Primate maintains a fierce pace, getting to the nitty-gritty gore quickly and keeping audiences in suspense for who will make it.
Primate offers no-holds-barred, shocking brutality as a bunch of young adults face off with a pet chimp turned rabid. There are attempts to establish emotional connections, but they all feel pretty hollow, with one heroine being the exception. After all, having a wild animal as a pet comes with its own risks, and they do not require rabies infection to be a danger. Primate maintains a fierce pace, getting to the nitty-gritty gore quickly and keeping audiences in suspense for who will make it.
Johannes Roberts (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, 47 Meters Down) directs the flick and co-pens the screenplay alongside Ernesto Riera (47 Meters Down, Nowhere). The story centers around Lucy, performed by Johnny Sequoyah (Wind Walkers, Dexter: New Blood), returning home for the first time since the loss of their matriarch. In tow is her bestie, Kate, played by Victoria Wyant (My Fault: London, I Fought the Law), and unwelcome—at least to Lucy—addition Kate invited, Hannah, played by Jess Alexander (The Little Mermaid, Into the Deep).
Meeting them is Kate’s brother and Lucy’s crush, Nick, played by Benjamin Cheng. Rounding out the cast is Lucy’s sister, Erin, played by Gia Hunter (Here We Go, Sherlock & Daughter), and workaholic father Adam, performed by Troy Kotsur (Coda, The Number 23). This group is the core of the story. But it’s mostly centered around Lucy and her friends, with her sister being largely M.I.A. The movie begins with a surprising first kill, with Ben in full killer mode, then backtracks to what led up to that.
Primate Is a Chuckle and Gasp
It’s a tale as old as time: boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy takes a nosedive off a cliff for participating in ridiculous clownery. Well, maybe not the action with the cliff, but poor choices in horror movies are a staple. But it’s also lazy writing because if you cannot move a story forward without poor choices, it’s a shallow film. Which, for Primate, works just fine. Viewers are not here for a meaningful message or elevated horror. Just carnage. And the movie delivers that in jaw-dropping spades.
Characters You Do Not Care About
It’s clear there was some effort to build an emotional connection to the lead, Lucy. After all, she lost her mom, has an unrequited love for her friend’s brother, and a dad who is not present. But her behavior does not scream suffering from loss. Instead, in Primate, it screams infantile tantrums.
That has nothing to do with Johnny Sequoyah’s performance, but the actions of the character and their choices. As for her best friend, Kate, despite the shared half-heart necklaces, there is nothing there hinting at a long-standing connection. Lucy has more interactions and chemistry with Hannah, who seems more like her bestie, given how far she goes to help. Hannah is the only one I rooted for because she was a fighter.
Lucy’s sister gets little attention for the bulk of the action in Primate—relegated to a floatie. So we hardly know her, except that she was mad at her sister and got over it at lightning speed. Nick is mostly forgettable. Their father stands out a bit more because he’s funny, and, as he is deaf, there are equally tense and comical moments that have no sound. It brought to mind Hush. The character is the typical cringy, wisecracking father, and Troy Kotsur does great in the role. Aside from them the one you’re most interested in is Ben, played by Miguel Torres Umba. The personality, and downright creepiness keeps the film flowing.
Some Takeaways
While assigning depth gives the film too much credit, there is a hilarious layer to it, whether intentional or not. White people, who are displacing Hawaiians and eroding the island and culture, are the ones going through it. So, expect to talk to the screen while shaking your head at the ridiculous ideas they come up with. Primate crafts some jarring kills, driving home a key takeaway that chimps are not pets. So, have one at your own peril.
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