The horror film Primate is set to reach theatres on January 9, 2026 – and with that date getting shockingly close, Paramount Pictures has released a new featurette that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the film and its story of a rabies-crazed chimp. You can watch the featurette at the bottom of this article.
Bloodbath of Fun
At the helm of Primate is genre regular Johannes Roberts, who has previously directed Hellbreeder, Darkhunters, Forest of the Damned, F, Roadkill, Storage 24, The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. He also contributed a segment to the horror anthology V/H/S/99. Roberts has written the Primate screenplay with his frequent collaborator Ernest Riera. In this one, a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.
If you’d like more information on what’s going on, you can check out the 8/10 review from JoBlo’s own Mike Holtz at THIS LINK. He described the film as “an unapologetic blood bath of fun” that’s about a rabies-crazed chimp.
Cast and Producers
Oscar-winner Troy Kotsur (CODA) stars in Primate alongside Johnny Sequoyah (Dexter: New Blood), Jessica Alexander (Amadeus), Victoria Wyant (My Fault: London), Benjamin Cheng (d’ILLUSION: The Houdini Musical), Gia Hunter (Sherlock and Daughter), Miguel Torres Umba (National Theatre co-production Kin), Kae Alexander (Ready Player One), Tienne Simon (Grime Kids), Charlie Mann (Lazarus), newcomer Amina Abdi, and Albert Magashi (National Theatre Live: Dear England).
A while back, former DC Films boss Walter Hamada signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, the idea being that he would become, as Deadline put it, “the architect of Paramount’s mainstream horror genre pod, with the mission to release several low- to mid-budget films per year across theatrical and streaming.” Primate is part of Hamada’s horror-minded efforts at Paramount, and he is producing the film through his 18hz production company alongside John Hodges and Bradley Pilz. Roberts serves as an executive producer with Vicki Dee Rock, Nathan Samdahl, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro, and Andrew Lary.
Primate looks to have the makings of a good time to me (especially since I just caught up with, and was blown away by, the 1986 killer chimp movie Link within the last couple of years), though I know I’m also going to be feeling sorry for this poor, sick killer chimp.
Are you looking forward to Primate? Check out the featurette, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
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