The first teaser trailer (of sorts) for filmmaker Ben Wheatley’s (Kill List, Sightseers) new film High-Rise has been released online. Based on the novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard, the film is essentially a violent satire about class warfare, albeit permeated with Wheatley’s signature touch throughout. This is a weird movie (I caught it at TIFF), and so it makes sense that the first teaser trailer for the film is also a little strange.
Instead of a straightforward trailer, this teaser is presented as a promotional piece for the titular high-rise, with Tom Hiddleston providing enticing yet somewhat sinister narration in the form of a sales pitch. The story takes place in the 1970s as Hiddleston’s character is the new tenant of the building, but he quickly discovers that the high-rise itself is segregated into classes based on wealth and status, with its reclusive architect (Jeremy Irons) inhabiting the top floor. Again, this is a very odd movie and it played to a somewhat mixed response at TIFF, although the genre-leaning crowd at Fantastic Fest gave the picture a much warmer reception. I can’t begin to predict how you’ll react, but Hiddleston and Luke Evans are undeniably fantastic in the film. It’s well worth giving a shot, even if it doesn’t end up being your thing.
Check out this ominous teaser trailer below, click here to read Matt’s review from TIFF, and watch Steve’s video interviews with Hiddleston and Wheatley. The film also stars Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss, and James Purefoy and opens in the U.K. on March 18, 2016.
Here’s the synopsis for the novel of High Rise:
When a class war erupts inside a luxurious apartment block, modern elevators become violent battlegrounds and cocktail parties degenerate into marauding attacks on “enemy” floors. In this visionary tale, human society slips into violent reverse as once-peaceful residents, driven by primal urges, re-create a world ruled by the laws of the jungle.
