In the new trailer for the psychological thriller Freaks, Emile Hirsch plays a father who keeps his young daughter locked away in their home, claiming to be protecting her from something that’s part of the outside world. But is he really telling the truth? That’s the big question in this film that had quite a few critics buzzing after its debut at last year’s TIFF, and this trailer is a good indication why.
Directed by Kim Possible‘s Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky, Freaks may sound a little bit like 10 Cloverfield Lane and maybe a little like A Quiet Place, but there’s something more going on here than just the story of an overprotective, possibly paranoid, father. Hirsch’s character keeps his young daughter Chloe (Lexy Kolker) under strict orders not to interact with the outside world in any way, and when she nearly gets outside he claims that she nearly got them killed. He then boards up the windows and locks her away in a darkened room. Is he protecting her from the world or protecting the world from her? When Chloe finally does get outside, the reality throws everything she was told out the window.
Here’s the synopsis: Kept locked inside the house by her father, 7-year-old Chloe lives in fear and fascination of the outside world, where Abnormals create a constant threat – or so she believes. When a mysterious stranger offers her a glimpse of what’s really happening outside, Chloe soon finds that while the truth isn’t so simple, the danger is very real.
Something tells me this footage gives away just a tad too much, but maybe I’m wrong. Is it supposed to look like it’s set in the same universe as Fox’s superhero series The Gifted? I could’ve done without this trailer ever leaving the home’s doorstep.
Also starring a very creepy Bruce Dern, plus Grace Park and Amanda Crew, Freaks opens August 23rd.
