"Eddington" Trailer: Filmmaker Ari Aster Tackles COVID Paranoia with Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in Cannes-Bound Psychological Satire

Aster's latest film dives into the chaos and anxieties of the early COVID lockdown, blending dark satire and societal fears with Phoenix, Pascal, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone.

Is Ari Aster a horror filmmaker?

There's no doubt he’s directed some of the most horrifying thrillers in recent years with Hereditary and Midsommar. But is he simply a provocateur who loves to stick and twist his thumb into the open wounds of what many would consider humanity's darker side?

Some might even argue that Ari Aster is the filmmaker equivalent of an online troll or a shock jock, deliberately provoking an audience for a reaction, daring them to feel anything but indifference.

Well, with his latest offering, Aster is daring to go where others won’t, again digging into the deepest part of trauma, discomfort, and fear. But we can’t help but imagine that his provocation is always done with a devilish smirk on his face, as Aster seems to enjoy and revel in the discomfort of his audiences. To be fair, all directors are emotional conductors, and with the sway of their baton, they can manipulate how an audience should feel. It’s just that Aster’s cinematic symphonies tend to have a lot of eerie minor chords, dynamic distortion, and a touch of light and silly jingles.

Eddington, Aster’s latest provocative effort featuring a star-studded ensemble cast led by Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone, may not be considered a horror film, per se, but it certainly doesn’t shy away from the things that keep us up at night. It tackles the topic of the COVID pandemic and its subsequent lockdown, exploring the fears and anxieties that arose during that time.

Eddington takes place in May of 2020, during the early stages of the COVID lockdown, where local government officials and municipal leaders were debating the best course of action to keep their constituents safe and secure. In typical Aster form, the film seems to have an underlying layer of pitch-black satire, as it also depicts the rise of online conspiracies and misinformation while society became increasingly dependent on social media for news and updates.

Here, Joaquin Phoenix stars as a “Law and Order” sheriff, Joe Cross, from the small town of Eddington in New Mexico. While facing a growing crowd of angry protesters, Sheriff Cross is stricken with a recent string of unsolved murders that has rocked the city.

Meanwhile, Eddington Mayor Ted Garcia (played by Pedro Pascal), who is running for reelection, finds himself at odds with the sheriff as he aims to turn the pandemic into a political football to use for his campaign.

Austin Butler costars as Vernon Jefferson Peak, a young religious leader leading the resistance against the lockdowns, while Emma Stone plays the sheriff’s wife, Louise Cross, who may or may not agree with her husband’s orders.

The city is also grappling with a brutal heat wave, with temperatures soaring above 100°F, pushing anger and tension to a boiling point—quite literally.

Eddington also costars Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., and William Belleau.

It was recently announced that the film will have its world premiere next month at the Cannes Film Festival, where it will be a part of the main competition.

Eddington is currently slated to open in theaters July 18th, following its Cannes debut.

Watch the film’s first official trailer, posted above, and just be glad the COVID pandemic is behind us... it’s not like anything like that will happen again... fingers crossed!