Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Chris Stuckmann
Cast: Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Keith David, Sarah Durn, Robin Bartlett, Michael Beach
Runtime: 1 hr 31 min
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Horror)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 January 2026
Synopsis: A woman's obsessive search for her missing sister leads her into a terrifying mystery at the hands of an unknown evil.
Movie Review:
‘Shelby Oaks’ marks the filmmaking debut of Chris Stuckmann, a YouTube personality whose popularity on the streaming platform led to one of the biggest crowdfunding successes for a film project in Kickstarter history. It also boasts Mike Flanagan as its executive producer, whose clout as a horror specialist has grown since the Netflix series ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and ‘Midnight Mass’. Alas, all that promise turns out to be pretty underwhelming, as the movie ends up being a mishmash of found-footage, missing-person, demonic possession and folk horror tropes that lack a compelling narrative to tie them all together.
That disappointment is all the more significant given its strong 20-minute pseudo-documentary opening, which outlines the disappearance of Riley Brennan (Sarah Durn), one of the four members of a YouTube group called ‘Paranormal Paranoids’ who had taken it upon themselves to explore unexplained hauntings. Whereas the rest of Riley’s ghost-hunter crew were found brutally murdered in a remote cabin in the titular abandoned town, Riley has been missing for the past 12 years, leading to widespread speculation if her disappearance was real or just a stunt, and sparking the nationwide phenomenon ‘Who Took Riley Brennan?’.
Most effectively creepy is the recovery of footage from one of the two cameras the crew had with them, which showed Riley being surrounded by mysterious fuzzy forms outside and within the cabin before vanishing into the dark. Ironically, it is when the documentary concept falls away that the movie gets progressively less and less interesting; instead, the appearance of a dishevelled man at the doorstep of Riley’s sister Mia (Camille Sullivan) who abruptly shoots himself in the head sets Mia off on a personal quest to find Riley. The man turns out to be an ex-con who had been incarcerated at Shelby Oaks’ sinister, now-shuttered penitentiary, and instead of surrendering the video she finds within the dead man’s clutched fist, Mia decides to keep it herself in the hopes of finding her own clues.
That is but the first in a series of inexplicable decisions that turns Mia from a dedicated sister into a dim-witted heroine. Knowing full well that she could come face to face with a demonic entity, why would Mia set off in the middle of the night by her own with just a flashlight to visit the aforementioned prison to see what the cell of the man who had shot himself in front of her? Just as perplexing is the improbable house in the middle of the woods that she stumbles upon, occupied by a witchy old lady (Robin Bartlett) who obviously knows more of what is going on in the town than she is letting Mia in on. Even more baffling is how Riley turns out to be, and without giving too much away, let’s just say that she has been abducted for her fertility.
To be fair, Stuckmann, who also conceived the story together with his wife Samantha Elizabeth, does a fair job keeping the story humming along; unfortunately, what started off intriguing turns out familiar and even derivative, with clear signposts of where Stuckmann probably got his ideas from, coming off at worst like a bargain-bin ‘Hereditary’ knockoff. It doesn’t help that Mia is both underwritten and underdeveloped, giving us little reason to root for her; nor for that matter is the relationship between Mia and Riley poignant enough for us to identify why the former would risk life and limb in order to try to rescue her.
So despite the promise of how it came to be made, ‘Shelby Oaks’ hardly lives up to expectation. There is potential all right, and like we said, the first 20 minutes in faux-documentary style did draw us in and get under our skin; but as with many first-time filmmakers, Stuckmann flounders in sustaining his high-concept horror, and eventually grasps at the familiar both he and his audience have seen to allow his movie to descend into an unmotivated pursuit of an unremarkable character. As much as we’d like to support new talent, this half-baked pastiche is hardly the breakout hit that gives us confidence of better things to come from the Youtuber turned filmmaker.
