The past year has been a really good one for horror fans, with the genre taking up several spots in our list of best movies of 2025 with options like Sinners and Weapons. Even the scardiest of cats found plenty to like. How will the next 12 months fare in comparison? Critics are here to weigh in on Primate, the first horror offering on the 2026 movie calendar, and it sounds like the year is off to a pretty bloody start.
We’re dealing with a violent chimpanzee in Primate, as a family sees their Hawaiian vacation go south after Ben — the adopted animal in question — is bitten by a rabid animal, turning him into a killing machine. Clint Worthington of RogerEbert revels in the empty calories of January horror, but says the practical gore and surprisingly lifelike chimp are the main reasons to buy a ticket. The critic rates it 3 out of 4 stars, writing:
