Trailer Blitz: The Severed Sun, Daydreamers, Hurry Up Tomorrow, Off The Record, Magic Farm and More
It’s that time again—Welcome to Trailer Blitz!
We’re always working to keep our readers in the loop about the latest films coming to theaters and streaming platforms. However, we occasionally miss a few trailers along the way. So, here are a few new trailers that slipped past us—until now. Check out this gathering of trailers from the past week that we didn’t catch the first time—scroll through and enjoy!
“The Severed Sun” Trailer: A Pastor and His Troubled Daughter Face Supernatural Terror in This New British Folk Horror Thriller, Starring Toby Stephens and Emma Appleton — In Theaters and on VOD May 16th
Wait, are we living through a new wave of folk horror? Yes, we are! The last couple of years have seen a number of indie and foreign horror thrillers that delve into these folk horror themes, often tapping into our anxiety about a regressive society falling back into pernicious ways of the past. What makes it such an effective subgenre is that it plays around with the romanticized purity of tradition and culture, where anyone who dares to deviate from those social mores faces severe repercussions.
The Severed Sun is the latest to emerge from this wave. It’s a British folk horror thriller, revolving around a small, isolated, deeply religious community where a pastor has reentered the life of his estranged daughter after she slaughtered her abusive husband with an axe. She is soon accused of having awakened a supernatural beast, and the entire village fears it will come for them next, leading to a mass hysteria.
Toby Stephens (from Starz’s Black Sails and Netflix’s Lost in Space) stars as the preacher who warns that darker days are ahead, while Emma Appleton (The Killing Kind, The Witcher) plays Magpie, the troubled minister’s daughter who may or may not have fallen under the dark spell of a demonic horned monster, coercing her to partake in the company of “foul men.”
The Severed Sun is written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Dean Puckett and is set to open in select theaters on May 16th. It will also be made available on VOD on the same date.
“Daydreamers” Trailer: Vampire Brothers Clash in This Neon-Lit Vietnamese Horror Thriller from Director Timothy Linh Bui — In Theaters May 2nd, VOD June 3rd
Vietnamese-born American producer-writer Timothy Linh Bui first broke onto the scene 25 years ago, teaming up with his brother, writer-director Tony Bui, on the Sundance-winning 1999 drama Three Seasons, a beautifully-shot, lyrical love letter to post-war Vietnam. It was the first American film shot there since the war. Timothy then made his directorial debut with Green Dragon, a critically overlooked 2001 drama starring Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker, which explored the experience of displaced Vietnamese refugees living in U.S. camps in Southern California, immediately following the Fall of Saigon. We would highly recommend these films, as both were indie gems of the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
Now it seems Timothy Linh Bui, who has kept himself busy producing projects in Vietnam, is back in the director’s seat for a new Vietnamese horror thriller called Daydreamers. The film revolves around two opposing vampire brothers—one who vows to never devour human blood again and the other who has fully embraced the dark side of vampirism.
The film marks Timothy’s first directing effort since 2009’s crime thriller Powder Blue, a critical misfire and straight-to-cable dud that starred Jessica Biel, Forest Whitaker, Eddie Redmayne, and Patrick Swayze in his final film role.
And while Daydreamers seems nothing like Timothy Linh Bui’s earlier arthouse films, it does appear to be an interesting depiction of the neon-lit nightlife of modern Vietnam, wrapped around a vampire story that might have enough good scares to keep genre fans happy. Color us intrigued.
Starring Tran Ngoc Vang, Thuan Nguyen, Trinh Thao, and Chi Pu, Daydreamers is opening in select theaters on May 2nd before arriving on VOD June 3rd.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” New Trailer: The Weeknd Stars in Neon-Lit Thriller with Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan as He Faces an Existential Crisis — In Theaters May 16th
Are you a fan of pop star The Weeknd? Sure, his music is catchy and has a great beat to dance to. But what about his acting? And what about his current desire to break into Hollywood and become the next movie star with his upcoming film Hurry Up Tomorrow? Well, …uh... hmm, okay.