Movie Rating:
(A strong faux-documentary opening progressively degenerates into a mishmash of found-footage, missing-person, demonic possession and folk horror tropes that add up to little original or compelling)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: The film takes place just before Christmas, when an unexpected turn in their mother’s health thrusts four adult siblings and their exasperating father into chaos as they navigate messy family dynamics in the face of potential loss. But their quick-witted mother, June, orchestrates her decline on her own terms — with biting humour, blunt honesty, and a lot of love.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Finally, there’s a celebrity offspring who isn’t known for parading down red carpets in a designer gown or a fanciful tuxedo. Joe Anders, son of Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes, makes his debut as a screenwriter, while his Oscar-winning mother makes her directing debut in Goodbye June.
Unlike other festive Christmas-themed comedies, Goodbye June is an intimate drama about death, sibling rivalry, and family love. If you’re not ready for a tear-inducing experience, we strongly advise you to stay away.
With the family matriarch June (Helen Mirren) dying of cancer in hospital, her children — Julia (Winslet), Molly (Andrea Riseborough), Connor (Johnny Flynn), and Helen (Toni Collette) along with her husband Bernie (Timothy Spall), gather for what appears to be her last Christmas.
Like every family out there, not everyone gets along. Julia and Molly can’t seem to see eye to eye. Helen is a free-spirited hippie who can barely take care of herself. Connor, the long-time caregiver, is on the verge of a breakdown. Dad, on the other hand, seems more concerned with his Heinekens.
Goodbye June is a drama not just about death, but about the living. Even on her deathbed, June remains worried about her squabbling children and Helen’s unborn child. The youngest child, Connor, is not only grieving but also helplessly appalled by the behaviour of his siblings and father. Anders has crafted a drama filled with believable family conflicts and dynamics. Tear-jerking and occasionally fluffy, yes but every moment is beautifully staged and filmed. This leads to Winslet’s confident direction, delivering more than a decent masterpiece on a modest budget.
The cast is phenomenal. Mirren is as sassy as ever, even while playing a dying character, bringing grace and humour in equal measure. Riseborough and Flynn each have their own tender, emotional moments, and even Spall gets a chance to belt out a touching Ray Charles tune for June. Relatively unknown British actor Fisayo Akinade is a welcome surprise as a loving nurse aptly named Angel. The strength of the cast allows Goodbye June to shine as a genuine, messy drama about family.
Many will dismiss Winslet’s effort as a simple weepie. At the very least, it’s not a nonsensical Christmas-themed comedy playing in the background while we tuck into turkey and log cakes. Goodbye June deserves every minute of our attention — a rousing effort from Anders and his mum, Winslet, and a heartfelt reminder about love, death, and everything in between.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Adventure/ Comedy/ Horror
Director: Tom Gormican
Cast: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, Selton Mello
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Sony
Official Website:
Opening Day: 25 December 2025
Synopsis: Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) have been best friends since they were kids, and have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic "classic" Anaconda. When a midlife crisis pushes them to finally go for it, they head deep into the Amazon to start filming. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation. The movie they’re dying to make? It might just get them killed......
Movie Review:
As much as we enjoyed the notoriously insipid B-creature thriller ‘Anaconda’ that starred a veritable cast including Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz and Jon Voight, we cannot say that we were looking forward to a reboot of the movie, and certainly not one destined for the big-screen. We guess the Sony executives who had pondered whether there was any cash left in this cow were probably faced with the same dilemma; and regardless of how they came to the idea of this meta re-do starring a new but equally veritable cast comprising Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton, we must admit that it was a pretty smart conceit.
Continuing with the meta-streak he started with the clever Nicolas Cage self-parody vehicle ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’, director and co-writer Tom Gormican has an inexperienced gang of amateur filmmakers go on a quest to the Amazon rainforest to fulfil their childhood dream of updating their favourite cinematic classic – that is, the original ‘Anaconda’. Instead of Ice Cube and Lopez’s documentary crew, the new crew this time round comprises of Griff (Rudd), a struggling actor who moved out to Hollywood from Buffalo only to languish in bit parts on TV series, and Doug (Black), who’s stuck back in Buffalo trying to make unconventional wedding films for couples who only want cheesy wedding videos.
