The first trailer for **Eden **gave a gritty snapshot of a New Mexico underworld in which humans represent capital and smugglers don't come with a loveable West country burr and a unquenchable grog habit. Its new UK trailer, exclusively unleashed via the Empire social realism channel, offers a further delve into dark side of the US badlands. Be warned: this is not for the faint of heart or people planning to visit New Mexico for their holidays.
Set in 1994, it's based on the story a Korean-American teenager named Chong Kim, here renamed Eden and played by Jamie Chung. Abducted and abused by a sex-trafficking ring, she's forced into prostitution. Throughout the two years she is held, Eden reluctantly ensures her own survival by carving out power and influence within the very organization that has imprisoned her.
In the spirit of Michael Winterbottom’s In This World, the second season of The Wire and** Maria Full of Grace**, it tells of the exploitation of the vulnerable by criminals and the callously powerful. In this case, it's Beau Bridges' corrupt federal marshall who holds the keys - literally - to her brutal new kingdom. Morphine dependence is part of what swiftly becomes a living nightmare that Eden tries to free herself from through sheer strength of will.
Ohio director Megan Griffiths' film has been slowly building a head of steam with US critics, who have praised its punch and unvarnished realism, while Sundance audiences afforded it a warm reception back in January. You can catch **Eden **in UK cinemas from July 19.