February 2026

Primate: Transforming a Vacation Home Into a Deadly Cage

When I first spoke with Primate director Johannes Roberts, we discussed our shared love of John Carpenter movies. Johannes' brief to me was to make our film look like something commercial that could play on a wide release, and I interpreted that to mean it should feel like a cousin to the 1980s and '90s genre movies I loved when I was growing up. I’m a huge fan of the work of Dean Cundey, ASC from that period, so I let that infuse my visual thinking, as well. I wanted images that would be dark and moody, but not gloomy. I also wanted a luminous night look that would give me atmosphere, but at the same time, help keep the cast looking their best — and one that would give me the best chance to make our in-camera creature suit look...more