Primate swings into theaters\u00a0January 9, and it doesn\u2019t waste a single second making its terrifying presence known. Starring Oscar winner Troy Kotsur and Johnny Sequoyah, and written and directed by Johannes Roberts, this creature feature comes bearing its teeth, and it\u2019s not afraid to bite.<\/p>\n
I went into the screening of Primate completely exhausted and essentially blind to the content of the film; my exhaustion was enough that I was concerned that I might doze off in the middle of the opening credits. However, instead of struggling to stay awake, Johannes Roberts\u2019 film was a cinematic shock treatment that left me gripping my seat for all it was worth from the very first minute of its opening scene, and after it finished, I was fully awake and pumped with adrenaline.<\/p>\n
This film does not merely generate tension in the form of suspense; it perfectly weaponizes it.<\/p>\n
Primate is an extremely graphic, fast-paced, creature-feature\u00a0survival story based around a family (and some friends) who find themselves trapped inside a glass house in Hawaii, while being hunted down by their pet chimpanzee named Ben. What could have been an ordinary creature feature is elevated to something much more personal and unsettling due to the film\u2019s refusal to use cheap jump scares. Instead, Roberts uses silence, gore, and a gradual-burning sense of dread that tightens with each passing scene.<\/p>\n
One of the most emotionally touching aspects of the film is the relationship between the father-daughter duo played by Oscar-winning actor Troy Kotsur and the rising talent Johnny Sequoyah. The relationship seems like it has been lived in and is very real; the type of relationship that takes the danger to another level. As the film progresses, Sequoyah gives a powerful, physically demanding performance that transforms from guilt-ridden daughter to fully-fledged protector. Kotsur offers a tangible and grounded performance in a role that was specifically rewritten to reflect Deaf culture and communication.\u00a0 This creative decision added to the overall tension in the film and allowed for innovative visualizations of the space in which the characters were situated.<\/p>\n
When interviewing the stars of the movie, Johnny Sequoyah and Troy Kotsur,\u00a0 we discussed how they created that feeling of warmth among the family in the midst of all the chaos, how they prepared for the film\u2019s most shocking scenes, including one jaw-dropping scene that caused the entire audience to gasp, and how the physical demands of the story affected their performances. Most interesting to me was how the horror felt so authentic. Primate has no qualms about using gore, but it never uses gore as a crutch or a quick story-filling fix. Each brutal scene serves the story and builds the fear rather than exhausting it. Their comments regarding building tension, creating vulnerability, and authenticity in a horror context were almost as captivating as the film itself.<\/p>\n
My conversation with iconic director and creator of Primate, Johannes Roberts, went into the anatomy of fear, how he builds tension throughout long sequences, what he intentionally keeps hidden from the viewer to keep them off balance, and how he created a creature that is both relatable and completely terrifying. We also spoke of the film\u2019s lineage in the horror canon, particularly its spiritual ties to Cujo, a comparison that is particularly fitting after watching Primate. I have not been so disturbed by the potential dangers of a family pet since that film, and am\u00a0now seriously questioning my upcoming trip plans to see monkeys and chimps.<\/p>\n
What sets Primate apart is its commitment to practical effects, emotionally charged characters, and a sensory perspective that feels new in the genre. It is graphic without being gratuitous, frightening without being predictable, and features a cast of characters who elevate the entire viewing experience.<\/p>\n
For horror enthusiasts, this film is a must-watch. Additionally, if you\u2019d like to know how the cast and director created this primal nightmare from the physical aspects of filming to the emotional core of the film to the filmmaking philosophy that supports the tension in the film, you\u2019ll want to check out my full video interview with the cast and director.<\/p>\n
Primate<\/a>\u00a0opens in theaters nationwide\u00a0January 9, check local listings and experience the terror on the biggest screen possible.<\/p>\n The post Johnny Sequoyah, Troy Kotsur, and Johannes Roberts Explain PRIMATE\u2019s Wild Ride<\/a> appeared first on Where Is The Buzz | Breaking News, Entertainment, Exclusive Interviews & More<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Primate swings into theaters\u00a0January 9, and it doesn\u2019t waste a single second making its terrifying presence known. Starring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[190875,88,93588,190874,206,93589,103082],"class_list":["post-394190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-creature-feature","tag-entertainment","tag-johannes-roberts","tag-johnny-sequoyah","tag-movies","tag-primate","tag-troy-kotsur"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}