| B | Fantastic Fest 2025 |
This was a non-supernatural horror movie. Which is not usually up my alley—I’m less about “just survive!” than “what the heck is going on.” But this movie was enjoyable once I gave in to it.
Good things about it: They used a real chimp, and that looked terrific (much better than SFX, I’m sure). Built a lot of tension. There were some good directorial choices throughout. For fans of gory kills, there were some nice ones. And good to see Troy Kotsur (a 2022 Oscar winner) on the screen again. (Per the Q&A, his character was not originally written as a deaf person. But once they landed Troy, they rewrote the part and used the character’s deafness to good effect.)
Several annoying things: One or two directorial choices up front that were more distracting than effective (but thankfully were only at the beginning). And a bunch of little details that did not feel right to me, like they were glossed over for the sake of plot or tension (which always drives me crazy).
But overall, a good horror movie worth watching.
[Paramount will release this movie in January, 2026.]
