Magnolia Pictures has revealed the first trailer for Mayday, which stars Grace Van Patten (Nine Perfect Strangers), Mia Goth (A Cure for Wellness), and Juliette Lewis. The reimagined war film, which premiered earlier this year at Sundance, now gears up for theatrical release later this fall. Mayday will launch both in theaters and On Demand on October 1.
The film's immersive trailer immediately drops you into the world you're in store for. Van Patten's character, Ana, mysteriously finds herself stranded on a rugged coast and meets a group of female soldiers who position themselves as damsels in distress waiting for rescue in order to lure unsuspecting men to their death. She begins training with the crew, learning especially from their leader Marsha (Goth). However, the more the women descend into violence, the more Ana realizes she may not be a killer like the rest of them — and starts trying to find a way to go home.
Karen Cinorre directs the adventure movie that stars Van Patten, Goth, Lewis, Soko, Havana Rose Liu, and Théodore Pellerin. When Collider spoke to Cinorre this past February, she expanded on how one of the most classic stories of both literature and film gave her inspiration for making Mayday:
"It came partly out of my obsession, as a girl, with The Wizard of Oz, I think, and always wanting to kind of make a better one. Not that there's anything wrong with the movie, but I always felt sad that Dorothy came back and they were like, 'oh, you didn't really go anywhere at all. You should've stayed home.' And I just thought 'no, no, she would be transformed when she came back,' and I think that was in the back of my mind, so when I set out to create a story about a young woman coming of age, that was there."
Cinorre admitted that she also drew from ancient Greek mythology, as the sisterhood of sharpshooters in the story behave like modern-day sirens who are responsible for leading men to their deaths: "It's where woman are most unapologetic and formidable and powerful, and the center of the story, the myth of the siren is still with us today."
Magnolia Pictures will release Mayday in theaters and On-Demand on October 1. Check out the trailer and more images below:
Here's the official synopsis for Mayday:
In director Karen Cinorre’s bold new action fantasy film MAYDAY, Ana (Grace Van Patten) finds herself transported to a dreamlike and dangerous coastline. Once there, she joins a female army engaged in a never-ending war where the women lure men to their deaths with radio signals, like 20th century sirens. Though Ana finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize she is not the killer they want her to be.