Look, The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) isn’t the first pop star to attempt to transition from singer to actor, and many have done it before, quite successfully. But critics weren’t exactly kind to what he did in the highly polarizing HBO series The Idol. And it doesn’t help that he wasn’t only starring in the sexually provocative music industry satire, but also co-created the show and served as one of the producers and writers.
But here’s the thing: Hurry Up Tomorrow, a neon-lit thriller that is also part companion piece to The Weeknd’s sixth and latest studio album of the same title, features some impressive names in the cast: Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.
Lest we forget, filmmaker Trey Edward Shults, who earned strong acclaim for his 2019 emotionally wrenching drama Waves, was also deeply involved in both writing and directing this film with Abel Tesfaye. So, perhaps it’s too soon to label Hurry Up Tomorrow a vanity project, as it might end up becoming something with real artistic value.
But then again… it was also produced by The Weeknd’s people, the same producing team behind the wildly-panned The Idol.
So, it better have an impressive original story, something we haven’t seen onscreen before, to really spark our interest… let's see what we got:
The film’s logline:
“Abel Tesfaye is a musician plagued by insomnia. He is soon pulled into an odyssey with a stranger, played by Jenna Ortega, who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.”
So, it’s a movie starring The Weeknd as The Weeknd but going through an emotional meltdown as he’s being stalked by a mysterious superfan (Ortega), while facing an existential crisis. —Okay, it’s a vanity project!
Hurry Up Tomorrow is hitting theaters May 16th.
“Off The Record” Trailer: Rainey Qualley Falls for a Fading Rock Star in This Indie Musical Drama About Love, Fame, and Heartbreak — Available on VOD May 2nd
It’s a tale as old as time: a young rising star who falls for a washed-up celebrity. But if we’ve learned anything from films like A Star Is Born, it’s that you don’t fall in love with drunken rock stars—it’s just not good for you.
Well, someone forgot to tell Rainey Qualley in this new indie musical drama Off The Record. The singer-actress, who is the daughter of Andie MacDowell and the older sister of Margaret Qualley, takes on the role of aspiring singer-songwriter Astor Grey in this new drama.
When Astor finds herself being pursued by a fading rock star, Brandyn Verge (played by Veronica Mars actor Ryan Hansen), she is initially reluctant to go out with him. But believing he could help with her career, she agrees to go on a harmless date. What starts as a casual outing soon leads to a whirlwind romance with promises of making a studio album together. But when Brandyn reveals himself to have a hot temper and a strong taste for liquor and hard drugs, Astor’s dreams start to feel further out of reach than ever before.
Co-starring Olivia Sui and Rebecca De Mornay, Off The Record marks the feature debut of writer-director Kirsten Foe, who initially started her Hollywood career as a stunt driver and stunt performer for over a decade. She has worked as a stunt double, doubling for such actresses as Cobie Smulders, Alison Brie, Ruth Wilson, and Heidi Klum.
Off The Record, as far as we know, doesn’t have any stunts—only broken hearts—is coming to VOD and digital platforms on May 2nd.
“Magic Farm” Trailer: Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, and Simon Rex Clash with Local Argentine Misfits in This Absurdist Comedy From Writer-Director Amalia Ulman — In U.S. Theaters April 25th
Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, and Simon Rex find themselves lost in South America in the new culture-clash comedy Magic Farm, which feels very much in the vein of the absurdist comedies of Yorgos Lanthimos. However, the film is written and directed by Argentine-Spanish artist Amalia Ulman, following her 2021 feature debut, El Planeta, a mother-daughter satire that starred herself alongside her own mother, Ale Ulman.
In Magic Farm, Sevigny, Wolff, Rex, and Joe Apollonio play a team of investigative documentary filmmakers who travel from America to a small town in Argentina with the intention of filming a series on “crazy subcultures around the world.” However, things quickly go awry as they realize they've made a major mistake—they’re in the wrong town and the wrong country.
