Primate (2025)

Primate is Cujo with a tablet. Lucy comes home to Hawaii with two friends, the family chimp Ben greets her through a soundboard her late mom taught him to use, and then a sick mongoose ruins the vacation. The friends are paper thin, the kind of characters who exist to make bad decisions near a cliff, and the movie has zero new ideas about killer animals. It doesn’t need them. Johannes Roberts keeps it lean and fast, and the house, built into a cliff with an infinity pool hanging off the edge, is a brilliant trap. Once the group realizes Ben won’t go in the water, the pool becomes a tiny island and the tension gets unbearable. Troy Kotsur brings real weight as Lucy’s deaf dad, a famous novelist off at a book signing. It made $39.1 million worldwide on a reported $21 to $24 million. A 6.2 because it’s a ruthless, efficient chiller with cardboard characters. $390.88 says you float on a pool raft this summer and refuse to paddle anywhere near the edge.

What works: The cliffside house and the pool standoff make a terrific trap, and the movie moves fast with almost no wasted time.

What doesn’t: Lucy’s friends are thin and forgettable, and the story brings nothing new to the killer-animal formula.

Who it’s for: Grown-up fans of old-school creature features who want a tight, mean, yell-at-the-screen night out.