In tow are their two other school pals, Trent (Zahn), a burnt-out who was fired by Doug for an alcohol addiction that led to him crashing into a wedding cake, and Claire (Newton), Griff’s childhood sweetheart who so happens to be in the middle of a divorce from her philandering husband. It is Trent who lands the quartet with a dubious snake trainer Santiago (Selton Mello), whose pet anaconda ends up being spliced by the blades of their boat after an unfortunate filming accident while along the Amazon River. And oh, like Ice Cube and Lopez do, this new crew also lands up in bad company, notably with a crew of illegal gold miners who seem to be in pursuit of their boat captain Ana (Daniela Melchior).
But of course, the ultimate bad company they encounter is the bad-ass titular anaconda which they stumble upon after setting out to find another snake to replace the one Griff accidentally mutilated. “We came here to make Anaconda and, now, we’re in it,” freaks out Doug, and can we say we totally laughed out loud at that. Indeed, nothing here is to be taken seriously, not least when Griff, Trent and Claire decide to fix a supposedly dead boar on the back of a supposedly dead Doug in order to throw the anaconda off their tail.
It is for this same reason that we do not begrudge the somewhat haphazard nature of the entire plotting, which cannot decide whether it wants to be a reboot, a reimagining or a “spiritual sequel” to the 1997 original and ends up being all of the above in a slapdash way. Black and Rudd are irresistible company together, and seeing them here together makes you wonder why it took them so long to be paired up; no wonder then that Ice Cube has decided to pop in for a cameo near the end, and Lopez right before the end credits to invite them to make a legit sequel to the 1997 original.
We admit we went in with little expectation, and were pleasantly surprised by how much fun we had out of this meta-redo that abandons the horror and leans full into the comedy cum satire. Like we said, it begs itself not to be taken seriously, and even manages to riff on what an otherwise serious reboot would probably try to do (“themes”, anyone?). But most of all, we wanted to have a good time at the movies with Black and Rudd, and ‘Anaconda’ is that perfect counter-programming to make you go ‘ho-ho-ho’ and even ‘HA-HA-HA’.
Movie Rating:
(Who cares about the snake when you have Jack Black and Paul Rudd for company?)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney, Toby Wallace, Felix Kammerer, Jonathan Tittel, Richard Roxburgh
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Rating: M18 (Nudity and Sexual Scenes)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 8 January 2026
Synopsis: The shocking true story of a group of outsiders (Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney) who settle on a remote island only to discover their greatest threat isn't the brutal climate or deadly wildlife, but each other.
Movie Review:
Based on a true survival story set on the isolated Floreana Island, Eden marks Ron Howard’s most “mature” movie to date. Though no stranger to adapting real-life events for the screen (see Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and more recently Thirteen Lives), Eden is filled with enough nudity and sensationalism to set itself apart from the rest of Howard’s past work.
In 1929, Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and Dore Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) flee their native Germany for the Galápagos, hoping to escape civilisation. Ritter devotes his time to writing a new philosophy book while Dore, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, tends to their garden and her beloved donkey.
Their isolation is soon disrupted by the arrival of the Wittmer family (Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney), seeking refuge from the looming war and hoping to nurse their sick son back to health. Worse still is the later appearance of a spoiled, flirty baroness, Eloise von Wagner-Bousquet (Ana de Armas), accompanied by her two toy boys, Robert (Toby Wallace) and Rudolph (Felix Kammerer), with grand plans to build a luxurious hotel for the rich on the island.
Eden isn’t just a plain old survival drama. Howard and his co-writer, Noah Pink, infuse the plot with dark psychological conflict, greed, and bursts of violence or at least a fraction of what they seem to be aiming for. Ritter despises both the Wittmers and the baroness. He wants them gone, ASAP. Yet after pushing the Wittmers toward a more barren part of the island, he discovers that they ultimately thrive better than he does. Meanwhile, the baroness and her boys behave like the worst of humanity: indulging in wild sex, stealing canned food, and leeching off everyone else like parasites on this far-flung patch of Earth.
