Two years have passed since we heard that filming had wrapped on The Cello (formerly known as simply Cello), the latest horror project from director Darren Lynn Bousman – whose credits include Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Now a trailer for The Cello has finally arrived online, along with the information that the movie is going to be receiving a theatrical release on December 8th! You can watch the trailer in the embed above.
Filmed in Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic, The Cello is told through a mixture of English and Arabic. The screenplay was written by Turki Al Alshikh, the chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, and is based on his first novel, which was published in 2021. The story centers on accomplished Saudi cellist Nasser, who has aspirations for greatness, though he feels like he’s held back by the old, dilapidated instrument he’s forced to play. When Nasser is offered the chance to take possession of a gorgeous red cello by a mysterious shop owner, he finds new inspiration both for his playing and for his composing. What Nasser doesn’t realize is that this cello has a nefarious past. As he prepares for an important audition with a prominent philharmonic, that past shows itself in the form of an ancient conductor and the suffering and death of those close to him. Nasser must now decide if achieving his dreams is worth the horror that comes with playing such a perfect instrument.
Samer Ismail (The Day I Lost My Shadow) plays Nasser and is joined in the cast by Jeremy Irons (Dead Ringers) as the conductor and the Saw franchise’s own Tobin Bell as the shop owner. Elham Ali (Ashman) is also in the cast.
The Cello was produced by Lee Nelson of Envision Media Art. Executive producers include Sultan Al Muheisen and Niko Ruokosuo of Alamiya and David Tish of Envision Media Arts. Rozam Media handled the financing. Before Bousman signed on to direct the film, Vikram Bhatt (Raaz) was attached to direct and had brought on The Conjuring screenwriters Chad and Carey Hayes as script consultants.
What did you think of the trailer for The Cello? Are you glad to see Bousman and Bell working together again? Let us know by leaving a comment below.