There’s a version of Primate, directed by Johannes Roberts and co-written with Ernest Riera, that absolutely rules. You can feel it scratching at the screen of the movie we actually got, like a chimp with something to prove. Unfortunately, what’s on screen is less bananas in the fun way and more… well, bananas left out too long in the sun.

The setup is solid enough. Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah, "Dexter: New Blood"), fresh off her first year of college, invites her friends — Kate (Victoria Wyant, "Foundation"), Kate’s brother Nick (newcomer Benjamin Cheng), and Hannah (Jessica Alexander, The Little Mermaid) — to her family’s gorgeous cliffside home in Hawaii for a little post-finals decompression. Dad’s away, the house is theirs, and the vibes are expected to be all fun and loose. But lurking in the background is Ben, the family’s pet chimpanzee, adopted after their primate scientist mother passed away.

You already know where this is going. This isn’t a party. It’s a powder keg with fur.

Ben starts acting… a bit off. Aggressive. Unpredictable. The film tosses in a quick explanation about a mongoose getting into his enclosure and the possibility of rabies, but then it just kind of shrugs and moves on. Which is wild, considering that Hawaii is famously rabies-free. The script doesn’t even try to explain away that contradiction. It just swings past it and hopes you won’t notice.

And that’s kind of the movie in a nutshell: lots of setup, very little follow-through.

There is a creeping sense of dread early on, and Roberts proves he knows how to stage a gnarly kill. The opening attack is genuinely nasty, the kind of scene that makes you sit up and think, “Okay, this might get interesting.” But then it just… keeps doing that. Over and over. Same basic kill, same confined spaces, same panicked scrambling. It’s like watching a chimp discover a new trick and refuse to stop performing it. Why does Ben kill in the manner he does? Does he have a problem with all the jaw-jacking we humans do? Sadly, a missed opportunity to work in a deeper level of exposition.

Another of Primate’s problems is how seriously it takes itself. This is a movie about a rabid chimp terrorizing a group of college kids in a luxury house. There’s an alternate universe where this leans into horror-comedy — something a little cheeky, a little self-aware, maybe even a little more unhinged. Not full Five Nights at Freddy's level of chaos, but at least willing to have some fun with its own absurdity. Instead, the film plays it straight-faced, which only highlights how thin the material really is.

Visually, it’s a bit of a tease. The “Hawaiian” setting (actually Portugal pulling a convincing double) is gorgeous, but the movie barely uses it, save for a few establishing shots. Most of the action is confined to two or three rooms of the house and a swimming pool that doubles as a temporary safe haven from Ben’s rampages. It starts to feel like a one-set stage play where the main direction is “run, scream, repeat.”

And oh, the decisions these characters make. If you enjoy yelling at the screen, Primate is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet. It’s the kind of film where you start keeping score: how many bafflingly bad choices can one group make before the credits roll? The answer is: a lot.

There’s also a heavy whiff of déjà vu. The film wears its influences on its sleeve, especially Halloween and Cujo. In fact, calling this “Cujo with a chimp” isn’t just a joke—it’s basically the pitch. But where Cujo gave us emotional stakes and characters to root for, Primate comes up short. There’s no clear hero, no arc to latch onto. The cast, including Troy Kotsur (CODA), does what they can, but the characters are so paper-thin they might as well be origami.

That said, credit where it’s due: Ben the chimp is impressively realized. Roberts opts for practical effects over CGI, with movement work by Miguel Torres Umba, and it pays off. The physicality is convincing, and Ben feels like a genuine threat — a brutal force of nature rather than a digital menace. If only the rest of the movie had that same bite. But save for a couple of precious moments when Ben shows tenderness and emotion, he’s just a rabid terrorist in a monkey suit.

As it stands, Primate is repetitive, occasionally gnarly, and ultimately a missed opportunity. It’s not the worst way to spend 90 minutes, but you might find yourself wishing it had just gone a little more ape.

Home Video Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Available on Blu-ray - August 16, 2022
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Video: 1080p
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Primate swings onto home video with a fine little, stripped down Blu-ray + Digital Code edition with matching-art slipcover from Paramount that features Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 English language audio tracks, a director's commentary track, as well as a handful of bonus features.

Video

This transfer comes without the bells and whistles—no Dolby Vision, no HDR—but honestly, it doesn’t feel like anything’s missing. This isn’t a film that benefits from hyper-detailed polish or eye-popping enhancements. If anything, that kind of clarity might work against it. The raw, grimy nature of the visuals is part of the experience, and it’s the kind of brutality that’s better kept at arm’s length. Even if a 4K UHD release eventually surfaces, it’s hard to imagine it improving what’s already here. This is a movie that feels right in 1080p, untouched and unrefined.

As for the transfer itself, it’s impressively solid. The film leans heavily into darker tones, which conveniently masks most potential imperfections. Blacks are deep without swallowing detail, and the image remains stable throughout. When the film does allow some color to break through—especially in those poolside scenes with overhead party lights — it really pops. Those moments carry a surprising visual flair, offering a striking contrast to the otherwise bleak aesthetic.

Audio

Monkey screams in Dolby Atmos? Hell, yeah! Ear-piercing! Terrifying! This movie shines in its heights and ambient action. There are a few extremely well done scenes where Ben drops in on the action from above and swings about the room. Jungle-type-noises, insects, and sounds from "Lord knows what else" keep the experience alive and active with room-filling sounds.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Commentary by Director Johannes Roberts and Producer Walter Hamada

Special Features:

• Primal Terror: Directing Primate: A behind-the-scenes look at how Johannes Roberts and his team evolved a chilling original story concept into a full-blown cinematic nightmare thrill-ride.
• New Blood: The Faces of Primate: Meet the fresh new talents leading Primate’s cast, along with Oscar® winner Troy Kotsur, as they share their journey into the heart of horror and what it took to survive the madness.
• Creating Ben: A deep dive into the physical performance and practical effects behind the chilling chimpanzee central to Primate, Ben.
• Designing Paradise: Exploring the immersive set doubling as a tropical Hawaiian villa.

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