Primetime is a Tense but Highly Entertaining Throwback Thriller
Image courtesy of A24.
By Luis Zonenberg
As Halloween looms on the horizon, all kinds of spooky and thrilling horror flicks are being released in celebration of the holiday season. The first one up on the docket is Primetime, a tense dramatization of Chris Hansen’s work on the TV show, To Catch a Predator. The film itself gained immense popularity thanks in part to Robert Pattinson taking on the mantle of Chris Hansen in the film. With the film now playing in theaters, I figured I’d venture out and see if the film lives up to all the buzz it generated online.
The film focuses on aspiring actor Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo) as he lands the role of a decoy on the hit TV show, To Catch a Predator. Initially thinking he got a small role in a more traditional TV show, he quickly discovers that the role he plays is a lot more complicated than he thought. Being dubbed “Decoy Dan,” he continuously poses as a 13-year-old boy to lure so-called ”predators” into a closed set so the camera crew can expose them on Live TV, with police outside ready to capture them.
Leading the operation is TV show host Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson), who is looking to find more dangerous predators to catch now that the show is on “Primetime TV.” While surfing the internet for potential predators, Hansen’s co-worker, Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher), believes he may have found one in Murphy, TX, who he believes to be a high-ranking government official. When they find out that it’s the city’s district attorney, Bill Conradt (Alex Winter), Hansen rushes to catch him in the open, much to the dismay of his producer, Andie (Merrit Wever).
The film is presented very much like an exploitative documentary, with it even being filmed like it was a low-res TV show you’d see on late-night TV in the 2000s. This approach, while highly dramatic, complements the eerie and uncomfortable nature of the original series. The script heavily leans into this approach as well, with the characters acting overly dramatic to offset the even more shocking aspects of capturing predators on live TV.
The film also grapples with the conflicting notions of people doing something good for inherently selfish and not very altruistic reasons. Hansen, for example, sees what they’re doing as very heroic and relishes seeing each criminal caught on camera. However, he also struggles to meet the demands of the TV network and fights to catch more insane predators in hopes of boosting the ratings for the show. This moral conflict is drenched throughout the film, deconstructing the true purpose of the show and why people really worked so hard to keep it running.
The cast was stellar across the board, with Robert Pattinson delivering a career-best performance as Chris Hansen. He not only nails the inflections and mannerisms of Hansen, but also manages to balance the awkward humor and drama while maintaining his over-the-top accent on top of all that! Skyler Gisondo proved to be another standout as Dan Plum, nailing both the naïveté and overconfident nature of his character. Other actors like Merritt Wever, Matthew Maher, and Alex Winter all anchored the film with their entertaining performances.
The cinematography was mesmerizing, with director Lance Oppenheim utilizing vintage DV cameras and 16-mm film stock to recreate the look of 2000s TV. With the low-quality resolution and intense camera angles, the film leans into its hyper-stylized look by utilizing more neon colors and blurry imagery to match the exploitative nature of the famous TV show. By filming it like a low-budget exploitation flick, Oppenheim and company beautifully found a visual style that complemented the tone of the film.
The editing was also impressive, utilizing long takes and gimmicky graphics to recreate the atmosphere of 2000s television. Editor Daniel Garber masterfully utilizes a good mix of quick cuts and long takes to match the tone of each scene, elevating the drama and tension throughout the film. The graphics and editing utilized for the TV ads were incredibly fun to watch, immersing the audience in the greedy and corporate environment Hansen was fighting to survive in.
While the film may not be for everyone, I personally found it to be a tense and highly entertaining throwback to a bygone era of television. By leaning into the exploitative gimmick the TV show was known for, the film feels more like a wonderful homage to the past while also serving as a warning to remember why people make TV shows like this in the first place. Fueled by Robert Pattinson’s stellar performance, director Lance Oppenheim crafts a tense thriller that’s perfect for Primetime Network TV.
Primetime is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★★ ½ of five
