The imagination of a child is a fruitful place from which to tell a story, and we’ve seen many a coming-of-age film do so by blurring the line between reality and fantasy. The latest is I Kill Giants, the highly-anticipated adaptation of Joe Kelly and artist J.M. Ken Niimura’s acclaimed graphic novel about a young girl who kills monsters in a magical world as an escape from her harsh reality.
The question is how much of what Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe) is experiencing is real and which are figments of her imagination. Even as Barbara hunts and fights monsters with an arsenal of cool-looking weapons, there’s still some uncertainty whether it’s actually happening to her, or if she’s doing damage to her town and the people she cares for.
Directed by Anders Walter with a script by Kelly himself, the film also stars Zoe Saldana, Sydney Wade, and Imogen Poots, which is a pretty impressive group. The new trailer shows a lot of promise, reminding me in some ways of A Monster Calls in both look and premise. I Kill Giants hits theaters and VOD on March 23rd.