To keep things lively, Howard throws in plenty of conflict, characters playing mind games and pitting themselves against one another though the sometimes campy tone undercuts the tension. Still, the performances shouldn’t be overlooked. Sweeney is a surprise standout as Margret, a seemingly simple woman who proves to be the one with determination, intelligence and grit to survive. A harrowing childbirth sequence may be the film’s highlight.
Ritter himself is a complex figure starting out idealistic before becoming the very human he detests. Law is at his natural best, spouting philosophies and even baring all in one prolonged scene. Ana de Armas delivers sultry aristocratic flair with such ease and charisma that you may wish her character had a film of her own.
Eden is by no means a bad movie. Despite running slightly over two hours, it never feels dull or draggy thanks to Howard’s steady craftsmanship. Still, it could have gone much darker and reached a more satisfying conclusion instead of relying on convenient storytelling. Did all the knife fights and murders actually occur? The true mystery remains unsolved. Eden ultimately becomes yet another Hollywood fantasy “based on a true story.”
Movie Rating:
(Eden is Ron Howard’s most adult and provocative survival drama but it’s ultimately let down by safe, conventional storytelling)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Brian Kirk
Cast: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden, Brían F. O'Byrne, Cúán Hosty-Blaney
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 5 March 2026
Synopsis: Barb (Emma Thompson), the widowed owner of a small fishing tackle store, sets off on a pilgrimage to Lake Hilda, in remotest northern Minnesota. This is where she took her first vacation with her recently deceased husband and this is where she has promised to scatter his ashes. Hit by a blizzard, she gets lost among backroads near the lake and stops for help, at an isolated cabin in the woods. Here she discovers a young woman, Leah (Laurel Marsden), is being held captive by a desperate armed couple. The kidnappers, known only as Purple Lady (Judy Greer) and Camo Jacket (Marc Menchaca) are armed and intent on murder. Spurred on by the memory of her husband, but hours from the nearest town and without any cell phone service, Barb realises she is the young woman's only hope of survival. What follows is a merciless thriller that plays out in an epic wilderness, with a beautiful love story at its heart.
Movie Review:
It’s not likely you’ll find the names of Emma Thompson and Judy Greer plastered across the poster of an action thriller. But at the ripe age of 65, Thompson finally plays against type as an unwilling, aging heroine in a story set near a barren Minnesotan lake.
The movie opens with a woman named Barb (Thompson) heading toward Lake Hilda in northern Minnesota. She is there at her late husband’s request, to scatter his ashes in the lake. After witnessing a young woman, Leah (Laurel Marsden), being abducted by a man dubbed Camo Jacket (Marc Menchaca), Barb follows them back to a remote cabin. Once her instincts kick in, Barb realizes she must rescue the poor woman unaware that a far more ruthless enemy, Purple Lady (Greer), is also closing in.
The story by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb is simple: an aging woman embarks on a rescue mission in honor of her late husband, who taught her everything she knows. That pretty much sums up the theme of Dead of Winter. But this is no Fargo-inspired copycat. Standing in for Minnesota is Finland, which provides a solid, desolate, icy environment for the story to unfold. The result is a film that remains thrillingly tense for most of its runtime.
Director Brian Kirk (21 Bridges) knows how to pull off a grounded actioner, even with a leading lady in her 60s. Barb is a believable character who makes daring decisions with extremely limited resources. There are no fanciful gadgets or kung fu moves here just a virtuous person trying to do the right thing. Frequent sentimental flashbacks to Barb and her husband in their younger days reveal how deeply in love they were. These sweet moments lend emotional authenticity to the character.
Compared to Thompson’s Barb, Greer’s Purple Lady feels slightly shortchanged by the script. Her motives are morally questionable: suffering from a deadly liver condition, abducting Leah appears to be her only option to prolong her life. Still, Greer delivers a cold, desperate performance unlike anything you’ve seen from her before.
If you’re expecting Barb to go full Rambo, Dead of Winter is not your cup of tea. Instead, it strikes a solid balance between tenderness and tension, even if the story is as simple as it gets. Thompson and Greer are perfectly cast. The action is restrained but brutal, and the icy location is a huge plus. In the end, there’s very little to complain about.
