Plenty of Charlie Kaufman’s movies are seeped through with a sort of existential terror – not that you’d necessarily call them horror movies. But with his latest outing, the filmmaker behind Synecdoche, New York, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich is moving into more overtly sinister territory. Following in the footsteps of Midsommar in the ‘apocalyptic break-up movie’ stakes, Kaufman’s upcoming film I’m Thinking Of Ending Things – and his follow-up to the animated Anomalisa – is a relationship horror, boasting a stellar cast in the brilliant Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis. Watch the first trailer here.
Like Get Out, this is a horror movie stemming from the anxiety-inducing prospect of meeting the parents – though this one looks to take a very different road to Jordan Peele’s iconic directorial debut. As Buckley’s unnamed character comes face-to-face with her new in-laws, amid rising feelings of wanting to break off her relationship, something deeply unsettling is at play – and going by the surreal imagery on display in the teaser, she seems to be experiencing situations that the future might hold for her and her partner Jake (Plemons). The film is based on Iain Reid’s acclaimed 2016 novel of the same name, adapted by Kaufman himself.
It looks like a creepy treat – and as arch as you’d expect from Kaufman – and the film is only a month away. You’ll find it streaming on Netflix from 4 September.