Primate Delivers 2026's Most Terrifying Kill

Primate, directed by Johannes Roberts and now available digitally, centers on a chimpanzee with rabies who goes on a killing spree. The premise echoes Cujo—swap the St. Bernard for a chimp and a group of teenagers for a mother and sick son—but the film leans on practical craft: animatronics and actor Miguel Torres Umba in a suit give Ben a physical presence rather than CGI.

Ben is framed as a tragic, almost familial figure before the violence escalates. The movie unfolds as a slow-burning nightmare, showing the chimp's gradual descent into rabid aggression; an early mid-story sequence in which he rips off veterinarian Doug Lambert's face signals the film's willingness to go all-in.

The film's standout kill trades instant shock for drawn-out dread. Two men search the house and one, Drew, dozes with only a thin curtain between him and Ben.

primate, johannes roberts, miguel torres, chimpanzee, rabies, animatronics, practical effects, doug lambert, face ripping, cujo