Movie Rating:
(Catching Thompson and Greer in a cat-and-mouse action thriller should be high on your 2026 must-watch list)
Review by Linus Tee
SYNOPSIS: Where can you run when there’s nowhere to hide? Taron Egerton stars as newly released ex-con Nate in this gritty, explosive action-thriller. Marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) at all costs. Shy, precocious, and wary of her father, Polly is swept up in Nate’s dangerous plight as they flee to evade the corrupt sheriff and brutal leader of a gang who will stop at nothing to protect his criminal interests. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly form a bond forged under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive — and she teaches him what unconditional love truly means in this intense, moving story about loyalty, strength, and redemption.
MOVIE REVIEW:
She Rides Shotgun is a crime thriller adapted from Jordan Harper’s 2017 novel of the same name. Harper himself joins three other writers—Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, and the film’s director, Nick Rowland to bring his Edgar Award–winning novel to the big screen.
An eleven-year-old girl named Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) is picked up at school by her tattoo-covered father, Nathan (Taron Egerton), whom she has not seen in years. Recently released from prison, Nathan has unknowingly put his daughter in danger after killing a member of the white supremacist gang Aryan Steel. As a result, Polly is marked for death.
With her mother and stepfather mercilessly murdered, Polly has no one to turn to except her estranged father. Nathan is forced to hastily impart basic self-defense skills to his daughter in case the bad guys catch up with them and that includes dirty cops. Knowing their options are limited, the father and daughter eventually work with a honest cop, Detective John Park (Rob Yang), to take down the notorious gang.
Unlike a rosy, planned vacation, She Rides Shotgun is a violent road trip that leads nowhere but doom. Nathan is a man who only knows how to use violence to maneuver his way through life, let alone care for a young child. The only person he ever looked up to was his older brother, who was no angel himself. Still, as the film progresses, the relationship between Nathan and Polly develops and strengthens, becoming one of the movie’s most worthwhile elements.
Then there is the mission: to take out the leader of Aryan Steel. Without spoiling the experience, the role is played by a fairly well-known character actor. Despite his menacing presence, there is too little backstory or characterization for this supposedly cunning and ruthless figure—one who controls both lawmen and cartels to make the final showdown truly compelling.
That said, Ana Sophia Heger more than delivers as a young girl trapped in an unbearable situation and forced to grow up far too quickly, with only her beloved teddy bear for comfort. Egerton, meanwhile, is consistently credible as either a righteous figure or a tough guy, and here he is a tour de force opposite Heger, allowing audiences to root for this unlikely father-daughter pair as they ride the odds together.
All in all, this is a dark and gritty crime drama. While there are occasional outbursts of violence, it is not a high-octane, shoot-’em-up actioner. Rowland and his writing team stick faithfully to the source material, elevating what could have been a standard crime story into an effective and moving tale of a father and daughter on a heartbreaking, blood-soaked journey.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
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YUEN CHEUNG-YAN (袁祥仁) (1957 - 2026)Posted on 02 Jan 2026 |
SYNOPSIS: In El Paso, Texas an undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious group of thieves: their own rebellious teenagers. The teens begin to rob from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel.
MOVIE REVIEW:
One of the producers of Trap House happens to be the acclaimed Ridley Scott. So naturally, you’d expect something darker, grittier, and more action-packed, especially given the drug-related theme.
Dave Bautista stars as DEA agent Ray, a single parent to his teenage son, Cody (Jack Champion from Avatar, if you can still recognise him). Coincidentally, Cody goes to school with the children of Ray’s fellow DEA colleagues. When one of Ray’s squad members is killed in a raid and his family is unfairly compensated by the government, Ray cajoles his friends into raising funds for the family of Ray's fallen colleague by planning to rob a local cartel.
Trap House is genuinely a case of trying too hard. At first, it’s positioned as a Sicario-style crime thriller, with Ray and his partner Andre (Bobby Cannavale) investigating a drug cartel that has infiltrated El Paso. Then, somehow, Cody and his friends enter the picture, robbing the cartel using tasers and smoke grenades, turning the film from a grounded affair into a far less compelling one. There’s also a twist that you’ll spot from miles away, especially when Cody starts getting cosy with a suspicious love interest at school.
