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Primate (2026)


Primate (2026) is a slasher horror built around a simple hook, a rabid monkey on a killing spree, but it leans far too heavily on genre tropes without doing anything interesting with them. Logical inconsistencies are the film’s biggest issue, with characters repeatedly making baffling decisions that pull you out of the experience. Several deaths are outright spoiled in the trailer, which drains what little tension the film manages to build. The trailer would, wrongfully, make you believe that the audience is being scared the same way Paranormal Activity did. There is also an unfortunate character design choice that feels engineered purely for clout rather than story or theme.

Johnny Sequoyah, who some may remember from Assassination Nation and the TV series Dexter: New Blood, is positioned early on as the clear final girl. The film telegraphs this so hard that there is never any real suspense about her survival. Once she is framed as the moral and emotional center, the rest of the cast feels disposable by design, which undercuts the slasher formula entirely.

Victoria Wyant, known for the TV show Foundation, overacts throughout much of the film. Her performance is loud and exaggerated in a way that clashes with the already shaky tone. Instead of elevating the material, it highlights how thin the writing is, especially when emotional beats are supposed to land.

Jess Alexander, who was in The Little Mermaid, ends up being the most interesting presence. Her character is better written and more grounded than most, and the film hints at a background that never gets explored. Ironically, she is the one character who feels like she belongs in a smarter version of this movie, and it is disappointing that the script does not give her more to work with.

Overall, Primate is a serviceable but frustrating slasher. Between spoiled kills, obvious plotting, and illogical character behavior, it never rises above mediocrity. There are flashes of something better here, but they are buried under poor writing choices and wasted potential. Result: C

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