It’s been a bit of a rough ride for Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut Lost River, formerly titled How to Catch a Monster.  The film scored a spot on the 2014 Cannes Film Festival lineup, but when it left the event with a bunch of very negative reviews, a rumor surfaced claiming Warner Bros. wasn’t too keen on the idea of distributing it anymore.  However, clearly they stuck with it because the studio just released the very first trailer for the film.

There are a number of curious elements to the material, namely the cast and select strong visuals, but there aren’t really any appealing plot points or characters to latch onto and the piece doesn’t have much of a build either.  I am loving that new poster though.  You can check out The Lost River trailer and poster for yourself below.  Warner Bros. plans to give the film a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on April 10th with a day and date release on digital platforms as well.  The film will also screen at SXSW.

Via Warner Bros.

Here’s the synopsis for The Lost River:

"Lost River" is a dark fairy tale about love, family and the fight for survival in the face of danger. In the virtually abandoned city of Lost River, Billy (Christina Hendricks), a single mother of two, is led into a macabre underworld in her quest to save her childhood home and hold her family together. Her teenage son Bones (Iain De Casestecker) discovers a mystery about the origins of Lost River that triggers his curiosity and sets into motion an unexpected journey that will test his limits and the limits of those he loves.