Johannes Roberts' film Primate finally gives audiences a glimpse of this wild and ambitious horror film that has been creating a buzz since its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 18, 2025. Edited for maximum suspense and dynamism, the trailer reveals a breathless survival story set on the cliffs of Hawaii and by an infinity pool that quickly goes from luxury to lifeline. The plot remains clear and spoiler-free: Ben, a chimpanzee adopted by a family, begins to behave strangely after an incident, and a summer visit turns into an ordeal in a confined space. The new trailer builds on the film's retro DNA without giving away any key moments, while highlighting the tactile and practical effects that had fans of the genre screaming at the premiere.
The film itself comes with a pedigree that explains the confident tone of the trailer. Directed and co-written by Johannes Roberts and produced by Walter Hamada as part of his first-look deal with Paramount, Primate stars Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, and Troy Kotsur in a story co-written by Ernest Riera that deliberately channels the stark, unforgiving spirit of Stephen King's Cujo and John Carpenter's stalker grammar. On opening night at Fantastic Fest, this lineage wasn't just a cinephile's anecdote: the audience immediately noticed it, applauding the old-school suspense rhythms and unapologetic genre structure when the animals attack. The trailer brings this same lineage to the mainstream audience: it sets the scene with a few striking images, then moves directly to mounting anxiety, sign language exchanges, and nervous, furtive glances toward Ben's enclosure, just enough to let your imagination take over.
Cinematographer Stephen Murphy's images, glimpsed in the new shots, use the negative space of the cliffside house as a weapon; editor Peter Gvozdas's tempo keeps the trailer breathless and crescendoing; and composer Adrian Johnston's score adds a pulsing, synth-tinged menace that references classic slashers without being a pastiche. Above all, Ben's performance, embodied on set by movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba, with animatronics from Millennium FX and selective digital augmentations, is immediately expressive in the trailer's flashes without giving away the film's most sordid surprises. This balance is key to the Fantastic Fest audience's reaction: you sense the intelligence and unpredictability without the clip giving away the details.
Casting-wise, the trailer clearly positions Johnny Sequoyah as the audience's point of view, with Troy Kotsur's presence adding both warmth and a new device of tension that the images judiciously suggest without explaining. We get quick glimpses of Gia Hunter, Victoria Wyant, Benjamin Cheng, and Jessica Alexander, each sketched just enough to signal the dynamic before the storm hits. This is a commercial horror film that resists the temptation to explain the characters' backstories in detail, relying instead on immediacy: faces, glances, a few lines of dialogue, then the feeling that something is wrong. Paramount's editing understands that the appeal here is not an elaborate mythology, but the primal question “what would you do?” in a locked room, amplified by a formidable non-human antagonist.
The trailer arrives as a victory lap after a rapid production sprint that began when Paramount greenlit the project in July 2024, with Johannes Roberts confirming principal photography on September 16, 2024, and announcing the end of filming on November 4, 2024. That clarity of intent—design, shoot, edit, screen, then release widely—shows through in the marketing. The trailer favors real locations and physical gags over special effects, and sells January as it should be sold: as a prime time for muscular, R-rated genre films that appeal to mainstream audiences. After its festival premiere, early reviews have been mostly positive, with the film currently earning an excellent score based on a first wave of reviews, a figure the studio will likely highlight as the campaign expands beyond horror fans.
Synopsis :
A group of friends' tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.
Primate
Directed by Johannes Roberts
Written by Johannes Roberts, Ernest Riera
Produced by Walter Hamada, John Hodges, Bradley Pilz
Starring Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Kevin McNally, Kae Alexander, Gia Hunter, Charlie Mann, Tienne Simon, Benjamin Cheng, Stuart Whelan, Albert Magashi, Miguel Torres Umba, Kieran Deane, Amina Abdi
Cinematography : Stephen Murphy
Edited by Peter Gvozdas
Music by Adrian Johnston
Production company : 18hz Productions
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates : September 18, 2025 (Fantastic Fest), January 9, 2026 (United States); January 21, 2025 (France)
Running time : 89 minutes
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