Film Name: Primal Games
Director: David Ryan Keith
Writer: David Ryan Keith
Starring: Hannaj Bang Bendz, Gary Kasper, Nate Bright, Mark Wood, Steve Weston
A newlywed couple embarks on the honeymoon of a lifetime, only to discover they are the unwitting victims of a cruel and sadistic vacation experience.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Writer-Director David Ryan Keith a few questions about the film ‘Primal Games‘, which has been selected to play at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday, 25th January at 12:30hrs.
Q. Your film Primal Games has been selected to play at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect?
A. Primal Games is really a horror film at its core, but it’s dressed up as this wild, high-concept action movie. Audiences can expect something a bit different; it’s ambitious for an indie film and isn’t afraid to mix things up. It’s dark and a bit over the top at times, but there’s also humour in there, and underneath it all, a sinister tone that makes you think about where our obsession with extreme entertainment might be taking us.
Q. What were your inspirations when writing the script?
A. Over the last few years, our company’s been asked to focus more on action films rather than horror, so for me, Primal Games was a great chance to mix the two worlds together. It draws inspiration from all those crazy action and sci-fi movies I grew up watching, the kind of stuff that made me fall in love with film in the first place. It’s very much a popcorn movie at heart, but with a darker, meaner edge running through it.
Q. Did you have any of the cast in mind for the characters when writing the script?
A. I’ve worked with both Gary Kasper and Hannaj Bang Bendz before, so once we got the green light, I knew straight away they’d be a perfect fit for Primal Games. We always like to mix UK and US talent, partly for distribution reasons since the film was designed with an American audience in mind, but also because that blend brings something special to the production. Although we filmed in Scotland, we needed UK actors who could comfortably handle American accents, and we were incredibly lucky to find John Love, a fellow Scot who not only nailed the accent but also had the physical ability to take on the action side of the role. Hannaj, who’s English, and John both matched Gary Kasper, who’s from LA, perfectly. The chemistry between the three of them really brought the script to life.
Q. What were some of your influences for the look and style of the film?
A. The script was originally written and pitched as a big action movie, something that would’ve needed a budget in the millions. At one point, it nearly happened, but unfortunately COVID shut everything down, and the project eventually came back to me as a £250K independent film. A lot of the earlier material had to be scaled back to fit low-budget filmmaking, but I was determined to keep the look and energy of a big studio action movie. I focused on strong camera movement, fast-paced editing, and a Hollywood-style action score. Whether it worked or not, the audience will decide, but I definitely tried to inject some classic Michael Bay-style camera motion and energy to make it feel bigger than it really was. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors in there to disguise the limitations of our budget.
Q. Did you make any changes from the original script during filming?
A. I originally wrote Primal Games as a $5–10 million movie, so in a way we were a bit crazy trying to turn it into something that could be shot on a low budget in just 18 days. It was definitely overambitious, and you can see some of the limitations in the final film. Cutting the script down to make it work was heartbreaking at times, but we got it done, just about, and the whole experience was as wild as the movie itself. It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to make action films at this scale, but looking back, it’s probably not something I could ever do again. We’ve just finished a new horror film, and I have to admit, the stress levels are much lower. I think I needed to let my brain recover from the chaos of low-budget action filmmaking for a bit.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
A. The action and violence in Primal Games is completely over the top, and there were so many moments on set where I had to remind myself how lucky I was to be making something this wild. We had martial arts fights, sci-fi drones, disturbing deaths; it’s a crazy mix that you don’t often see pulled off at this budget level. It was fun, chaotic, and stressful all at once, but that’s what made it such a great experience. It really was a massive team effort to get this film across the finish line.
Q. Did you experience any issues during filming?
A. The moment we started filming, we were hit with one of the biggest storms the UK’s seen in years, constant rain, flooding, you name it. At one point, we all started calling the film “cursed” because not a single day went by without something going wrong. We had the camera sensor fail, smoke machines break, airplanes circling overhead, locations falling through the day before shooting, and entire days lost to torrential rain. It was an extremely tough film to make, but in a strange way, it was also a lot of fun.
Q. What makes Primal Games stand out as something different in the horror genre?
A. Primal Games has deep-rooted horror elements running through it. On the surface, it can feel over the top, almost cartoonish at times with its big action moments, but underneath all that, it’s really about the darker side of human behaviour. It explores how easily people can become desensitised to violence, and how the entertainment industry could quite realistically head down a much darker path. It’s a horror film that packs a punch, quite literally.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I just want the audience to be entertained for 90 minutes, to switch off, enjoy the madness, and let it all wash over them. The movie’s got a bit of everything: sci-fi, horror, violence, and a lot of over-the-top action. It’s a fun, popcorn-style ride that doesn’t pretend to be anything else.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
A. We’ve just finished shooting a horror-thriller called Savage Prey, which feels like a welcome return to more traditional horror filmmaking. We’ve just started post-production, so with a bit of luck, it should be out sometime next year.
Q. If someone was looking to write and direct their own film what advice
A. These days it’s actually quite hard to break into filmmaking, even in the independent world. But people who are truly determined always find a way. It can be a long, frustrating process, and you have to be ready to dig in, push through, and create your own opportunities to bring your scripts and ideas to life. Some people get lucky and fall into production work, but for most of us, it’s all about staying stubborn, never giving up, and making things happen for yourself.
Primal Games will be playing at Horror-on-Sea on Sunday, 25th January at 12:30hrs.
You can find out more about Clear Focus Movies on the website here
You can find out more about Horror-on-Sea and purchase tickets for the Primal Games here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
