Chimpanzees: pretty scary! In fairness, some of them can be really friendly, even like a member of the family. But, there’s always a lingering element of uncertainty, especially when they get infected with a disease that gives them more of a killer edge, as is the case in the upcoming movie Primate.
Veteran horror director Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey At Night, and so on) is at the helm here. He had a real vision, and that vision involved putting CGI to the side in favor of practical effects to bring the chimp to life, making the character feel much more like a physical presence in the scary scenes.
Ahead of the movie’s release, keep reading for everything you need to know before it hits theaters.
Plot
The logline reads, “A group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.”
Roberts told Bloody Disgusting, “It was a huge concern at the beginning and was a real issue in green-lighting the movie. Because it was like, are the audience going to turn against us? Are they going to feel sorry for Ben [the chimp]? We got the green light and we went ahead and did it.”
Cast
The movie stars Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, Charlie Mann, Tienne Simon, Miguel Torres Umba, Kae Alexander, Amina Abdi, and Albert Magashi.
Sequoyah told Collider of having the lead role in the film:
“Oh my god, I feel like it’s a dream. I don’t know if, as an actor, you ever believe that you ever do that kind of stuff, so it felt like a dream come true. I was just so grateful, honestly, because the cast was so incredible. Our team was so incredible that every day it just felt fun. It didn’t feel like there was that kind of pressure of, like, ‘Oh, you’re No. 1 [on the call sheet].’ It just felt fun. So, honestly, I just feel like every day was just getting to play, and I had so much fun.”
Release Date
The film is set to hit theaters on January 9, 2026.
Trailer
Check out the Primate trailer below.