Overview
- The release expands this week with Mexico on January 8 under Paramount distribution and the United States and Spain on January 9, following a January 1 debut in Peru and festival play including Fantastic Fest and Mórbido.
- Set during a tropical getaway, the story follows a family and friends forced into survival when their pet chimpanzee, Ben, turns violently aggressive after a rabid-animal bite.
- Director Johannes Roberts emphasizes practical craft, with a performer embodying the chimp and hybrid animatronics and puppetry used for intense fight sequences.
- The cast features Johnny Sequoyah and Jessica Alexander, with Oscar winner Troy Kotsur making his first appearance in the horror genre.
- Early aggregation shows roughly 90–91% approval on Rotten Tomatoes from a small number of reviews, with praise focused on the film’s practical-effects approach.