Determined to salvage their project, they decide to film and interview the local misfits (including one played by model/actress Camila del Campo, noted for her facial birthmark) for their new documentary series. Despite their obvious cosmopolitan self-importance and hubris, the team bumbles their way through a chaotic and hilarious clash of cultures, trying to make the best of their blunder.
Acquired by MUBI, Magic Farm is due to open in U.S. theaters on April 25th, in Canada on May 2nd, and in the UK and Ireland on May 16th.
“Thunderbolts*” Featurette: Florence Pugh Prepares for a Heart-Stopping Stunt on Top of Malaysia's Tallest Skyscraper in New Behind-the-Scenes Look — In Theaters May 2nd
Thunderbolts*, the next MCU film to be released in theaters, wants to let fans know that they can expect plenty of death-defying stunts. And these stunts are performed in real locations, with multiple landmarks around the world featured throughout the film. But if you think stunt doubles are going to be used for these stunts—well, you would be right. It would be foolish to think otherwise, but that doesn’t mean stars like Florence Pugh won’t be put in some precarious situations to film a couple of shots.
Watch Pugh in this new behind-the-scenes Thunderbolts featurette as she freaks out a bit but is also excited to perform her very own stunt, standing on the edge of one of Malaysia’s tallest skyscrapers, Merdeka 118. Hooked up with security lines and straps, Pugh, as Russian spy Yelena Belova, must leap off the edge, falling a few stories into a parachute jump. Now, Pugh, we believe, is not parachuting down the building—likely a stuntwoman did that. She, however, did perform the leap off the top of the tower while cameras were rolling.
Watch how she prepared for the stunt in this new promo video, which also offers a look at the other stunts in the film.
Directed by Jake Schreier and also starring David Harbour (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Thunderbolts* is coming to theaters on May 2nd.
⇩ Additional Trailers:
“Zero A.D.” Teaser: Sam Worthington, Ben Mendelsohn, and Jim Caviezel Star in This New Dark Biblical Epic From the Director of Sound of Freedom — In Theaters December 19th
From Alejandro Monteverde, the director of Sound of Freedom, comes a wildly imaginative biblical epic about the birth of a baby boy who sparks a prophetic war as a tyrannical ruler seeks to erase him from existence. Featuring a top-notch cast including Sam Worthington, Ben Mendelsohn, Gael García Bernal, and Jim Caviezel, Zero A.D. arrives in theaters on December 19th.
“The Last Rodeo” Trailer: Neal McDonough Risks It All for Family in This Neo-Western Drama About a Retired Rodeo Legend’s Final Ride — In Theaters May 23rd
Band of Brothers star Neal McDonough saddles up for the new neo-western family drama The Last Rodeo, where he plays a retired rodeo legend who decides to risk it all to secure money for his sick grandson. With everything on the line, he steps back into the bull ring for one final ride, aiming to win a high-stakes bull-riding competition as the oldest contestant to ever compete. Directed by Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes, Justified) and also starring Sarah Jones and Mykelti Williamson, The Last Rodeo rides into theaters on May 23rd.
“Truth & Treason” Trailer: Ewan Horrocks and Rupert Evans Star in the True Story of a German Teen Who Took on Hitler's Regime from Within — In Theaters on October 17th.
In this harrowing true story of Helmuth Hübener, a German teen who waged a silent war against Hitler’s regime by deciphering enemy broadcasts, smuggling classified intel, and dismantling the Nazi empire from within, Truth & Treason delves into the courage of those who defied tyranny in the most dangerous of ways. From filmmaker Matt Whitaker (writer of Saints and Soldiers), the film stars Ewan Horrocks and Rupert Evans, exploring how sometimes the most courageous heroes are the ones we least expect. Hitting theaters Oct. 17th.