Some horror movies are just too much for my anxiety, but as someone who loves good movies, I’ve been trying to explore more from the genre. Which is how I found myself at last week’s Monday Mystery Movie at my local theater. I knew it would be a new horror movie, but I didn’t know what until the movie started, and it turned out to be Primate. I actually really enjoyed it, though I don’t think I’ve experienced that much gore at the theater since last year’s Novocaine. In fact, I found myself watching parts of Primate through my fingers much like I did the Jack Quaid action comedy.
As gory as it was, Primate had me on the edge of my seat for most of the movie with its suspense. And another thing I really appreciated about it was Troy Kotsur’s character. The actor, who won an Academy Award for his role in CODA, plays Adam, the father of the main character (and her sister). He’s an author who spends a good chunk of the movie away from the house, as he’s off at a nearby book signing. Oh, and he also happens to be deaf. Beyond how the character provides representation for the deaf community in the movie, I also liked the way Adam’s deafness is depicted in the movie, while not being the primary focus of the plot, or even the character.
After I saw the movie, I found this interview between Troy Kotsur and FabTV where he talks about his role and his impressions of Adam when he first read the script:
I’m playing a Deaf person, but I’m not a victim. I’m just a writer who happens to be Deaf, and a father who happens to be Deaf. And so I’m a strong father figure, who happens to be Deaf, as simple as that.
I was really glad to see he addressed this topic, because that was my impression too. There’s one scary scene I can think of where the character’s inability to hear factors into what’s happening on screen. Otherwise, the character being deaf is just a part of who he is. The plot could’ve stayed the same regardless of whether or not the character was deaf, which I think is a real credit to the representation.
Make no mistake, though, while the plot holds up regardless of whether or not any of the characters can hear, Kotsur’s character being deaf isn’t completely ignored. Obviously, he and his daughters communicate using sign language. There’s also a scene later when his character is at a book signing and though it’s a crowded room, the sound drops out. It’s a great way for those of us in the audience who can hear to experience what that situation might be like for a deaf person.
As for that scary scene I mentioned earlier, I’m avoiding spoilers here, so I won’t say what happens, but going back to the FabTV interview, I really loved what Kotsur had to say about his own experience watching horror movies, and what he likes about Primate in terms of what it offers to viewers:
So when I was growing up, I would watch horror movies, of course, and you’d notice that so may people will react from a sound that they hear. And sometimes in the subtitles or the captions, it would describe the sound, eerie noise or something like that in parentheses. So I was on a journey into their world as a child, and now I’m playing Adam, who is a character who happens to be Deaf. And this time you all can enter my world and my Deaf perspective, and imagine what it would be like without any sound.
Kotsur went on to say that he thinks it’ll be an interesting experience for the audience. I think that turned out to be an understatement, at least as it relates to my own experience watching the movie. It was one of the biggest impressions I took away from it… Well, that and laughing at myself for the literal yelp I let out during one especially scary moment.
As I said, I’m trying to explore more horror movies, whether they’re among the best horror movies of all time, or just a great new scary movie coming out on the 2026 movie schedule, I need to branch out… a bit. I’m glad I watched Primate. As gross as it was at times, it was a lot of fun, the cast was great, and the fact that the patriarch is a loving dad who happens to be deaf was a nice bonus.