Primate lays bare its commercial calculus. 

Exhibit A: 

Horror movies straddle the line between PG-13 and R; teens are some of the genre’s best customers, but the adult set love their gore. The fact that you could axe a handful of the grisliest shots in Primate and potentially nail a PG-13 either opened up optionality for the powers-that-be…or they were inserts. 

Exhibit B: 

In a world where you wouldn’t need to advertise the movie as being about a killer ape to sell tickets, a different cut could’ve removed the introductory rabies text, and relocated the opening kill to its chronological spot in the story. 

Can you imagine the shock of believing you’re watching a family flick about a friendly ape…until rabies turns him into a murderer?! 

Going the conventional route — cold-open violence that teases the carnage to come — results in the usual “GET TO THE ACTION ALREADY” during the initial, obligatory get-to-know-the-characters domestic scenes.

2024’s In a Violent Nature understood that horror movies focus too much on the victims, and not on the who-we’re-here-to-see boogeymen. 

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If the character wasn’t originally envisioned as deaf, casting Troy Kotsur inspired ideas that elevate his sequences. 

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Points for how much of Primate is practical, and not compooters.