Finally, after nearly a decade, a Jeremy Saulnier feature will premiere in theaters. If you don’t remember who Saulnier is, he’s the dude who directed Blue Ruin and Green Room, the latter of which is one of the best films of the ’10s (RIP Anton Yelchin). He’s spent the last nine or so years working in the Netflix trenches, making one misfire (Hold the Dark) and one very good movie that was almost totally sabotaged by how messy the shoot was (Rebel Ridge, which we perpetually pronounce as “Ruby Ridge” each time we’ve talked about it in conversation). Now he’s back with Green Room distributors A24 for Slayground, which bears no resemblance to the awesome Richard Stark novel of the same name.
Based on this trailer that A24 dropped earlier on Tuesday, Slayground‘s got Saulnier working in Murder Party territory. That was his first feature, released in 2007, and it had a much different vibe than the hyper-intense thrillers that cemented his work as appointment viewing. And, man, it’s got a hell of a hook: a professional jump-scare artist (you know, the dudes who pop out of the wall at interactive “haunted” houses) wakes up to find all of his co-workers dead, and the cops think he did it. And he might have. Anyway! This is nightmare fuel, so enjoy having your Tuesday ruined, especially if you’ve got Halloween plans coming up soon.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis for Slayground:
“Scare-actor ‘Metal Mike’ Graves wakes up in a haunted attraction surrounded by the dead bodies of his co-workers with no memory of how they got there. As a state-wide manhunt closes in, he races to uncover the truth – even if the trail leads straight back to him.”
Slayground hits theaters on January 29. You know, it’s funny what a Nathan Fielder documentary finally coming together can do to your theatrical release schedule. It can change a title (it was originally known as October) and put a perfect Halloween feature in theaters right around Sundance. Not that we’re complaining! We just think (and this is pure conjecture) there once was a different strategy for this picture.