{Fantastic Feast} PRIMATE (2026): Its Time For All The Monkey Business

Johannes Roberts has never been shy about wearing his influences on his sleeve. With Primate, which I caught at Fantastic Fest ahead of its wide release on January 9, he takes a big swing with a big ape. And make no mistake, this thing is frothy from the jump. Within the first five minutes, you know exactly what you’re going to get. Roberts doesn’t pull any rug out from under you, doesn’t pivot into some genre mashup, doesn’t bother with subtext. It’s a big silly GORY monkey movie, and the film practically winks at you in neon letters that read, “Relax, we’re just here to have fun.”

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

That confidence counts for something. I applaud a movie that announces itself and sticks to its lane. But even a goofy monster romp benefits from sharper characters, and that’s where Primate trips over its own banana peel.

Pretty People, Not Much Else

The cast is suitably photogenic, which is to say everyone looks like they were airlifted from a resort photoshoot, but the script doesn’t give them much personality. I was never entirely sure who these people were supposed to be beyond “the hot ones.” Are they college kids? Young professionals? Models with a travel stipend? At a certain point it doesn’t matter, but a little grounding would have helped.

The standout, though, is Troy Kotsur as the workaholic dad, a character who wasn’t originally written as deaf. According to Roberts in the post-screening Q&A, that change came once Kotsur joined the cast, and it adds a unique tension that elevates scenes in unexpected ways. Watching him navigate terror while simultaneously trying to protect his family with limited communication and hearing creates real stakes. It’s a smart pivot, and one of the few moments where the film feels like it’s reaching for more than surface thrills.

Cujo, But with Speak and Spell

Roberts clearly took inspiration from Cujo, and you can see the DNA all over this film. The threat isn’t just that there’s a killer animal—it’s that the characters are trapped in close quarters with it. Except here, instead of a rabid dog, it’s a rabid primate who has just enough intelligence to make him even scarier. Oddly, the film doesn’t spend much time making us sympathize with the monkey before he goes off the rails. A set up exploring the house and how monkey friendly would have added to the horror later. A little set design that played up the monkey’s physicality—rafters, dangling ropes, maybe a perch or two—would have made things even more dynamic. As it stands, the ape is menacing, but he’s not using the playground that could have made the action more inventive.

Monkeying Around

When Primate leans into comedy, it’s a blast. There are a few shots where we glimpse the monkey through rippled glass or from under the water that are legitimately eerie, but there are just as many moments where the absurdity takes center stage. The actor portraying the money doesn’t sell the realism, but his physical comedy is undeniable. His non-verbal reactions get some of the biggest laughs in the theater, which seems intentional.

The problem is balance. The movie drags whenever it tries to make us care deeply about its human characters. That’s not a knock on the cast—Jessica Alexander, Johnny Sequoyah, and Kae Alexander all do fine work—it’s just that their characters are written as filler between monkey beats (and the monkey shines there….did you see what I did. I am so sorry.

There’s also a frustrating stretch where the characters make noise after noise despite being told silence is crucial to survival. Six times in about ten minutes they give themselves away. At some point you want to climb on your sheet and scream “stop knocking stuff over y’all.

A Synth-Heavy Groove

What keeps the whole thing moving is the score. Roberts leans into synths that feel like a mashup of Tubular Bells and early John Carpenter, and it’s glorious. That pulse keeps the energy high even when the plotting falters. Between the music and the location work, the movie often feels better than it is.

And let’s talk about our scream queen, Lucy, who spends the bulk of the film running around and looking terrified while her friends sacrifice themselves for her one by one. Instead of making bold choices, she keeps circling back to shaking the monkey’s hand or cooing at it, like it’s some kind of trust exercise. At a certain point, I wanted Gretchen Wieners to pop in and yell, “Stop trying to make fetch happen, Lucy.” Survival horror works best when your final girl feels resourceful. Here, she mostly feels lucky.

Missing Jawbones and Monkey Jaws

Fantastic Fest has developed a running gag for me this year: movies with missing jawbones. Primate adds to that accidental theme in ways I won’t spoil, but let’s just say the ape gets his licks in. It’s gnarly, silly, and part of the overall charm of a movie that never once pretends to be more than it is. It proves this may not be the year of the monkey buts its for sure the year of the monkey bone.

At the end of the day, there’s novelty and mirth to spare in Primate. It’s not smart horror. It’s not especially deep. If you’re looking for character studies or layered themes, this isn’t your ride. But if you want to watch pretty people get chased around a beautiful house by a monkey in a Hawaiian paradise, this is your ticket.

When the credits rolled, I felt like I’d had a good time but wasn’t walking away any wiser. In fact, I might have left a little dumber, but happily so. Sometimes that’s all you need.

Johannes Roberts delivers exactly what he promised: a frothy killer monkey flick that knows its limitations and plays to its strengths. The scenery pops, the score slaps, Troy Kotsur is excellent, and the monkey is both terrifying and unintentionally hilarious. It’s not a classic, but it’s a crowd-pleaser.

Primate swings (why am I the way I am) into theaters January 9