Killer chimp horror 'Primate' is already a January shock

Killer animal movies have always walked a fine line between ridiculous and legendary, and Primate feels like it knows exactly where that line is. Directed by Johannes Roberts, this one leans hard into survival horror instead of winking at the audience. A rabid chimp stalking a family in Hawaii sounds like B-movie territory on paper, but the execution is where this thing starts to bite.

What’s making horror fans talk is the commitment to practical effects and physical threat. This feels closer to the animal panic of Backcountry or Cujo than the glossy chaos of late-era CGI creature features. The chimp is not a cartoon. It is fast, violent, and unsettling in that way that reminds you humans are not at the top of the food chain by default.

Then there’s Troy Kotsur, whose performance adds unexpected weight. Seeing a deaf actor in a prominent role inside a pure genre film is still rare, and it gives Primate an emotional grounding that keeps it from becoming just another kill-count exercise. Horror works best when danger feels personal, and this one understands that.

Creature features are creeping back into fashion lately, between throwbacks like Crawl and renewed love for practical monster work. Primate fits right into that resurgence and proves January horror does not have to mean disposable horror.