Still, there are a few redeeming factors in Trap House. The relationship between Ray and Cody is nicely played out, with Ray as an overprotective father to a rebellious teenager who feels suffocated by his dad’s curfew. Secondly, and somewhat contradictorily, writers Gary Scott Thompson and Tom O’Connor at least attempt to put a spin on things. Instead of Ray and Andre going rogue, the film focuses primarily on Cody’s poor judgment for much of its runtime.
Director Michael Dowse (Stuber, Coffee & Kareem) may not be the ideal choice for an action thriller, but he does a decent job here given the minuscule budget, delivering at least a handful of serviceable action sequences. Bautista and Champion turn in competent performances, though Cannavale is largely wasted in the “buddy” role.
Despite its premise involving a ruthless drug cartel and undercover DEA agents, Trap House ends up largely deprived of the fiery, tightly wound thrills required to make it truly work. It’s not outstanding by any means, but it’s never boring either.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Comedy
Director: Matt Lai
Cast: Jack Neo, Jack Lim, Danny Lee, Jestinna Kuan, Ivory Chia, Terence Cao, Yoke Tsang, Yu Zhi, Wayne Thong, Daniel, Beauty, Jovi Heng
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 min
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village
Official Website:
Opening Day: 17 February 2026
Synopsis: An accident forces sharp-tongued Liang Po Po from Singapore & hot-blooded security guard Ah Beng from Malaysia to team up on a cross- border rescue mission. Though they clash at first, their fight against an organ trafficking syndicate turns mistrust into trust, and quarrels into partnership. Despite not being Xiao Yun’s “true father”, Ah Beng is willing to risk everything for her. And Liang Po Po, once misunderstood, quietly becomes an unlikely hero. This mismatched duo unexpectedly becomes the “Strongest Duo of Singapore and Malaysia.”
Movie Review:
There exists a strain of cinema designed with one primary objective: to entertain loudly, quickly, and without the burden of thematic depth. That formula is especially familiar during the Chinese New Year season, when audiences flock to cinemas for easy laughs and festive cheer rather than introspective storytelling.
Liang Po Po vs Ah Beng fits squarely into that category. It knows exactly what it is — a holiday crowd-pleaser — and leans heavily on the nostalgic appeal of two iconic characters beloved by audiences in Singapore and Malaysia.
Jack Neo's Liang Po Po and Jack Lim's Ah Beng have existed as comedic staples, their exaggerated quirks and dialect-infused humour striking a chord with fans on both sides of the Causeway. The film’s biggest selling point is the novelty of placing these two larger-than-life personalities in the same narrative space. The title suggests an all-out comedic showdown, a clash of egos and cultural stereotypes that promises fireworks. That expectation is somewhat subverted.
Rather than centring the story on direct rivalry, the plot pivots to a child kidnapping case set in Malaysia. The two titular characters become entangled in the situation, leading to a series of chaotic misadventures as they attempt to resolve the crisis. The kidnapping storyline provides a loose framework for the comedy, but the film never treats the premise with genuine tension. Instead, it functions as a vehicle for gags, misunderstandings, and broad physical humour.
Child actors Ivory Chia and Khoo Yu Zhi inject welcome energy into the proceedings, helping to offset the repetitive shouting matches between the adults. As a whole, the humour lands in uneven waves — some jokes hit squarely, particularly for long-time fans who understand the characters’ history and rhythms, while others feel stretched or overly reliant on noise.
The movie touches briefly on Singapore-Malaysia dynamics. Given the cross-border setting and the cultural identities of its leads, the opportunity to mine comedy from the friendly rivalry and subtle differences between the two nations is somewhat wasted. The film does gesture toward these themes near the end, poking fun at the relationship between neighbours. A sharper, more sustained comedic commentary could have elevated the material and united audiences from both countries in shared laughter.
As expected from many festive commercial releases, the film relies on companies to contribute to production costs, culminating in a particularly blatant promotional moment toward the finale. It’s not surprising, and it reminds viewers of the film’s commercial underpinnings.
