Late to the Party: reviews for films I didn't see until they were streaming - Primate
- Carla Davis
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
I love horror movies so much, and I am of the opinion that they are always better when seen in a theatre. Watching on a phone isn’t ideal, especially since horror films are often shot in lower light levels. But I’m also a busy girl, so I just don’t get the chance to catch every film I want to see in a theatre.
So, I am starting a new series of film reviews wherein I review newer horror films that have recently begun streaming. For the first article, let’s talk about Primate, which is streaming on Paramount+.
Primate made its debut at Fantastic Fest in September of last year, and its theatrical release was in January. Based on the film fest reviews, I had every intention of seeing Primate in a theatre, but life was lifin’, and I missed it.
Luckily, Primate is streaming on Paramount+, and I finally got the chance to see it.
Primate is set in Hawaii, where Lucy is flying home to see her Dad and sister, accompanied by her friends Kate and Hannah. Sis Erin is a bit miffed at Lucy, because she hasn’t been home in quite a while. We also meet the family pet, a chimp named Ben. Shortly before Dad Adam leaves for a book signing, he discovers a wound on Ben which was caused by a mongoose bite. Though rabies is not a thing in Hawaii, Adam lets his vet know what happened.
The vet checks Ben out, and becomes the first victim when he is attacked and killed by the now rabid Ben. After that, Lucy, Erin, Kate, Hannah, and Nick become prey and must try to avoid becoming Ben’s next kills. Spoiler alert: that doesn't work out for most of them.
It was a smart move on the filmmakers' part to only let us see Ben in one scene prior to him becoming a crazed killer, because the animal lovers amongst us would have had a hard time watching the movie otherwise. Even though his interactions with Lucy are cute, we don’t really get to know him very well before chaos ensues.
Primate is a good, bloody fun that manages to pack in a lot of character development in a short amount of time. That’s important in horror movies, because you can’t really feel too invested if you aren’t concerned about the characters.
The ample gore is great – it’s all practical effects, no crappy CGI. From what I have read, Ben himself was actually a guy in a chimp suit. And the kills are vicious! One character is thrown from the pool at a cliff’s edge, not only flying off the cliff, but literally landing head first on the ground.
I thoroughly enjoyed Primate, and recommend it to horror fans who are looking for something fun and fast-paced, with great practical gore effects.
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