Primetime (2026) Review: Oppenheim's Chris Hansen Film

The film opens in a nondescript office where Chris Hansen (Pattinson) is grinding out another segment for "Dateline NBC." Ratings are fine. Purpose is not. Then a producer named Andie Bender (Merritt Wever) pitches something wild: an undercover sting where adult decoys pose as teenagers online, lure men to a house, and let Hansen confront them on camera. The first few stings are awkward, almost comedic. Then they go viral. Suddenly Hansen isn't a reporter anymore - he's a folk hero, a meme, a ratings juggernaut. But the deeper the operation goes, the more the line blurs between predator and performer, between public service and public spectacle. By the time a Texas district attorney named Bill Conradt (Alex Winter) becomes a target, "Primetime" has transformed from a media satire into something closer to a horror film.

Let's get one thing straight: this is not a feel-good "we caught the bad guys" movie. Oppenheim shoots the sting house like a haunted attraction - fluorescent lights, endless hallways, decoy teenagers who look increasingly shell-shocked. The film's genius is its refusal to let you off the hook. You want to cheer when Hansen corners a creep? The movie makes you sit in the discomfort of why you want that. It's a mirror, and it's not flattering.

Pattinson is astonishing. He doesn't do an impression of Hansen; he builds a man from the inside out - tight smile, dead eyes, a voice that sounds like a lullaby and a threat at the same time. There's a scene where he rehearses a confrontation in an empty motel room, and it's genuinely terrifying. Wever grounds the film as the conscience he keeps ignoring. Skyler Gisondo brings unexpected pathos as a young decoy who starts to crack under the weight of what he's doing. And in a small but devastating turn, Anna Faris plays Hansen's wife Mary, who watches her husband become a character he can't turn off.

The film's darkest thread involves Matthew Maher as Xavier Von Erck, founder of the vigilante group Perverted-Justice. He's the film's id - a man who believes the ends justify any means, and who sees Hansen as a useful idiot. Their scenes together crackle with mutual manipulation.

Yes, there are moments when "Primetime" overreaches. The horror elements - a thrumming score, a few too many dream sequences - occasionally feel like a different movie crashing the party. But when it works, it's electric. The final act, centered on Conradt's fate, is restrained and quietly devastating. No explosions. Just the sound of a man realizing he's been the villain of someone else's story all along.

Pros:

• Pattinson's performance is a masterclass in quiet menace
• Oppenheim's direction turns a news story into a haunted-house nightmare
• The script refuses easy answers or moral grandstanding
• Supporting cast is uniformly excellent, especially Wever and Maher
• The 110-minute runtime flies by

Cons:

• A few horror flourishes feel tonally off
• Some viewers may find the lack of clear heroes frustrating
• The Conradt sequence, while powerful, could have used five more minutes of context

"Primetime" is not a comfortable watch. It's a film that understands something ugly about us: we love a monster hunt, but we rarely ask what it does to the hunters. Pattinson cements his status as one of the most fearless actors of his generation, and Oppenheim proves he's a director who can make you laugh, squirm, and stare at the ceiling at 2 a.m. all in one sitting. It won't be for everyone. But if you can handle the discomfort, it's one of the best films of 2026. Just don't watch it alone. Or with your dad.