Johannes Roberts isn’t widely referred to as a master of horror, but by rights, he should be. His entire career as a filmmaker has been devoted to the genre, beginning with microbudget efforts in his native England like Sanitarium and Hellbreeder and continuing on through some made-for-television features. Eventually, he graduated to theatrical releases, and has been making a splash amongst horror fans ever since. With movies like his pair of 47 Meters Down films, The Strangers: Prey at Night, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Roberts has demonstrated a flair for putting victims — sorry, protagonists — into life-threatening situations that grow increasingly brutal and complex. His penchant for kinetic, attention-grabbing violence and uncompromising plot developments has made him one of the most reliable old-school horror directors working today.  

His latest film, Primate, is no exception. It’s a “killer chimp” movie that pulls no punches, literally and figuratively. It tells the story of a college freshman, Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah), who is visiting her family’s home in Hawaii during break. In addition to her sister Erin (Gia Hunter) and father Adam (Troy Kotsur), the last member of the family is the domesticated chimpanzee, Ben (Miguel Torres Umba), who is sweet and friendly, even toward Lucy’s gal pals. That is, until a sick mongoose gets into Ben’s enclosure and infects the chimp with rabies, leading to a harrowing standoff between the trapped humans and the mad, violent ape.

Johannes Roberts Doesn’t Skimp On The Killer Chimp

On the eve of the release of Primate, I was given the chance to sit down with director and co-writer Johannes Roberts to speak a bit about the film. During our conversation, Roberts revealed some key concepts behind the movie’s extremely gory kills, as well as how the entire idea behind bringing Ben to life was nerve-wracking. The visual effects company Millennium FX built a fully articulated suit as well as several animatronic heads for Miguel Torres Umba to wear on set, and it’s the combination of this suit and Umba’s performance which makes Ben such a terrifyingly tangible presence within the film. Watch the full conversation below, and then prepare yourself to meet Ben when you see Primate, which opens in theaters everywhere on January 9th!

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