Move over Gordy, there's a new killer chimp in town! Ahead of its release on January 9, 2026, Paramount has unleashed the official trailer for Primate, the upcoming survival horror from Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City).
Starring Johnny Sequoyah (Dexter: New Blood), Jessica Alexander (Get Even), and Troy Kotsur (CODA), Primate follows a group of friends’ tropical vacation which turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.
Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, Charlie Mann and Tienne Simon also star in the pic, which was written by Roberts and Ernest Riera.
In our review of Primate, which premiered at Fantastic Fest earlier this year, Brandon Wainerdi declares it a “glorious gorefest”, praising smart scripting, great creature effects, and a compelling family dynamic, plus revealing some of Roberts' inspirations for the animal attack horror:
In his introduction, director Johannes Roberts exclaimed that Primate is “so fucking old school!” and, indeed, you can really see his inspirations: the chimp’s brutal attacks mimic several horror boogeymen including, yes, The Shape, but also shades of the velociraptor from the original Jurassic Park. And, Roberts, also the director of The Strangers 2: Prey at Night, showcases that he really loves pools (this time, though, it’s an infinity pool).
With Primate, the upcoming Anaconda reboot starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, Netflix's Cujo remake, Morihito Inoue’s horror-comedy Hot Spring Shark Attack, not to mention this year's Dangerous Animals, Good Boy and the Justin Long-starring Coyotes, it looks like animal-focussed horror is having something of a renaissance, and frankly we welcome it. Nothing scarier than Mother Nature, after all.
Primate is produced by Walter Hamada, p.g.a., John Hodges, p.g.a., and Bradley Pilz. Vicki Dee Rock, Nathan Samdahl, Johannes Roberts, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro, and Andrew Lary serve as executive producers. Meet Ben in the new trailer and poster for Primate below:
