Film Review: ‘Primate’ (2025)
Johannes Roberts delivers a ferocious, old-school creature feature that weaponizes the bond between man and beast.
Director: Johannes Roberts
Cast: Troy Kotsur, Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Gia Hunter, Victoria Wyant, Miguel Torres Umba
Genre: Horror / Survival Thriller
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Release Date: January 9, 2026 (Theatrical)
In the pantheon of “nature strikes back” cinema, the most effective films are often those that strip the premise down to its most primal elements. Primate, the latest offering from director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night), understands this implicitly. By isolating a group of young adults in a glass-walled Hawaiian fortress with a rabid chimpanzee, Roberts delivers a lean, mean, and surprisingly visceral exercise in tension. Anchored by a magnetic performance from Oscar-winner Troy Kotsur and stunning practical creature effects, the film overcomes its narrative simplicity to become one of the most effective survival thrillers of the year.
Full Plot Synopsis
The narrative unfolds in an architectural marvel of a home perched precariously on a Hawaiian cliffside. The residence belongs to Adam Pinborough (Troy Kotsur), a celebrated deaf novelist, and his two daughters, Erin (Gia Hunter) and Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah). The family is still navigating the raw grief of losing their mother, a linguist who had been teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to their adopted chimpanzee, Ben. Far from a mere pet, Ben is treated as a surrogate child, fully integrated into the domestic sphere and communicating via a tablet soundboard.
Lucy returns home from college for the first time since her mother’s death, accompanied by her best friend Kate (Victoria Wyant) and the abrasive Hannah (Jessica Alexander). The reunion is fraught with tension; Adam is distant, burying himself in his work, while the family’s reliance on Ben as an emotional crutch has deepened.
The horror begins quietly in the surrounding jungle, where Ben is bitten by a rabid mongoose. The infection takes hold with terrifying speed. Adam departs for a book event on a neighboring island, leaving the young adults alone at the estate. As night falls, Ben’s demeanor shifts from playful to predatory. When the group attempts to interact with him, the animal snaps, launching a brutal attack that leaves Kate critically injured and the rest of the group scattered.
With the landlines down and cell phones destroyed in the initial chaos, the survivors are forced to barricade themselves in the outdoor infinity pool, exploiting the fact that chimpanzees cannot swim. What ensues is a harrowing siege. Ben, driven by a rabies-induced madness yet retaining his high intelligence, stalks the perimeter. He cuts the power and uses the house’s smart-home features against them.
As the night wears on, attempts to retrieve car keys or medical supplies result in gruesome casualties. The supporting cast is whittled down in a series of visceral encounters that emphasize the sheer physical strength of the primate. The climax sees Adam returning early to find his home a slaughterhouse. Leveraging his deafness to move in absolute silence, he engages in a physical confrontation with the enraged animal to save his surviving daughter. The struggle culminates on a fragile glass balcony, where the family must shatter the illusion of their domestic safety to send the creature plummeting to the rocks below.
Critical Analysis
Themes and Subtext
While Primate is undeniably a kinetic creature feature, it possesses a tragic undercurrent regarding the folly of anthropomorphism. The Pinborough family has projected human innocence onto a wild animal to bypass their own trauma. The film deconstructs this dangerous affection; Ben is not a monster because he is evil, but because he is an animal stripped of the artificial constraints of domestication. The violence is not malicious, but instinctual, which makes it all the more terrifying.
Acting and Characters
Troy Kotsur brings a profound gravitas to the role of Adam. His performance grounds the film in emotional reality, preventing it from sliding into camp. The use of ASL and silence is not merely a plot device but a textural element that Roberts uses to ratchet up suspense; the scenes where Adam is unaware of the chaos unfolding behind him are masterclasses in dramatic irony. Johnny Sequoyah proves a capable lead, balancing vulnerability with the physical demands of the “final girl” archetype. However, the supporting characters—particularly the friends brought along for the ride—suffer from thin writing, existing primarily to elevate the body count.
Direction and Visuals
Johannes Roberts has always had a keen eye for spatial geography, and he utilizes the single location to devastating effect. The house, with its floor-to-ceiling glass walls, transforms from a sanctuary into a terrarium where the humans are on display. The decision to rely on practical effects for Ben is the film’s greatest asset. Brought to life by movement artist Miguel Torres Umba in a prosthetic suit (created by Millennium FX), the chimp has a tangible, weighty presence that CGI simply cannot replicate. The violence is tactile and unflinching, satisfying genre purists without becoming gratuitous.
Screenplay
The script is efficient, if occasionally clunky. The dialogue often serves as exposition delivery, and the decision-making logic of the characters—a staple complaint of the horror genre—can be frustratingly obtuse. The narrative contrivances required to move characters out of the safety of the pool and into danger are sometimes transparent. Nevertheless, the pacing is breathless, and the script wisely avoids over-explaining the infection, allowing the immediate threat to drive the story.
Strengths & Weaknesses
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Practical Effects: The reliance on a suit performer rather than CGI creates a terrifying sense of physical reality. | Character Depth: Aside from the family unit, supporting characters are disposable archetypes. |
| Pacing: At 89 minutes, the film is tight, focused, and free of unnecessary filler. | Predictable Beats: The plot adheres strictly to the survival horror formula, offering few narrative surprises. |
| Troy Kotsur: An Oscar-caliber performance adds unexpected emotional weight to the premise. | Screenplay Logic: Characters occasionally make irrational decisions solely to advance the plot. |
| Sound Design: The contrast between the deaf protagonist’s silence and the creature’s rage is expertly mixed. | Dialogue: Exposition can feel forced and unnatural in the early acts. |
Final Verdict
Primate is a savage, efficient, and highly entertaining throwback to the eco-horror boom of the 1980s. It does not aspire to elevate the genre so much as perfect its execution. By combining a unique antagonist with high-stakes practical gore and a compelling lead performance from Troy Kotsur, Johannes Roberts delivers a film that is both a technical triumph and a crowd-pleaser. It is a nasty, adrenaline-fueled ride that demands little from its audience intellectually but delivers visceral thrills in spades.
Score: B+