IFC Midnight will be releasing Ali Abbasi's feature directorial debut SHELLEY by the end of the month, and the trailer they have put together for it indicates that this film may have some viewers re-thinking their plans to start a family.
Starring Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Cosmina Stratan, and Peter Christoffersen, SHELLEY tells the following story:
An unholy force takes root in an expectant mother’s womb in this eerie, dread-inducing shocker. Privileged, nouveau-eco-hippies Louise (Petersen) and Kasper (Christoffersen) live off the grid in a remote home in the woods. Unable to conceive, the couple arranges for their immigrant maid, Elena (Stratan), to act as a surrogate mother in exchange for payment. But as Elena becomes mysteriously sicker with each passing day, fears mount about what may be growing inside her.
I'm not sure what exactly is going on here, but the trailer and its atmosphere, thick with dread, has me very interested in watching the movie and finding out. I also have to give kudos to the reviewer from The Playlist who gets quoted in the trailer as saying that SHELLEY "pulsates soft waves of fear like a fetal heartbeat". That's some evocative wordplay.
SHELLEY is due to reach theatres and VOD on July 29th.