for the film, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by it. Does it feel like someone got high while watching CODA and wondered what that movie would have been like if the family was attacked by their pet chimp? Yes, but again, what more do you expect in January?

The film has a cold open then we get three younger women boarding a plane to Hawaii. They are friends and are heading to the family house of Lucy. The one friend knows Lucy and her family well, the other not so much. Once on the island we learn Lucy’s dad is deaf (played by CODA’s Troy Kotsur) and that they have a pet chimp named Ben who can sign and use some electronics. The third friend freaks out at first, but soon the girls are having a good time and the dad heads off to a book signing. Then the movie goes off the rails with Ben getting rabies and attacking the three young women, Lucy’s younger sister and the brother of one of the girls.

This is where the movie will have you cheering and clapping or rolling your eyes. Is it all ridiculous? Yes, it’s full of horror tropes and characters making terrible decisions. Does it also have some great gore and kills? Yes it does. I won’t spoil any of the kills, but it doesn’t shy away from its R-rating. A PG-13 version would have been awful and unwatchable, but the R-rating keeps you happy if you like these types of flicks. I’m hoping the physical media release gets an unrated version with even more blood and destruction.

If you’ve seen the trailer for Primate you know whether or not it’s for you. I had fun with it. I clapped and cheered along with the crowd and got exactly what I wanted out of it. It’s a quick watch with Kotsur being the only person I recognized in it. I guess two of the female stars have done some things, but I didn’t recognize them while watching it. For a January horror release it gets a big recommendation for the rabid chimp attacking humans crowd. Keep your expectations low and just try to have some fun with it.