Brian Duffield’s Whalefall was already one of my most anticipated movies of the year, and after this new trailer? Yeah, I’m completely locked in.
The film stars Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin, with Abrams playing Jay Gardiner, a young man who heads into the ocean searching for his late father’s remains. Things obviously go very, very wrong when Jay is swallowed by a massive sperm whale and finds himself trapped inside with only an hour of oxygen left. The movie is based on Daniel Kraus’ novel, which I’m planning to read before seeing the film. (UK Press)
The first trailer was essentially a showcase for the movie’s insane central premise: a guy gets swallowed by a fucking whale. It immediately sold me on the movie. But this new trailer gives us a little more of the story surrounding Jay and his relationship with his father, played by Josh Brolin. I’m really digging that side of it. It gives the movie a personal emotional hook beyond the obvious survival-thriller insanity.
And then there’s the stuff that made me want this movie in the first place: the visuals. The whale, the underwater sequences, the squid, the sense of scale—it all looks absolutely fucking incredible. This is exactly the kind of movie I want to see on the biggest screen possible, so I’m praying Whalefall gets an IMAX release here in Toronto. I need to see this thing in a theater.
The other thing that has me especially excited is what isn’t in the trailer. Brian Duffield has apparently said that the movie’s third act—and its biggest and best set piece—hasn’t been shown yet. If that remains the case all the way through release, I’m all for it. We’ve already seen enough to know what kind of movie this is. Give me that third-act insanity completely unspoiled.
And honestly, you already had me at Brian Duffield, Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin, a sperm whale, a squid, and a ticking oxygen clock. The fact that the movie looks this fucking good is just the cherry on top.
I’m so ready for this one. October 16 can’t come soon enough.
