A Recap of the Movie ‘Primate’

Movies

Jan 9

Written By VS BRANDS

Plot Synopsis written by Michael Lee

*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Paramont Pictures

Official Trailer: ‘Primate’ (2026)

Video Credit: Paramount Pictures

Plot Synopsis

The story begins with a horrific act: a veterinarian is brutally killed by the family's pet chimpanzee, Ben, in an outdoor enclosure at a remote Hawaiian home. This takes place after Ben, who is hydrophobic and communicates using a custom soundboard (a system taught to him by Lucy's late linguist mother), is bitten by a rabid mongoose.

‘Primate’ Film Clip: “Lucy. Bad.” • Video Credit: Paramount Pictures

Thirty-six hours prior, college student Lucy returns to her isolated, cliffside family home in Hawaii, accompanied by her friends Kate and Nick, and an uninvited guest, Hannah. During their flight, they meet Drew and Brad, two college-aged men looking to party. Lucy's father, Adam, a deaf novelist, greets them. Her sister, Erin, expresses her disapproval of Lucy's long absence. Ben, the intelligent chimpanzee, is revealed as the family pet and is thrilled when Lucy gives him a teddy bear.

The action accelerates when Adam, after discovering the mongoose bite, leaves for a book signing, having called the veterinarian to check on Ben. While the friends party by the infinity pool overlooking the cliff, the now-rabid Ben kills the veterinarian and escapes his enclosure.

The violence continues that night after everyone has gone to sleep. Kate wakes up to find Ben mindlessly shambling. The friends bring Ben out to the pool area, where Nick's attempt to restrain him with a rope backfires, triggering a violent rage. The group jumps into the pool, but Ben, unable to swim, stalks them from the perimeter. Nick is thrown over the cliff's edge by Ben and dies on the rocks below when he tries to push the chimpanzee away. The group manages to find temporary rest on a large pool float.

By morning, Ben has vanished. Kate is killed when Ben crushes her head with a rock during an expedition with Lucy to retrieve a smartphone from the living room. Adam, worried by Lucy's silence and notified by a lab that the mongoose tested positive for rabies, leaves his event early.

Oblivious to the danger, Drew and Brad arrive at the house, having been invited earlier. While searching for the girls, Drew is cornered and killed in Lucy's bedroom when Ben tears off his jaw. Brad finds the girls outside but is ambushed by Ben, who beats him to death with a shovel.

‘Primate’ Featurette: “Silence” • Video Credit: Paramount Pictures

Hannah manages to sneak into the house to retrieve a phone and car keys. She calls 911 from the wrong car, frantically begging for police, but Ben finds the keyfob, enters the cabin, and tears her to pieces.

Adam arrives home and, with the help of Lucy and Erin, kills Ben by knocking him off a balcony, where he is impaled on a broken table leg. Police arrive, having traced Hannah's call, as the family recovers in the front yard. A police officer collecting Ben's soundboard as evidence accidentally plays the phrase "Lucy bad," startling Lucy.