‘Primate’ Earns R Rating for Violent Bloody Content and Gore

Just how savage does Primate get? If the Motion Picture Association’s official rating is any indication, audiences are in for a vicious, blood-soaked fight for survival.

Directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night), Primate has officially been rated R for “strong bloody violent content, gore, language, and some drug use.” In other words, this killer-animal nightmare isn’t pulling its punches.

Horror fans will find out exactly how brutal things get when the film claws its way into theaters on January 9, 2026.

The film centers on what should have been a carefree tropical getaway for a group of friends—until it devolves into a primal nightmare. The source of the terror is Ben, a once-beloved family pet whose sudden and violent transformation turns paradise into a bloodbath.

Roberts co-wrote the screenplay alongside Ernest Riera, with a cast that includes Johnny Sequoyah, Victoria Wyant, and Oscar® winner Troy Kotsur (CODA).

The R rating also arrives alongside a newly released clip that gives audiences a taste of what’s to come, featuring Ben unleashing terror on Lucy (Sequoyah). If this preview is any indication, Primate is shaping up to be one seriously feral horror experience.