Life in the wild is nasty, brutish and short. The same could be said of Ben, the domesticated and, unfortunately, for his owners, accidentally rabid chimpanzee who serves as the title character of Primate, and also for the movie itself. Working from his own smartly stripped-down screenplay (with Ernest Riera), British horror specialist Johannes Roberts, whose resume includes the Jaws knock-off 47 Meters Down, packs enough gratuitous simian-on-human-violence into 89 minutes to satisfy even the most bloodthirsty viewer. Limbs are bitten off, scalps are torn, and jaws get twisted off their hinges; if we’re talking pound-for-pound destructiveness, King Kong ain’t got nothing on Ben.

Certainly, the shadow of Skull Island’s favourite son falls over Primate, but the movie’s existence seems derived from a more recent source; the plot setup and photorealistic CGI creature design suggest the “Gordy” sequences from Jordan Peele’s fantastic Nope (2022) distended to feature length. (Some of Ben’s scenes were achieved using practical and makeup effects; the integration with digital imagery is stylised but seamless.

Where Nope unfolded smartly as a meditation on Hollywood’s history of animal exploitation and spectacle in general as an idea, Primate is content to simply be about exploitation, straight up; an ignoble mandate with its own perverse terms of endearment. What its scenario lacks in subtext it more than makes up for via sheer, sadistic technique, stranding its gaggle of winkingly expendable college-age characters in a secluded mansion with an apex predator and letting things get Darwinian from there.

The plot, such as it is, is organised around a homecoming: the return of Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) to the Hawaiian island paradise after a year in self-imposed exile. Lucy loves her younger sister Erin (Gia Hunter) but had to flee following the death of their mother, a renowned primatologist whose legacy is being carried on by her husband, Adam (Troy Kotsur).

Despite Lucy’s arriving with a couple of party-hearty gal pals in tow, the vibes are bad. Erin resents Lucy’s absence and lets her know it. Both young women are annoyed that Dad keeps travelling to hawk his latest book.

Meanwhile, Ben, who’s introduced to the guests as a de facto family member, is lurking around, rubbing his arm and drooling — a bad sign considering the opening credit sequence takes pains to define the causes and symptoms of hydrophobia. In the classic Cujo, Stephen King used rabies as a metaphor for something more demonic; here, it just seems Ben is the victim of bad luck (and a sickly local mongoose).

For material like this to work, the director at the controls must be alert and resourceful, and Roberts — aided mightily by production designer Simon Bowles — navigates the pileup of contrivances and clichés adroitly. Having already set a precedent for aquatic suspense via the shark attacks of 47 Meters Down, Roberts tops himself with an extended set piece located in and around a cliffside infinity pool; Ben can’t swim, but the gang can only tread water in relative safety for so long before they need to make a move.

Miguel Torres Umba as “Ben” and Johnny Sequoyah as “Lucy” in Primate from Paramount Pictures.

The chimp-and-mouse game is absorbing and freaky on its own neo-B-movie terms. It’s refreshing to watch a genre movie that understands how to keep its setting and its stakes small-scale, and knows the difference between cheesy, Cocaine Bear-style shtick and authentically wry humour. For instance, the bit where Ben menaces his owners through the pronouncements of his personalised animal-speaking device evokes classic horror touchstones, to say nothing of how Roberts pulls off the rarest of things — a surprising and genuinely witty Shining homage.

There isn’t much more to “Primate” than a few good jolts and a handful of laughs (sometimes at the same time), and yet it’s hard to say if it’d be a better movie with a more evolved approach. Metaphors for grief and trauma are all well and good, but sometimes, a rabid chimpanzee is just a rabid chimpanzee: the fundamental things apply.

7/10 Knows what it is, just like Cocaine Bear.

Bolu
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.