 In my way, over time, I have grown to enjoy Glen Powell's work as of late. He was probably the most entertaining part of 'Twisters.' I loved him as Ben Richards in 'The Running Man,' and if I'm being honest, his role here is really no exception. He continues to convey the particular charm his characters tend to have and leans into his sense of humour a little more. However, the film itself, although I may not call it terrible, as most other reviews seem to suggest, leaves something to be desired after it all wraps up.
To be perfectly fair, this does come from a relatively fresh writer-director, John Patton Ford, whose only other big credit is the Aubrey Plaza film 'Emily the Criminal,' which has been well reviewed. Thus, I feel like it could be said that Patton is still figuring out what works for him and what doesn't. With that in mind, I'm probably not gonna be too harsh on this film, though my first thought was that if this story were drawn out into a miniseries, it probably could have been more entertaining than this relatively short film turned out to be. As the film opens, we hear the sounds of jail cells opening and closing, and we may wonder if we've just started into 'The Goonies,' as it sounds almost exactly the same. Here, we meet Becket Redfellow (Powell), who has been put on death row for murder. When Father Morris (Adrian Lukis) pays him a visit to listen to his final confession, Becket, instead, tells him the full, true story of how he ended up there. He begins with his mother, Mary (Nell Williams), pregnant with him, refusing to follow through with her Dad's (Ed Harris) wishes to go through with an abortion, and thus getting cut off from the wealthy Redfellow family. Becket is raised alone by Mary and still manages to rub elbows with the more prosperous, eventually meeting the horribly manipulative Julia Steinway (Maggie Toomey), who becomes a recurring character throughout the film. Back to the central plot, however, Mary eventually gets sick and passes away while Becket is still young, prompting him to promise to have the "life he deserves to have." That could mean a variety of things, but over time, Becket comes to see it as inheriting the Redfellow family fortune, which he's still technically entitled to should the remaining family members pass before he does. As Becket's story unfolds, and he seeks out his various family members to bump off, circumstances lead him to a somewhat awkward love interest named Ruth (Jessica Henwick), who's tied to the Redfellow family already, while Julia (now Margaret Qualley) keeps coming in and out of his life, getting more and more irritating with every return. Her gold-digging ways are just a little too obvious, and she's almost too easy to hate. Usually, I'd mark that as the portrayal of a good villain, but there's something extra "irksome" about this character - you don't like her from the moment she walks on screen, she's that transparent. The rest of the film may be pretty much what anyone might expect, as Becket comically but somehow strategically goes through the systematic killing of each of his family members while trying to duck and dodge authorities. While it's fun, the whole thing ends up pretty questionable at best. It's a little hard to wrap one's head around the sympathy angle they go for here with Becket, as he's very plainly guilty of his crimes, even if he did just do away with a bunch of rich snobs. I suppose he's meant to be a sort of folk hero. For me, the message was a touch unclear. I think what I disliked most about the film, however, was the ending. I won't spoil it here, but let's just say things don't go the way you want. With the ending and certain characters in mind when it comes to the bad, there's still a fair amount of decent here in the film's sense of humour, certain other characters, and of course, Glen Powell's comical performance, which isn't mind-blowing, but probably provides the most charm of the film. Otherwise, this might have worked better as a series on the small screen, with better advertising and a much more thought-out ending. 2/5
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 Speaking as a straight-up fan of most things horror, despite this film mainly receiving favourable reviews, I'm not sure I saw it the same way most critics seem to. Horror can be a tricky genre to get right without offering up a bunch of clichés, and this is a title that sports a few of the classic ones, like introducing "too dumb to live" characters, trying to appeal to the bad guy's good side, a seemingly unkillable villain, and a getaway vehicle that doesn't allow one to get away to name a few.
Having said that, those who know me well know that a lot of the time, I welcome horror clichés with open arms, as in some cases, they add to the fun of it all. I'd liken it to a standard roller coaster: people go to have a good time on the ride, but can always expect the same steep hill climb and the same standard drop to get the ride going. Those clichés, however, are best found in older slashers from the 80s, as they add to the corniness of it all. Hell, 'Scream' even sets up standard rules in almost every one of their titles based on these clichés, and those rules are what make that franchise fun. Getting back to 'Primate' though, I can still credit it for several things I enjoyed about it, and one of those things is the somewhat original idea of the slasher character not being your standard character out for revenge or something supernatural, but quite simply, a chimpanzee named Ben (Miguel Torres Umba) who is raging with rabies. And yes, Ben the chimp, whenever you see him, is either Miguel in a suit, or a practical effect of some sort. While a real chimp would have been impressive, the film still does a good job of using practical effects and keeping the CG to a minimum, which is admirable for the genre. Story-wise, after spending several years away from her home in Hawaii, Lucy Pinborough (Johnny Sequoyah) heads back, along with her friends Kate (Victoria Wyant) and Nick (Benjamin Cheng), and somewhat to her dismay, Kate's friend, Hannah (Jess Alexander). Upon their arrival, we're brought to a remote home built into the side of a cliff, providing a challenging escape location ripe for a good horror romp. We are then further introduced to Lucy's deaf father, Adam (Troy Kotsur), sister, Erin (Gia Hunter), and eventually Ben. Much to Hannah's shock, she learns that Ben is the family pet and was primarily raised and trained by Lucy's late mother. Ben is knowledgeable and friendly for the first little bit, but eventually, after Adam leaves for a book signing, he goes feral on account of a rabid-fueled mongoose bite. Before long, Lucy, Erin and their friends find themselves caught up in a night of survival, as Ben seems to want nothing more than to rip them to shreds out of rage. They find themselves safe in the swimming pool, but also know they can't stay there forever, and may very well have to risk their own lives to find help. While I mentioned that the film has its share of cliché horror moments, I think the film's strengths are its use of practical effects, a good share of tension, and, above all else, its brutal kills that are sure to please gore hounds. One thing I will not deny is that I ended up rooting for Ben like I would Freddy or Jason, just because I wanted to see how creative the next kill would be, each one illustrating the sheer power of the often underestimated chimpanzee, which we usually see as a friendly sidekick type in film. The one thing I keep coming back to, however, which takes this title down a notch, is the Jordan Peele movie 'Nope.' There is a B side to the whole film involving a chimp who goes "ape" on the set of a TV show, and to me, those scenes left more to the imagination and were much more chilling to watch. Those scenes got inside my head much more than the straight-up gorefest that is 'Primate.' With that being said, however, if you're on the lookout for a bloody romp that harkens back to those classic slashers, I can still see this being a good time, and can still recommend it to the slightly more hardcore fans. 3/5 |
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