Director Neill Blomkamp has made his name on sci-fi films, most notably District 9 — in addition to Elysium and Chappie — but he is expanding into the horror genre with his latest film, Demonic, which he both wrote and directed. Demonic’s first trailer is now available ahead of its Aug. 20 release date.
What is able to be gleaned from the 90-second trailer is that a woman creates an avatar of herself to go into this virtual reality world where she has the chance to reconnect with her mother. However, something happens that unleashes demons who break out of the virtual world and into the real one.
It’s a quick glimpse to set the mood for the film. This includes the main character, played by Carly Pope, getting ready to go into the VR world (which has the fantastic detail of pixelation in some spots), some spooky religious imagery, a sword and a deep, monotone voice chanting in some foreign tongue. Yep, mission accomplished on creating a creepy mood in the first trailer.
In addition to Pope, the Demonic cast includes Nathalie Boltt, Chris William Martin, Michael J. Rogers and Andrea Agur.
Watch the full trailer for Demonic below.
Demonic is set to be released under the IFC Midnight banner, the specialized branch of IFC Films that typically handles horror, aliens and other supernatural subject matter. The film is going to play exclusively in theaters.
Blomkamp made a grand entrance into the film world with District 9 back in 2009. His sci-fi faux documentary about an alien race trapped as refugees in South Africa earned a Best Picture nomination and a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Blomkamp. His follow-up films, Elysium and Chappie, were not as well-received critically.
Demonic marks his first feature film since the release of Chappie in 2015.
