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An in-depth conversation with director and co-writer JAMES CULLEN BRESSACK discussing his latest film, THE WORKOUT.<\/p>\n
SYNOPSIS:\u00a0 \u00a0A found footage action-revenge film that follows Army Ranger Wyatt Park as he documents his brutal quest for vengeance after a mob attack kills his pregnant wife during a fitness video shoot. With a narrative device explaining the constant camera use (Wyatt’s memory loss and documenting for his surviving daughter), THE WORKOUT features immersive first-person combat, blending intense fighting with a tale of grief, revenge, and a ticking clock from a brain injury, making it an unconventional, action-packed thriller.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\nDirected by JAMES CULLEN BRESSACK and co-written by Bressack and David Josh Lawrence, THE WORKOUT stars Peter Jae as “Wyatt” and General Hospital<\/em>‘s Josh Kelly as his best friend “Levi.”<\/p>\nAfter the Hollywood strikes finally ended, James Cullen Bressack<\/span><\/span> found himself in unfamiliar territory: idle. For the first time since launching his career, he hadn\u2019t rolled cameras on a new project before his birthday. Restless and creatively charged, Bressack did something characteristically impulsive\u2014he posted on Instagram that he was shooting a movie the following week and asked who wanted in. \u201cThe movie came together, as crazy as it sounds,\u201d he says. That spontaneous call to action became THE WORKOUT, a formally daring found-footage action film co-written with David Josh Lawrence<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\nFrom the outset, Bressack knew he didn\u2019t want to make something conventional. The concept crystallized around a simple but unconventional idea: \u201cI wanted to make a video diary of someone unraveling while losing their mind\u2014but as an action movie. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever seen a found footage action film before.\u201d That combination\u2014psychological collapse filtered through surveillance cameras, body cams, and phones\u2014became the backbone of the film\u2019s visual and narrative identity.<\/p>\n
Casting followed the same instinct-driven logic. Peter Jae<\/span><\/span> was cast as Wyatt before the script was fully finished; the role was written specifically for him after Bressack\u2019s previous collaboration with the actor on Darkness of Man<\/em>. \u201cWe wrote it for Peter\u2026 and I really wanted Peter to play this role, and I thought he could really handle it,\u201d Bressack explains. For Levi, the decision was rooted in authenticity. Josh Kelly<\/span><\/span>, a real-life Army Ranger with four tours of duty, brought an inherent credibility to the role. \u201cJosh Kelly was so good in the movie\u2014very layered, very human. And because he really was an Army Ranger, it was a no-brainer to build Levi around that.\u201d<\/p>\nAlthough Jae and Kelly had never met before being cast, Bressack made sure their on-screen bond felt earned. He sent them out to dinners and drinks ahead of production, encouraging a genuine camaraderie that would translate into the film\u2019s brothers-in-arms dynamic. The supporting cast includes Ashlee Evans Smith<\/span><\/span> as Tank\u2014her first acting role after a career as a UFC fighter. \u201cAshlee was the big roll of the dice,\u201d Bressack admits. \u201cBut she took it so seriously, and it really paid off.\u201d<\/p>\nVisually, THE WORKOUT is governed by a strict but unconventional grammar developed with cinematographer Bryan Koss<\/span><\/span> and editor R.J. Cooper<\/span><\/span>. Every camera in the film is motivated within the story\u2014surveillance feeds, chest cams, room cameras, phones\u2014and each is treated as its own \u201centity.\u201d Some feeds are color, others black and white, some crisp and others degraded. In many scenes, the production ran eight cameras simultaneously. \u201cAny given scene, we had like eight cameras going at the same time,\u201d Bressack says.<\/p>\nRather than staging scenes like a traditional film, Bressack adopted a guiding rule: do the opposite. \u201cEverywhere Brian and I would normally put the camera, we deliberately did the opposite\u2014and it actually made the film feel bigger, more immersive, more grand.\u201d That choice led to wide, high, and off-angle perspectives that feel less like cinema and more like an omnipresent security system. The result surprised him. \u201cThe more I showed how wide and large and grandiose the locations were, the more the movie opened up. That\u2019s something I\u2019m going to carry into future films.\u201d<\/p>\n
Post-production was where that ambition truly collided with logistics. Cooper was tasked with shaping eight streams of footage per scene into something coherent and readable. Bressack doesn\u2019t downplay the challenge. \u201cRJ is the only person I know who I can hand eight cameras\u2019 worth of footage for every scene and he can actually make sense of it. He\u2019s the unsung hero of this film.\u201d The edit balances dense multi-cam grids\u2014sometimes four to six feeds on screen at once\u2014with pacing that gives the audience time to process each angle.<\/p>\n
The VHS-style static and image degradation were also carefully designed in post, increasing as the violence escalates and mirroring the protagonist\u2019s psychological unraveling. \u201cWe really worked heavily on that,\u201d Bressack explains. \u201cWe wanted every camera to feel like a different entity\u2014different feeds, different textures\u2014so nothing ever looks equally crisp.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sound became the film\u2019s other crucial storytelling engine. Longtime collaborator Brian Berger<\/span><\/span> handled sound design and mixing, while composer Simone Cilio<\/span><\/span> contributed a synth-forward, Zimmer-esque score. While the edit wrestled with scale and structure, the sound team focused on immersion and clarity. \u201cWe really wanted the sound to create a visceral experience that put people in the moment,\u201d Bressack says. Despite the chaos of gunfire, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat, the mix never sacrifices intelligibility. \u201cWe never lose dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\nShooting the action itself was a careful dance between choreography and coverage. Working with stunt coordinator Luke LaFontaine<\/span><\/span>, the team often staged sequences multiple times\u2014sometimes reshooting entire sections just to serve a specific POV, like Levi\u2019s chest cam. Tight interiors, such as Levi\u2019s apartment, posed different challenges than expansive locations like the Antonucci mansion, all while the film pushed into increasingly graphic and varied violence.<\/p>\nLooking back, THE WORKOUT reshaped how Bressack sees his own instincts as a filmmaker. By rejecting conventional camera placement, he discovered the power of scale and space in creating immersion\u2014lessons he plans to carry forward regardless of genre.<\/p>\n
And if THE WORKOUT finds its audience, Bressack hints there may be more to come. \u201cIf the movie does well enough,\u201d he says, \u201cwe\u2019ve talked about a prequel\u2014Pre-Workout<\/em>\u2014their first mission together in the army.\u201d<\/p>\nTAKE A LISTEN. . .<\/strong><\/h2>\nby debbie elias, exclusive interview 11\/13\/2025<\/p>\n
THE WORKOUT is currently available on Prime Video and Blu-ray.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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