Animals as monsters have been used as villains in horror films for many decades. Continuing this heritage is Primate, a movie co-written and directed by Johannes Roberts. All in all, this is a film that’s at its best in moments of violence, and at its worst when it tries (and fails) to develop any of its characters.

After returning home, a young woman and her friends find themselves face-to-face with a killer chimpanzee. The picture is led by Johnny Sequoyah. She is joined by Jessica Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, and Miguel Torres Umba.

As touched on earlier, Primate stumbles in almost any moment that doesn’t include the rabid chimpanzee named Ben. Luckily, this is at the centre of the narrative, so there is much to enjoy for viewers who wish to see an ape commit pure brutality.

The first twenty minutes are a slog to get through due to the movie’s inability to create any semblance of stakes for the deadly situation to come. Some may say that a creature feature doesn’t need good characters, but if you are going to invest a good amount of time trying to develop them, the cast should at least be charismatic. Unfortunately, the actors in Primate are wooden and forgettable.

Jumping back into positives, Miguel Torres Umba is fantastic as Ben the chimpanzee. His physicality allows for exceptional believability and many moments of terrifying tension. The choice to use a costume and mask over CGI is much appreciated. Furthermore, any scene where Ben commits acts of violence is quite thrilling, and the accompanying score by Adrian Johnston is the perfect soundtrack for a movie like this.

Primate is a film that ticks enough boxes to be an experience worth having. While it does fall short in the character department, the elements of horror are enough to push it across the line.