Tonally, Liang Po Po vs Ah Beng is loud — characters shout, argue, and screech their way through many scenes. Subtlety is not on the menu. Yet perhaps that is part of its Chinese New Year charm, mirroring how the annual affair is colourful, excessive, and designed to be enjoyed with a crowd. The movie may not strive for sophistication, but for fans seeking uncomplicated laughter and familiar faces, it delivers exactly what it promises.
Movie Rating:
(Prioritising noise and nostalgia over narrative depth, this loud and chaotic CNY romp banks on its beloved icons Liang Po Po and Ah Beng to milk laughs)
Review by John Li
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Director: Johannes Roberts
Cast: Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, and Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, Charlie Mann, Tienne Simon
Runtime: 1 hr 29 min
Rating: M18 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 22 January 2026
Synopsis: In PRIMATE, a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.
Movie Review:
If your idea of horror fun is of a rabies-infected chimpanzee terrorising a bunch of college kids, including smashing their chests or heads in, tearing their jaws out and ripping their faces off, then ‘Primate’ might just be the movie for you.
As stripped down as his Mandy Moore shark thriller ’47 Metres Down’ was, director and co-writer Johannes Roberts’ ape goes ape-shit horror confines our hapless and largely clueless protagonists at a luxurious home nestled into a Hawaiian cliffside surrounded by lush rainforests.
That is the abode of Lucy’s (Johnny Sequoyah) family, which she is returning to visit her deaf writer father Adam (Troy Kotsur) and younger sister Erin (Gia Hunter) after completing her freshman year. Just so we get a bit more ape fodder, Lucy has also invited her lifelong friend Kate (Victoria Wyant) to join her for the trip back home, and Kate in turn has asked the shallow, pushy Hannah (Jessica Alexander) along.
Thanks to Hannah, we get the pleasure of two other rowdy frat boys, Drew (Charlie Mann) and Brad (Tienne Simon), to join the party at some point in the movie; and just to whet your appetite, let’s just say one of them gets his jaw torn off and the other ends up being bludgeoned with a shovel. Lucy, Kate and Hannah are also joined by Kate’s brother Nick (Benjamin Cheng), whom Hannah comes on strong with despite clearly picking up Lucy’s longtime crush on him.
All that setup is basically to tee up who gets chomped on first and who gets to live till end, once their family chimpanzee Ben (played by movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba, with the help of practical effects artistry from Millennium FX) goes on his rampage after being bitten by a rabies-infected mongoose. For what it’s worth, Ben has been living with Lucy and her family after being rescued by Lucy’s late mother, and the former linguistics professor had not only taught him American Sign Language but also how to communicate his feelings through a tablet.
Because the only place in the whole house that Ben doesn’t dare enter is the infinity pool, our teenage protagonists spend a good bit of time treading water, while waiting for Adam to fear the worst and return from the book tour he so coincidentally happens to leave for the night Ben goes berserk. Seen another way though, it is as graceful a presence as it gets for the Academy Award-winning Kotsur (from ‘Coda’), whom we hope gets more befitting material than this very soon.
Aside from Kotsur, no other actor leaves much of an impression. Roberts’ objective here is to keep his creature feature lean and mean, and while he does succeed with landing plenty of jump scares and nasty jolts, it does mean that there is hardly a character we feel sympathy for, not even the chimpanzee whose ruthlessly savage turn is not of his volition. By extension therefore, none of the actors are given much to work with, and know mostly to look scared and run when they are told.
Truth be told, as effective as it is, ‘Primate’ is as forgettable as it gets once the lights come on. It is as elemental and stripped down as the very notion of a rabies-infected chimpanzee terrorising a bunch of college kids, and if ‘chimp crazy, chimp kill’ for a good one and a half hours isn’t your thing, then you should heed your primal instinct to stay far, far away.
Movie Rating:
(As stripped down and elemental as its premise of a rabies-infected chimpanzee terrorising a bunch of college kids, 'Primate' is a lean, mean horror and nothing more)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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