Primate (2026) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo87F-va410

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

A common nightmare anyone can have in their home is for a pet to go against you and it’s past everyone’s control. So when it happens to one you know, all you can do is pray you’re not next.


PLOT


2026’s Primate takes place in Hawaii and follows Lucy Pinborough returning home after a long time away in college. She is accompanied by her best friend Kate, but is a bit dismayed upon the fact her classmate Hannah is tagging along. They meet up with Kate’s brother Nick who takes them to Lucy’s home. There lives her father Adam who is a famous novelist, but is deaf and speaks through sign language. Lucy’s younger sister Erin also lives there and she misses her for being away. Hannah would be in shock seeing the family’s pet chimpanzee Ben who is highly intelligent and speaks via tablet containing soundboard software. Lucy explains to her that Ben was adopted by her mother who was a linguistics professor before she passed away a year prior to cancer. As night passes, Adam would find a dead mongoose in Ben’s enclosure, implying he must’ve been bitten by the animal. He sends the mongoose to a lab for testing just incase and keeps his enclosure off limits until he gets tended to by veterinarian Doug Lambert (Rob Delaney). As Adam takes off for a book signing, the girls enjoy the infinity pool on the cliff’s edge, but the fun stops when Ben is found acting mindlessly, after killing Lambert to escape. They pick up on the fact he’s gone rabid when finding his teddy bear stained in blood and when he gets aggressive towards them, they try holding them down with a rope. That doesn’t last due to him biting through the rope. He does get a bite onto Erin’s leg before she and the others jump back into the pool knowing apes can’t swim. Nick does try pushing him off the cliff when he gets closer, but the ape is able to toss him off first, instantly killing him. Lucy does get a pool float for them to safely rest before having to go get a cellphone in the living room. Kate joins her, but it would only lead to Ben bashing the latter’s head with a rock. Adam does get confirmation from the lab that the mongoose had rabies, but dismisses it due to the fact Hawaii is supposed to be a rabies free state. He does however head back home when Lucy starts missing his calls. Two young men, Drew & Brad (Charlie Mann & Tienne Simon), who met the girls on the plane, arrive to the house after being called on the phone earlier for help. They’re not aware of the danger due to being too intoxicated to notice and would be stunned to see Ben who instantly kills them; The chimp would tear off Drew’s jaw when finding him in Lucy’s bedroom and then pummel Brad with a shovel. Hannah does make a break for it to get a phone and car keys, but enters the wrong car and gets mauled by Ben in the process, but she still dials 911 for help before dying. By the time Adam arrives, Ben then targets Lucy and scratches up her back. When he actually sees what’s happened since he couldn’t hear the commotion, he slows their pet down with a whistle but the conflict worsens when the ape injures him too. With his daughters still alive, they get the upper hand by stabbing him with a broken wine bottle but he is still breathing. Ben would target Lucy again by sending her over a balcony. Ben would end up getting impaled by a broken chair leg, but Lucy is saved by her dad from falling. The police and ambulance do show up having tracked Hannah’s call and the family gets tended to. The film ends in a cliffhanger with Lucy being startled of the police collecting Ben’s soundboard tablet for evidence, playing the phrase ‘Lucy bad’.


