Directed by: Johannes Roberts
Starring: Troy Kotsur, Johnny Sequoyah, Gia Hunter
The prologue of Primate discusses the evolution of the term rabies and we know that the lovable chimpanzee in Primate named Ben will transform into a homicidal killer who stalks his victims in the dark. Primate is a mostly unpleasant slasher film with gallons of blood spilled and a chimpanzee as the killer.
As Primate opens, we find college-age girls coming home to her family in which Ben is adopted by author Adam (Kotsur-the Oscar winner from CODA) who goes away on a book tour for a few days soon after Ben is bit by a rabid mongoose. Adam hires a veterinarian to give Ben a rabies shot, but Ben thrashes him and goes on the prowl. Lucy (Sequoyah) and her sister Erin (Hunter) try to calm the violent Ben down and hope to find signs of the old Ben in there, but that is soon revealed to be a fool's errand. Ben is soon the primate Michael Myers with an insatiable bloodlust.
The prime issue we have with Primate is that I felt sorry for Ben, who was turned so horrible due to circumstances he couldn't control. I would've found it more dramatic and satisfying if there were still traces of the old Ben in there somewhere, and maybe a kill is met with ambivalence and even regret. However, that is not the audience Primate was made for, but I think the filmmakers would be surprised if their audience looked for some more depth too.
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