Primate

Man I was literally thinking before the movie that it probably wasn’t gonna be good. I thought if I wasn’t just watching movies cuz I love them I probably wouldn’t have ever seen this because I had no faith. Absolutely feel like a fool now. This was just so fun. Can’t remember the last horror movie that came that I genuinely enjoyed this much. So much went well for this including watching it in the theater.  Created suspense really well. I think it just got back to basics with what works for horror movies. Grounded story that could feasibly happen, and they just kept putting people in tense scenarios with real danger. Relied on jump scares for sure but this was honestly getting me to squirm a little bit which is tough these days. The kills were amazing. The cold open really worked for me. Immediately tense and the first kill was great gore. Every kill where they really went for it landed so well. Ripping off the jaw, ripping off the face, the guy landing on his head, the girl getting ripped apart in the car, all so good for me. A couple dud kills where they kinda just had them get bashed by the ape but other than that super great horror and the sister getting bit at the beginning was nicely gruesome as well.  I honestly didn’t really take issue with any of the performances as I usually would with a horror movie like this but no one really took me out of it. Everyone just kinda did what they needed to. They did do the horror movie thing where they give backstory and create drama and love interests for no reason because at least one of every possible couple just dies. I guess they need some run time and it makes for a more enjoyable setup but I always thought that was kinda funny how they set up dominoes like that and then just throw them off the table individually. A lot good to say but I think where the movie really shined was that it didn’t take itself too seriously and it really went for it. The energy in the theater was phenomenal. It toed the line really well between having good technical quality and doing that is just kinda funny while not killing the horror vibe and tension. When they are in the closet and the thing makes the noise and the monkey just slowly turns toward them, I think everyone in my theater laughed. The guy falling on his head was funny. The monkey was like taunting them with the car keys and ripped jaw and stuff. The dad not hearing what’s happening and just eating pizza while his daughter is getting attacked. A lot happen that was mildly funny but increased my enjoyment so much. They were also doing this kind of Terminator thing with the monkey that I couldn’t tell if it was subtle or if I just haven’t seen the movie. But the slow turn while watching Dora, the way here reached up slowly after throwing the brother off the mountain, and the way he stood back up after he got beer bottled in the chest all gave me robot/terminator vibes. There were a couple things I took very slight issue with but they were pretty much all just “this is a movie” type stuff where if you can’t past it you’re a bitch and it doesn’t really take anything away from the movie unless you’re incapable of suspending your disbelief. I’m pretty sure rabies just makes you aggressive. It doesn’t make you start taunting the things you’re attacking, you just attack and bite them. The sister had such a massive chunk taken out of her leg and then immediately submerged it in water. I’m pretty certain she would have died so quickly and they were in there for hours probably. She was convulsing/shivering in one scene and then she comes back and is helping fight the monkey in the next scene. Again it’s a movie, but I did wanna mention those. Also, Hollywood has apparently one deaf actor. It takes me out of the movie a little bit every time I see that guy in something. Some of the most just genuinely fun I’ve had with a movie in a long time. Had me honestly a bit scared at a lot of times. Great gore. Performances held up for what they needed to do. Maybe I’m grading on a slight curve because horror movies are often not very good but this one really hit. There’s not a lot of significant flaws. I got exactly everything I want from a horror movie.