'Primate' Review: Paramount comes out swinging in 2026 with wild horror flick about a nightmare pet chimp

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'Primate' trailer

The trailer for Paramount Pictures' fearfulness movie "Primate" starring Johnny Sequoyah, Troy Kotsur and Miguel Torres Umba. Directed by Johannes Roberts.

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January has a estimation for being a atrocious period astatine the movies. After a crowded theatrical model during the vacation season, January is the clip for bottom-of-the-barrel releases and large surface gambles that often effect successful container bureau bombs.

Which is wherefore Paramount's "Primate" volition drawback galore by surprise, peculiarly fearfulness fans.

Set successful beauteous Hawaii, the movie centers astir Ben (Miguel Torres Umba), a hyper-intelligent chimpanzee who was the trial taxable of a linguistic prof and had him surviving successful an enclosure extracurricular her distant luxurious home. Even aft the prof dies from cancer, Ben is inactive "part of the family."

The remaining members of Ben's Homo sapien household are Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah), a assemblage pupil who estranged herself aft her mother's passing, her resentful younger sister Erin (Gia Hunter) and their preoccupied writer begetter Adam (Troy Kotsur).

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Benjamin Cheng arsenic "Nick", Victoria Wyant arsenic "Kate", Jessica Alexander arsenic "Hannah", Johnny Sequoyah arsenic "Lucy", and Miguel Torres Umba arsenic "Ben" successful "Primate" from Paramount Pictures. (© 2025 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.)

Lucy is coming location from assemblage with her champion person Kate (Victoria Wyant), who brought on the somewhat off-putting Hannah (Jessica Alexander). They're picked up astatine the airdrome by Nick (Benjamin Cheng), a hunky person of the household who Lucy whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person feelings for.

Things are going swimmingly. Lucy introduces her friends to Ben, described arsenic being similar a small brother. He's playful, silly and is miraculously capable to pass done a tablet.

The youngsters are near to their ain devices astatine the location portion Adam is distant connected a concern trip. But earlier helium goes, Adam checks successful connected Ben, who notices that helium had been bitten by a mongoose, which was laying dormant successful the enclosure. Adam locks him successful the enclosure conscionable successful case.

"Something's incorrect with Ben," Kate tells Lucy.

Turns retired the mongoose had rabies. And Ben, similar each hell, yet breaks loose.

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You've astir apt heard of incidents successful the past of chimpanzees attacking people, which ever enactment their unthinkable spot since virtually everything beneath its hairsbreadth is axenic muscle. That's nary antithetic with Ben, who similar immoderate quality fearfulness villain has 1 brutal sidesplitting aft another.

A lengthy information of the movie takes astatine the family's cliffside excavation wherever Lucy and the others question refuge with the close presumption that chimpanzees fearfulness the water. Ben, however, is patient. And methodical. And frothing astatine the mouth. The excavation fundamentally becomes their cage. It's genuinely a terrifying presumption to beryllium in.

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There's a batch going for "Primate." While fearfulness films, including this one, heavy trust connected dependable to substance scares, "Primates" is besides capable to physique suspense with silence, utilizing the position of Adam — who, similar Kotsur (best known for his Oscar-winning show successful 2021's "CODA"), is deaf — arsenic Ben sneaks astir him successful terrifyingly amusive sequence.

And successful the property of CGI and question capture, Umba goes aged school, wearing an ape suit and relying connected applicable effects. Umba, who refers to himself connected his IMDB leafage arsenic a question specialist, physically transforms into Ben, going from a cute, disarming, T-shirt-wearing favored to a virtually rabid monster with a acheronian consciousness of wit who is adjacent susceptible of a maniacal laughter aft 1 of his killings. Having seen the caller "Planet of the Apes" films and the Robbie Williams biopic "Better Man," — which, yes, depicts him arsenic a monkey — Ben did look antithetic connected screen, but nary mode did I regularisation retired him not being CGI. Regardless, it was a daring originative determination — and it paid off.

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Johannes Roberts has directed respective fearfulness flicks ("The Strangers: Prey astatine Night," the "47 Meters Down" films, etc.) which astir apt person their niche fans but are different forgettable successful the wider landscape. "Primate" is surely successful a tier of its own, mostly due to the fact that Roberts is capable to person amusive with specified an absurd premise. Enhancing the acquisition is the 80s horror-style people from composer Adrian Johnston. It was a bully touch.

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The Verdict:

In a period that's usually a slump astatine the movie theater, "Primate" flexes its musculus contempt the deficiency of prima powerfulness successful a genre that's been struggling for originality. Ben is not your mean psycho killer, which makes it adjacent much fun. If you're a large fearfulness fan, and you're itching to get retired of the house, this is astir apt worthy checking out. For everyone else, you tin adhd it to your queue for adjacent Halloween.

★★★ — STREAM IT LATER

"Primate" is rated R for beardown bloody convulsive content, gore, language, and immoderate cause use. Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes. In theaters now.

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Joseph A. Wulfsohn is simply a media newsman for Fox News Digital. Story tips tin beryllium sent to [email protected] and connected Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

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