You are reading the twenty-fourth edition of Field Notes From Hell, a weekly horror column from Deep Cuts.
Each week, I send out an email with three-pack horror film recs, along with a hand-picked curation of news clips and upcoming horror releases. I recommend three horror films: one recently released, one classic horror, and one that I feel is unjustly overlooked. I send these emails — or I try to, anyway — every Sunday.
This week’s featured horror rec is Johannes Roberts’ Primate, a bonkers ‘80s creature feature throwback that sees a rabid chimpanzee maul through a CW-looking cast of nothing characters.
SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH BEN. And that is, I suspect, because he’s a direct descendent of the primates that were cruelly vivisected upon in Frederick Wiseman’s same-name 1974 documentary. Johannes Roberts’ new film, Primate, is not a direct sequel, but being transfixed still by Olga Tokarczuk’s kooky protagonist, Janina Duszejko, my mind thinks it might as well be. There is a point where animals would bang their beastly paws on their chests and start mangling their cruel oppressors, right?
But here’s the thing: Roberts’ film decidedly calls rabies, not animal abuse. (Even though it laid enough groundwork to show aggression triggered by mounting grief, but then again, Ben — who the film points out was a puppet, not a real chimpanzee — grew up with a loving Hawaiian family.) That wrangles us closer to Cujo territory with a dripped-out primate standing in for a Saint Bernard. Plus, Primate feels very of-the-’80s, from the horned-out characters down to the synth-laden soundtrack (probably the best part about the film, apart from the puppetry).
It’s a silly animal attack movie, and that silliness rises to its peak during a scene where one of its CW-looking teens manages to snag the car keys, only to end up in the wrong jeep. Like a few of Roberts’ features, Primate is best enjoyed on dimmed minds, and let the gruesome thrills — and trust, there’s plenty — push you to the edge of your seat.
ABOUT THE FILM
🐵 Primate | 2026 dir. Johannes Roberts | Horror, Thriller | 🇺🇸
Home from college, Lucy reunites with family including pet chimp Ben. Ben contracts rabies during a pool party and turns aggressive. Lucy and friends barricade in pool, devising ways to survive the vicious chimp.
Horror recs this week
Every FIELD NOTES FROM HELL dispatch includes a three-pack of horror recs: 1.) a featured horror rec we share at the top of the newsletter, 2.) a horror classic, and 3.) an overlooked or underrated horror.
Here are the rest of this week’s recommendations.
🎞️ Classic Horror: The Birds (1963, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
Random animal attacks have been depicted in film for many decades, but none as indelibly as Hitchcock’s seminal ‘60s feature, The Birds. Unlike Ben, the avian killers in this film weren’t triggered by hydrophobia or rabies; it’s left undetermined. There are theories, but the one that tickles me so is that the birds' keen ability to interpret anxiety, and the collective social tumult just screwed with birdbrains. Regardless, the film gets scary and it wholly cemented Hitchcock’s reputation as the master of suspense.
👀 Overlooked Horror: The Bay (2012, dir. Barry Levinson)
Another film set in a waterfront town, Levinson’s found-footage horror depicts what a small-town outbreak looks like when late-stage-capitalist greed gets so rampant people feel it’s totally fine to dump literal chicken shit in natural reserves. Pandemonium ensues in well-strewn footage oscillating between news reports, surveillance cameras, and home footage of townspeople who are unaware that a parasitic isopod outbreak is about to gnaw their insides out. It’s a grim and an uneasy watch that I don’t always recommend, but I figured it matched this week’s theme.
What’s new in horror
In addition to weekly horror recs, I’m also curating notable horror headlines and sharing them here in quick, TL;DR bullet lists so you can get (mostly) up-to-date with your horror news.
Plus, I’m calling attention to any upcoming horror film and TV releases both in theaters and streaming platforms. Here’s what’s new in horror this week.
🩸 If It Bleeds…: Weekly horror news roundup
It brings me infinite joy to say that there’s a wealth of Oscar-nominated horrors this year, including Ryan Coogler’s Sinners,with a whopping 16 nominations, Zach Creggers’ Weapons, and Bugonia — Bloody-Disgusting
Francis Galluppi’s new Evil Dead filmis well underway, with Charlotte Hope, Jessica McNamee, and Zach Gilford joining the cast, due out 2027; it follows the 2026 film, Evil Dead Burns, directed by Sébastien Vaniček — Deadline
Heel— Stephen Graham endeavors to reform (in violent and unsavory ways) a young druggie
Noseeums — Southern supernatural gothic by way of Get Out and Candyman
Ghost in a Cell— Seemingly ACAB supernatural horror-comedy from Indonesian filmmaker, Joko Anwar
🎟️ Marquee of the Macabre: Upcoming horror films & TV
💉 Christopher Gans’ Return to Silent Hillis out now in theaters!
💦 Ryan Murphy returns to original horror television with The Beauty, a psychosexual Cronenbergian speculative thriller starring Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall. Hulu just released the first three episodes this week.
🧳 Send Help, the new film directed by Sam Raimi, starring Dylan O’Brien and Rachel McAdams, is hitting theaters next week.
🎅 Silent Night, Deadly Night, the remake from Mike P. Nelson,is coming to VOD on January 27th.
🐻 Grizzly Night is coming to VOD on January 30th.
That’s it for this week’s digest! Thank you so much for reading through.
ABOUT FIELD NOTES FROM HELL
FIELD NOTES FROM HELL is Deep Cuts’ weekly email digest. Dispatches go out every Sunday, with handpicked capsule reviews, news updates, and horror recommendations.
Nice write-up for Primate. I’ve enjoyed Roberts’ movies ever since I saw Strangers: Prey at Night. Hopefully he keeps pumping out delightfully cruel B-movies.
Actually, that Galluppi-directed Evil Dead movie, which might be coming in '27, has no title. Evil Dead Burn is already finished and coming out this year, from director Sébastien Vaniček. We're getting two of these!
Nice write-up for Primate. I’ve enjoyed Roberts’ movies ever since I saw Strangers: Prey at Night. Hopefully he keeps pumping out delightfully cruel B-movies.
Actually, that Galluppi-directed Evil Dead movie, which might be coming in '27, has no title. Evil Dead Burn is already finished and coming out this year, from director Sébastien Vaniček. We're getting two of these!