Primate is kicking off 2026 with a vicious bang, with a supposedly domesticated ape going wild and attacking the family that adopted him. While it may not seem like a comparable threat to the likes of Jason Voorhees or a Xenomorph, apes have proven an enduring threat across generations of film. Going all the way back to the silent era and the advent of the talkies, apes running amok have been a common impetus for action, horror, and drama in movies.
While some of the apes are amplified to ludicrous size to enhance the threat, others stay grounded in reality, drawing attention to the danger of the natural world, even against all the technology and intellect of humans. Sometimes, the ape-heavy movies can be madcap and silly. However, others have a lot to say about society and humanity. Across genre lines and decades of cinematic history, here are the best apes gone wild movies that are worth checking out on HBO Max, Hulu, and more.
Nope (2022)
If you’re excited for Primate, then you need to check out the horrifying subplot of Nope (2022). Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) is largely a sci-fi horror film about a mysterious alien entity quietly terrorizing a California horse ranch and nearby fairground. However, the background of Steven Yeun’s Jupe is as a child star of a sitcom and the sole person to escape a monkey that went wild on set.
The flashbacks are tense in the best of ways, beautifully shot, and with a willingness to leave enough out of the shot to let your imagination do its worst. Even with the Nope’s creepy sci-fi effects and memorable characters, the monkey mauling on the sitcom set remains one of the creepiest and most effective uses of a wild ape in a movie to date.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Definitely the most influential on a larger genre scale than the other movies on this list, Planet of the Apes remains a classic nearly 60 years after it debuted on the big screen. The film follows Charlton Heston’s astronaut when he lands on a mysterious planet where a race of intelligent and bipedal apes have enslaved humanity.
The epic was groundbreaking for its time and remains a compelling exploration of society and the easy allure of fear through its central (and admittedly bizarre) metaphor. While the film has plenty of sequels (and Tim Burton’s even stranger riff on the concept, 2001’s Planet of the Apes), the first entry in this franchise remains the most important. While it doesn’t have the intense scares that some audiences are looking for, the tension, the broader themes, the ambitious filmmaking, and iconic ending of Planet of the Apes still make it a compelling watch that influenced generations of sci-fi.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
The modern prequel trilogy for the Planet of the Apes franchise is a solid reimagining of the ape apocalypse, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes laying some impressive groundwork. With motion-capture technology now advanced enough to believably transform actors into apes, the first entry in the trilogy keeps the action relatively grounded and the emotional core surprisingly vulnerable.
Andy Serkis delivers a terrific, largely physical performance in the film as Caesar, the ape who will eventually begin the downfall of humanity. While the sequels, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), are more epic and engaging on a cinematic scale, there’s something to be said for the more grounded heartbreak and sudden ferocity of a character like Caesar in a realistic setting. Honestly, bring some tissues.
King Kong (1933)
The early cinema ancestor to not just ape attack movies but blockbuster monster flicks in the first place, King Kong remains an undeniable part of global pop culture and a fun throwback to an older era, too. Following a crew venturing onto the prehistoric Skull Island and bringing back the titular titanic creature to New York City, King Kong has a certain human depth that plenty of other monster movies of this era lacked, giving the then-revolutionary special effects behind Kong a touch of humanity.
While the remakes like King Kong (2005) and modern successors in the Monsterverse franchise have kept the character active and alive in the modern era, the original film remains a must-watch for movie buffs, even if the differences in pacing across eras can make it a little slower to modern audiences.
In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1986)
In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro is a horror film that ups the ante of the typical berserker monkey movie. Starring John Rhys-Davies, Timothy Bottoms, and Irene Miracle, the film follows the inhabitants of a small town in Kenya that is surrounded by a vicious troop of chacma baboons.
Taking direct inspiration from real-life events, In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro benefits from strong visuals that help paper over some of the weaker storytelling beats. Gritty in a way that feels very much of the mid-1980s, the film’s thriller elements make for a good, intense little movie for horror fans who don’t mind a bit of the “children in peril” trope. While elements of it haven’t aged the best, In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro’s eye for sweeping African visuals adds to the experience and makes it great for audiences who enjoyed Beast (2022).
Congo (1995)
Campy to the point of hilarity, Congo is a weirdly memorable relic of the 1990s that also features some truly bizarre gorilla action beats. Directed by Frank Marshall, Congo focuses on a group of people, including an expert on primates, a former CIA operative, a snarky mercenary, and an eccentric philanthropist seeking a lost city, encountering a tribe of dangerous, violent gorillas.
It’s a wonderfully over-the-top film, with the diamond-powered laser used to cut down ferocious gorillas not even among the five silliest things in this movie. Far from the grounded emotional drama of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and more in the category of Anaconda (1997), Congo is a campy blast that feels more in line with the self-aware big-screen spectacle that would go on to fuel movies like Rampage (2018) decades later.
Monkey Shines (1988)
A cult classic oddity from one of horror’s most important filmmakers, George A. Romero, Monkey Shines is a great precursor to Primape. The film follows Allan, a recently paralyzed athlete who gets a capuchin monkey as a service animal. In secret, the monkey has been experimented on, leading to the animal having advanced intelligence… and murderous intent.
Ella, the monkey, looks like a direct creative ancestor of the monkey from Primape, and serves as a strangely dangerous and quietly tragic creature, whose darker side reflects the growing humanity in her rather than the animal nature. Surprisingly complex and strangely entertaining, Monkey Shines might be the undersung classic of this sub-genre. It’s definitely a must-watch for people who appreciate the horror of an unexpected threat, as in Child’s Play (1988) or Orphan (2009).
Monkey Trouble (1994)
On the lighter side of things, Monkey Trouble is a light-hearted kid film that imagines some of the monkey mayhem with a more innocent edge. Similar to Dunston Checks In (1996), Monkey Trouble sees a capuchin monkey (trained as a pickpocket) find a new home with a young girl in Los Angeles.
Goofy and weightless in a way that kid movies of the era usually were, Monkey Trouble has enough silly charm to appeal to younger audiences, especially whenever Harvey Keitel appears as the kleptomaniac who trained the monkey. While it might not be the scariest movie about an ape acting out, it’s at least a good one to gauge your kids’ response to the animal as opposed to the more overt horror of the other entries on this list.