THOUGHTS


You would think that the narrative of a rabid pet would be predictable after Stephen King already did it with Cujo. In actuality, all one needed to do is to change the layout and the animal, and that’s enough to establish surprises. It’s not unfamiliar either of a chimp being a threat, having seen Nope and 28 Days Later, but this is different because this time, the ape is undoubtedly front & center to create such carnage. Considering Director Johannes Roberts had done creature flicks before with 47 Meters Down and the sequel, Uncaged, it would’ve not been the worst thing for him to give the chimp to have a CGI makeover, but having stunt performer Miguel Torres Umba gives a whole new life to Ben in costume and gives quite authentic of a presence when the action kicks in. I mean I’m still unsettled seeing a jaw get ripped off the way Ben did. Overall, I think Ben is an interesting character because he’s an animal that had a clear conscience only for it to be taken from him to the point where he uses his intelligence for the worst. I mean it’s hard to not get chills seeing a chimp look at someone with bad intentions as he unlocks a car or slowly move towards another through a bed curtain before the jaw rip. I mean the tension was surreal thanks to strong editing & cinematography by Peter Gvozdas & Stephen Murphy. Aside from all the elements Ben brings to the table storywise, I think this movie stands out because Roberts & cowriter Ernest Riera give a compelling story that teaches viewers to always keep your guard up in any conflict surrounding animals; It is one thing to train any animal as a pet, but it’s on you to presume intelligence and/or love can control their raw instincts. The Pinborough family are the kind you can’t help rooting for because they don’t have bad intentions in them, yet nobody prepares for how sour it would turn out when Ben loses control apart from the whistle. Troy Kotsur was a delight as the patriarch Adam because while enjoying being a hardworking writer, the affection he has for his daughters would always be a top priority. Considering the loss of his wife brought a strain, the last thing he needed was to worsen it by distracting himself with work. He may have not gone unscathed when it came to protecting his girls, but at least he got there before it got worse. Johnny Sequoyah was a great final girl lead as Lucy because while her shared grief is what clouds her at first, she snaps out of it when danger is present and becomes quite determined to protect those she cares about. Erin is relatable as well because as Gia Hunter portrays her, her youth has her feel most alone for the fact she doesn’t entirely have the same advantages to distract herself from grief the way her dad and sister have. All she had was Ben and to lose that friend definitely is a whole other period of heartbreak to cope with. The fact Lucy had to kill him to protect her is definitely a whole other aspect to live with. Victoria Wyant made a believable friend as Kate because like anyone else in her shoes, she wanted to be that mediator Lucy needed. She knows what she is going through mentally having gone to college together and had to have heard how much she misses her mom, hence wanting her to lighten the mood when joining her so that she wouldn’t be so sad to reunite with her family for the occasion. Nick may not seem to have the same feelings for her the way she did for him, but it doesn’t change the fact Benjamin Chang makes him a good guy looking out for her before & after Ben loses it. He too knows what she’s going through and does his best to give comfort by being as laid back as possible before his efforts in seriousness cost him his life. It was a shocker for him and his sister to die because even when they’ve known Ben for so long and weren’t prepared for the worst. If anything, Kate & Hannah likely had better chances of surviving had they not went to Hawaii at all. While it’s a good thing the Pinborough family survived, the trauma will sure take a long time for them to get past because not everyone is lucky enough to say they survived a rabid chimp. If anyone was an enemy, that’d have to be Hannah because Jessica Alexander shows she was the outsider that wasn’t 100% welcomed to join the girl’s festivities. She’s already selfish to make advances on Derek when picking up on the fact Lucy was attracted to him, and elevated that vibe whenever she was the first to consider killing Ben, but she truly lost respect when trying to leave them behind, hence the karma that came her way. This movie is bonkers for the right reasons, but even good stuff like this have questionable moments to pick up on during a rewatch. Like for instance, it’s totally uncool of Kate to invite Hannah without Lucy’s permission, let alone Adam’s. I’m even surprised Nick didn’t pick up on what Adam was signing to Lucy since it’s obvious she wasn’t being honest with her feelings. It may have been funny for Lucy to use Ben to prank Hannah first, but in reality, that could’ve backfired since pets are always bound to be hesitant towards strangers. I mean Adam did point that out after the prank when he got caught him getting aggressive and that was also before he gets bit by the mongoose. It’s even weird for the group to leave the fire pit active when they were all about to go to sleep before Ben gets rabid. It’s also odd to have Lambert be tasked to clean the cage when that doesn’t sound like a doctor’s job and it could’ve been something for the girls to do since it is their pet to look after. Erin also shouldn’t be surprised Ben would be aggressive if her dad already told her a mongoose bit him. Personally, the group should’ve picked up a phone for animal control the moment they tied Ben down with the rope and secured themselves in one of the bedrooms. Even though I don’t like Hannah for trying to ditch them before she dies, she’s not wrong at all that Ben needed to be put down when he got aggressive from his rabies. It would’ve saved themselves from trouble had they voted for it. And if Erin bled profusely in the pool after Ben but her, does that mean Lucy has rabies too? I’m sure they get treated for it when going to the hospital, but at the moment, I’m curious if an infection can pass like that. I can also give the girls credit to scream for help when stuck in the pool before getting a phone, but the house is pretty isolated so they should know nobody is going to hear them other than themselves. I too would be stunned if a ringtone went off unexpectedly, but Lucy still should’ve not hesitated considering Ben was so close. I’m then surprised that not only Ben takes a while to use the lights above the pool to get closer to the girls, but the girls wait to know where Ben is coming from rather than grab the phone and keys sooner, let alone splash at the ape when in the pool. I can also complain it’s on Drew to throw his car keys as a distraction, but he’s clearly uncultured to not know Michael Jackson had a pet chimp when asking aloud who would have one. I mean it’s totally on him to be unaware of this drunk or not. Also, Hannah could’ve dialed 911 while running for it. I know she’s scared, but multitasking is possible if the goal is to let people know she’s in danger. I’m then confused of the fact Adam was too nonchalant seeing Drew’s car considering the latter is a stranger to him. I’m sure that meant he was gonna talk to the girls about bringing boys ever, but it’s odd he doesn’t observe the car which could’ve led to him discovering Hannah’s body. Ignore these things however, then you can still be impressed of what an intense creature flick Primate is. If that is the kind of film you prefer, then it’s a no brainer you’ll dig this too.