Many horror films have featured women in peril, but with Katie Aselton at the helm of "Black Rock," the meat-and-potatoes outsiders-vs.-locals thriller — in the vein of films like “Deliverance” — the picture is far more empowering and gives the female leads greater substance than other films of its ilk tend to do. Now, the first trailer for the Sundance film has landed online.
That being said, the trailer makes "Black Rock" look like your standard, generic thriller, complete with cheesy title cards. Written by Aselton’s husband and frequent collaborator Mark Duplass, the story centers around the reunion of three friends (Aselton, Kate Bosworth and Lake Bell) as they camp on the island they used to love as kids. Things take a nasty turn after they run into three hunters and have to fight for their lives. And while that might sound like a boilerplate set up, the film is really quite good.
In our Sundance review of "Black Rock," we said "if you like your scares smart, and like them to happen to people you actually care about as more than bags of blood, Aselton's island of friendship and fury is a nice place to visit for a little pleasant scenery and some unpleasant chills." So don't be put off by the somewhat bland trailer. With a release date set for May 17, 2013, hopefully the studio will fine-tune its marketing to show “Black Rock” for what it is: the smarter alternative to mainstream slasher films. [First Showing]