Just how vicious is the killer chimp in Primate? The film’s official rating from the MPA promises a brutal fight for survival ahead.
Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night) directs Primate, which is rated “R” for “strong bloody violent content, gore, language, and some drug use.”
Find out just how violent it is when the full-body experience opens in theaters on January 9, 2026.
The suspenseful horror movie follows a group of friends’ tropical vacation as it turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival. The cause? A beloved family pet, Ben, has violently turned against them.
Roberts previously told Bloody Disgusting, “You needed to fall in love with Ben to a certain degree and then be terrified of him. So we really had to hit that sweet spot of how old he was, how scary-looking he was, and all that. An awful lot of thought process and design went into Millennium FX’s side to create that ideal chimpanzee.”
I wrote in my Fantastic Fest review, “Roberts’ latest is a lean, mean horror throwback, wearing its influences on its sleeves while managing to inject enough freshness into the familiar concept through slick technical precision and a constant mounting of dread and death. It’s also not without humor. Primate may take its crazed beast with utmost seriousness, but it’s not afraid to get playful with its concept either.”
Johannes Roberts co-wrote the screenplay for Primate with Ernest Riera.
Johnny Sequoyah, Victoria Wyant, and Oscar®-winning Troy Kotsur (CODA) star.
Primate’s R-rating also heralds a new clip that sees Ben terrorizing family member Lucy (Sequoyah) below.
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