Last week in trailers: Matt Damon, Pennywise & other scary white guys

Comic-Con Christmas is over. We ate all the food at once, and now it’s Boxing Day and the only leftovers are our aunt’s under-cooked brussel sprouts and some soggy malva pudding that someone definitely stuck their finger in.

But I’ll be damned if I’m cooking today, so let’s push through with last week’s offering.

It

Horror and comedy editing are very closely related, and many of the same filmmaking techniques are used to elicit opposing reactions. If there’s any proof just how easily you could miss your mark, it’s the hilarious trailers Warner Bros. has released for It. 

Not convinced? Watch this edited version with Shrek as the villain. It’s comedy gold.

It opens in South Africa on 15 September.

Brad’s Status

Brad’s Status is not about the AIDS crisis [ouch – ed]. It’s not about being newly divorced. It’s not even about Facebook. It’s about his career and the fear of seeming a failure.

Despite the confusing name, the film looks to tell a heartfelt story about living the life you want for you and not for others. It stars Ben Stiller, Jenna Fischer, Luke Wilson and Michael Sheen.

Brad’s Status opens 25 May 2018.

Room 104

Room 104 is an anthology series that tells of the various guests to motel room 104. From the quirky to the surreal to the downright creepy, Room 104 looks set to leave viewers wondering what on earth just happened.

It premiered on HBO on 28 July.

Suburbicon

Suburbicon tells of an idyllic neighbourhood in 1959 that — shockingly — masks a dark reality of lies, murder and betrayal. It is directed by George Clooney and stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac.

Suburbicon premieres in South Africa on 10 November.

Marjorie Prime

Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, and Geena Davis star in Marjorie Prime, in which an old woman forms a relationship with a hologram of her late husband. Not unlike the Black Mirror episode “Be Right Back”, Marjorie is forced to confront the fact she’s using technology to hide from the truth.

The film does not yet have a South African release, but will open in the US on 18 August.

Alias Grace

Based off the eponymous Margaret Atwood novel, Alias Grace is a miniseries about two servants who killed their employers in 1843. The novel was based loosely on factual events, but Atwood tells the story through the eyes of a fictional doctor investigating the murders.

The Netflix original premieres on 3 November.

The Vault

The Vault is a thriller starring James Franco and Taryn Manning about a hostage situation in which the hunters become the hunted. Or something. It’s confusing and James Franco has a moustache, so it’s spine-chilling from the outset.

The Vault doesn’t have an SA release, but opens in the US on 1 September.

Rebel in the Rye

Remember Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in Catcher in the Rye? Turns out that before he was the world’s first hipster, he was just a thought in JD Salinger’s brain while he was fighting in World War II.

Rebel in the Rye tells of Salinger’s story as a beleaguered veteran fighting to have his stories heard while wooing the girl on the side.

The film doesn’t have an SA release. It is scheduled for a 15 September release in the US.

Ingrid Goes West

The red band trailer for Ingrid Goes West has been released and it promises some sex and lots of drug use. The film follows cyber-stalker Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) as she obsesses over Instagram-famous Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen) to the point of forcing herself into her life.

The film also does not have an SA release, but is out on 25 August in the US.

My Friend Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer was a serial killer with cannibalistic and necrophilic tendencies. My Friend Dahmer is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name and tells of his life before his first murder.

It stars Disney star Ross Lynch, and looks eerily close to excusing Dahmer’s behaviour because he had a difficult childhood. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in April, and should be released soon in the US.