Primate: A Killer Ape Flick That Fails to Utilize Its Absurd Premise (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Over the decades, there have been numerous films that have focused on people having to defend themselves against animals gone wild. From dogs, birds, sharks, snakes, alligators, wolves, and more, it could easily be said that these films have become their own kind of sub-genre within the realm of horror. However, one that we don't seem to see all that often in the out-of-control animal category are monkeys. Sure, we've had "Monkey Shines," "Link," and, of course, multiple non-horror films featuring "King Kong" (if you even count those), but a regular killer ape is surprisingly not a subject that many filmmakers have delved into. This brings us to Johannes Roberts' "Primate," in which he attempts to utilize that very premise in an effort to elicit some thrills. Will he be successful, or will we ultimately find out that there's a reason why filmmakers tend to stay away from this specific creature for these types of films?

Taking place in Hawaii, the film follows Lucy Pinborough (Johnny Sequoyah) and her best friend Kate (Victoria Wyant), as well as Kate's brother Nick (Benjamin Cheng) and invited guest Hannah (Jessica Alexander). They all go to Lucy's gorgeous house on the edge of a cliff, where they meet up with her father, Adam (Troy Kotsur), who will be leaving on a book signing tour the next morning, and sister, Erin (Gia Hunter), who is upset that Lucy has been away for so long. It is also revealed that the family has a pet chimp named Ben, who is rather intelligent and is able to communicate through a special tablet, which was created by Lucy's recently-deceased mother, a linguistics professor. Adam soon discovers that a mongoose got into Ben's cage and bit him, leading to a concern about rabies, a concern that is soon confirmed as he kills the doctor who tries to check him out. With a rabid Ben now on the loose, Lucy & co. quickly find themselves in a desperate struggle for survival.

The whole "killer ape" premise is one that could be utilized in a few different ways, depending on what tone the filmmakers are trying to set. You could go for a straight-up horror film, where the tone remains completely serious as the creature goes about killing anyone it can, where the intention is to scare & thrill the audience as much as possible. On the flip side, you could also go for a horror-comedy. After all, a situation in which a family just happens to have a pet chimp that happens to get bit by an infected mongoose, causing said chimp to go nuts, is remarkably absurd, so it seems the perfect opportunity to take advantage of that by mixing some laughs into this silly situation. However, Roberts & co-writer Ernest Riera have opted for the former, attempting to bring out the terror of this highly-unlikely set-up, so pretty much everything is going to hinge on just how well they're able to do that.

Unfortunately, on that basis, they aren't all that successful, merely having the rabid chimp kill off some of the main group (and others that happen to stop by) one by one in a rather dull, repetitive execution of the premise. It's certainly not helping that Roberts & Riera's screenplay has most of the characters hiding in the swimming pool for most of the film instead of actually trying to do something about the situation. The whole idea of being "trapped" may have worked well in the context of "Cujo," where a mother and her young son are stuck in a car while a rabid dog lurks about, but here it merely makes a ridiculous situation even more silly (and which only seems to further prove that this should've leaned a little more into the comedic side of it).

What we're left with is a film that fails to take advantage of its peculiar premise in either fashion. If the filmmakers wanted to frighten the audience, they were going to have to think of something a little more creative, daring, and thrilling than having some kids trapped in a pool while a chimp picks people off. As it is, its bland, repetitive structure just doesn't do much to elicit the scares & thrills that they're trying so desperately to generate, leading to a film that is little more than a series of uninspired kills by an unengaging antagonist. This is an idea that could've worked pretty well under different circumstances, but in trying to over-simplify it and contain it in one spot, the filmmakers have sadly removed any chance of it having more compelling elements to it, ultimately making for a rather forgettable horror outing that simply doesn't do nearly enough to grab the viewer.

Video/Audio:

"Primate" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of outstanding quality, presenting a picture that is perfectly sharp & clear throughout its entire 89-minute duration, even in its darkest scenes (which make up most of the film). Likewise, the Dolby Atmos audio track is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Paramount has done a wonderful job in both areas for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

Commentary by Writer/Director Johannes Roberts and Producer Walter Hamada

Primal Terror: Directing Primate (9 Minutes): A featurette that focuses on director Johannes Roberts.

New Blood: The Faces of Primate (10 Minutes): A featurette that explores the cast.

Creating Ben (11 Minutes): A featurette that takes a look at how Ben was brought to life.

Designing Paradise (7 Minutes): A featurette that delves into the design of the house.

Conclusion:

Johannes Roberts' "Primate" wants to utilize its premise to elicit a few thrills as its killer chimp goes on a murder spree, but sadly it fails to take advantage of the sheer absurdity of the idea, instead settling for a simplified, repetitive structure that ultimately results in a bland horror outing with very little to offer fans of the genre.

Score: 2/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow

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