Every once in a while, a genre film comes out that sticks with you, whether because of the visuals, the story, or the characters. Horror is particularly good at this because of the very nature of the genre. Some of the best horror movies of all time have more than one memorable scene that fans recall repeatedly, and one recent flick is looking to be of the same caliber. It’s available for streaming, and viewers are gravitating toward it in droves.
Per FlixPatrol rankings, “Primate” is in the top 10 movies in the U.S. on Paramount+ for the week of April 28. It’s a creature horror, body horror, and slasher-style flick all wrapped into one. Although there’s no conventional killer doling out gruesome vengeance, but instead, as the name implies, the film explores what happens when a lovable primate goes wild.
The story centers around a family’s pet chimp named Ben, who unexpectedly contracts rabies and becomes excessively aggressive. While not at all based on the true story of Travis, the chimpanzee that violently attacked his owner, it’s clear that the idea behind the film was loosely inspired by the real-world encounter. If you have the opportunity, it’s worth watching. Forewarning, it’s gory and pretty much exactly what you’d expect a horror of this caliber to be like.
What are people saying about Primate?
If you like gory shock-horror, you’ll likely enjoy “Primate.” It has a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a 71% from users, with several reviewers praising it as suspenseful, creative, and entertaining. It’s also hailed as a unique twist on the age-old slasher genre. Someone describes the plot as “Caesar (from ‘Planet of the Apes’) meets Cujo,” and that certainly fits.
On IMDB, “Primate” has a 5.8 out of 10-star rating with over 27,000 reviews. That’s less forgiving than the Rotten Tomatoes score, closer to average, and most of the reviews span five-star (18%), six-star (28%), and seven-star (19%) ratings. Take that as you will. There’s also the point that it’s going absolutely bananas on Paramount+ rankings — it premiered on streaming in March but originally hit theaters back in January.
Since then, it has continued to dominate the streaming charts, debuting as the number one movie in the top 10 in March, as well. Something about it must be captivating audiences. If you’re not fond of primates but looking to watch something with similar vibes, Jeff Goldblum’s incredible ’80s sci-fi body horror doesn’t get enough love, and you can rent that on Prime Video or Apple TV. Alternatively, it’s not set to release until October, but you can get ready for the DCU’s first horror flick and watch the “Clayface” trailer as it unleashes a terrifying new character that oozes body horror and creature feature elements.