Primate is kinda like Cugo, but he’s a monkey named Ben, and he hates Dora the Explorer.

First movie theater watch of 2026 and I was honestly pleasantly surprised by Primate! 
I go into January releases skeptical due to it often being a month when studios dump their films they aren’t as confident in. I was expecting this to be a Night Swim (2024) blumehouse-style level disappointment but there was a lot I ended up really enjoying. Once I saw it was directed by Johannes Robert’s — who directed the best Strangers film, Prey at Night (2018), I understood why the slasher elements of this worked so well, and why the soundtrack was such a banger!

The cat and mouse/suspense sequences work very well. There was some typical dumb slasher decision making, but nothing to unbelievable that wasn’t rooted in the characters personalities. It felt as much of a survival movie as it was a slasher.

I already kind of have a fear of monkeys or apes for some reason and this absolutely tapped into that for me. Ben was so cute at first but I couldn’t help but look at him as what he would become. It’s equally as tragic for him as it is for the family, (perhaps more so). It’s not really touched on in the film but the dad was definitely just profiting off Ben when that was never their mother’s initial intention when bringing him home? The ethics of the whole situation are never really explored and I just thought it was strange. 

Ben slowly transforms into more of a monster as the film progresses. It might be my predisposed fear of monkeys but he managed to scare me more than any Jason or Freddy could. There’s something horrifyingly realistic as it is tragic about the set up here that kind of crawled under my skin. 

Near the start of the action, i found myself unrealistically hoping they wouldn’t have to kill Ben, and would find a way to “save” him. I scoffed when one of the friends suggests shooting him. But, by the end of the film I was hoping for him to be taken down, less for the families sake and more so his own. Killer animals bring up complicated feelings, and I think films like Cugo balance the tragedy on both sides more articulately. I just don’t think the films script was equip enough to have the conversations around these topics. 

I had heard the kill sequences had some gnarly practical effects so I was expecting as much, but man these kills were way more intense than trailers had made me assume. There are some really brutal moments in this film that show Ben’s sheer strength and sold the terror of the situation. There’s one kill in particular in a bedroom, (ugh, Terrifier 2’s impact), that was standout. Ben was one scary motherfucker by the ending here. I had a visceral reaction to some of the shots of him foaming at the mouth barring his teeth — dead in the eyes. His design looked great, and they did a great job showing his transformation. 

I also just want to obligatorily complain about the characters. They are just your typical slasher fodder. The film wants us to think Lucy (our lead) is a bad older sister because she was away from home, but she was literally in college? The emotional core of the film relies on the relationship between Lucy and her younger sister Erin(?), who she feels she needs to protect to show that she is here for her and won’t leave again? But, like, she didn’t run away or do anything horrible — home girl is just getting an education. I don’t know, whatever. Lucy’s friends are here too and her best friend is with her and they have cute matching heart BFF necklaces (so you know she’s gonna die). It was all very by the numbers, which to be fair of lot of this movie was, but this was the most egregious. I felt worse for Ben than I did any of these human characters if i’m frank. Also i’m standing on business that the dad sucked majorly!!!! 

I did not expect to have this much to say about a January release killer monkey film but here we are. I’m hoping this film speaks towards the trajectory of horror releases this year!!!! (fingers crossed for Dolly, Psycho Killer, and Ready or Not 2!!!!)