'Primate' review: A creature feature that doesn't monkey around

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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“There’s something wrong with Ben,” reads the tagline of Johannes Roberts’ “Primate,” an effective little creature-of-the-week chiller, and it couldn’t be more apt. Something is very wrong with Ben, a pet chimpanzee who contracts rabies, and you definitely do not want to be anywhere near him when he, forgive me, goes bananas. Not far removed from the domesticated-horror playbook of “Cujo,” where a family dog traps a mother and son inside a car for nearly two hours, “Primate” sticks to the basics and wisely avoids overthinking its simple but sturdy premise.

Roberts leans heavily into old-school genre craftsmanship, favoring practical effects, shadowy lighting, and a largely single-location setup that gives Ben plenty of room to cut loose and, well, go ape shit. This is not a film overly concerned with psychological depth or intricate plotting, but it provides just enough human detail to make the carnage matter. The story centers on Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah), who returns home to Hawaii after an extended stint away at school. She brings friends along, reunites with her family, and settles back into a household that includes her Deaf father, played by Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, her younger sister, and Ben, an adorable chimp who has already been infected by the time Lucy arrives.

We do not spend much time humanizing Ben before things take a violent turn, but the film gives us the essentials. Lucy’s late mother adopted him for research purposes, and he has since been treated as a beloved member of the family. That domestic calm does not last long. Once Lucy’s father leaves for a business trip, the movie wastes little time unleashing Ben as a ferocious, shockingly agile predator who will quite literally rip your face off. Roberts, who co-wrote the script with Ernest Riera, makes smart use of the film’s lean 90-minute runtime, dispatching characters with a gleefully nasty sense of escalation. You can feel the filmmakers’ enthusiasm in the increasingly sadistic ways Ben is allowed to toy with his prey, and on that front, “Primate” shows an admirably mean streak.

Ben himself is a major asset. Brought to life through a combination of practical effects, visual effects, and the physical performance of movement specialist Miquel Torres Umba, the chimp is a towering, genuinely intimidating presence. When the film finally lets him off the leash, Roberts clearly understands what he has and refuses to pull his punches. The result is a marked step up in tension and confidence from the director of the admittedly goofy, though still enjoyable, “47 Meters Down.” By keeping the story deliberately uncomplicated, Roberts ensures the film never loses sight of what audiences came to see in the first place.

The sound design is another standout, particularly in how it incorporates Kotsur’s Deaf character to play with shifting perspectives and sudden absences of sound. Adrian Johnston’s score further amplifies the unease, layering in a pulsing, techno-driven thrum that keeps the film moving at an anxious clip. It is an effective sleight of hand, distracting from the more obvious plot holes and lapses in logic. In fact, the film occasionally comes so close to mythologizing Ben’s rage that you almost find yourself rooting for him or at least wondering what inspired this family to fall in love with him to begin with. Maybe Ben really is misunderstood. Or maybe he just needed a leash, a cage, or a much better movie veterinarian.

“Primate” knows exactly what it is and delivers accordingly: a lean, bloody, unapologetically nasty creature feature that thrives on momentum rather than meaning. It may not linger in the mind long after the credits roll, but while it’s on, it’s a viciously entertaining ride.

Grade: B 

PRIMATE opens in theaters Friday, January 9th.