A few years back, the notion that for some reason we’d need to be locked inside our homes in the future would hardly give us pause. In 2022, however, having lived through a pandemic, we know first-hand what confinement can do to a person. The perspective is even worse for the characters of Zero Contact, an upcoming futuristic thriller that has humanity living in isolation. The story centers around a group of people who receive a mission after the death of an eccentric billionaire — the problem is, they don’t know if the mission will help the world in some way or condemn it.
The trailer reveals Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (The Father) as Finley Hart, the billionaire who left a series of video messages for his son and four other people. Hart states that the team he selected needs to stop an Earth-killing disaster event, and reveals that his death was not accidental but part of something bigger to put a “reactivation plan” in motion. If it sounds cryptic, it’s because the trailer teases a conspiracy but, of course, doesn’t give away what’s actually going on, as well as what secrets Hart may be hiding.
In addition, the trailer reveals that even though the main cast is stuck inside the comfort of their homes as the story unfolds, they are far from safe as mysterious figures start popping out in their yards. And it gets worse: They start losing their grasp on reality as time travel factors into the story, and suddenly they can’t explain some changes that take place in their own lives.
Judging by this trailer, Zero Contact looks like a thrilling cross between Paranormal Activity and Searching…, with the found footage style being the main filming strategy adopted by the movie’s first-time director Rick Dugdale — the story is mostly told via video conference and cellphone cameras. The screenplay is penned by Cam Cannon, who previously wrote Deadlock and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage.
Aside from Hopkins, the cast of Zero Contact also features Tuva Novotny (Annihilation), Adrian Holmes (Peacock’s Bel-Air), Aleks Paunovic (Marvel’s Hawkeye), Chris Brochu (The Vampire Diaries), Rukiya Bernard (Yellowjackets), Lilly Krug (Heart of Champions), and Veronica Ferres (You Belong to Me).
Zero Contact premieres in selected theaters, on Digital and On Demand on May 27.
You can watch the trailer and check out the poster below:
Check out the official synopsis here:
Starring Academy Award® winner Anthony Hopkins ('The Silence of the Lambs'), this high-tech thriller chillingly reimagines our isolated, virtual world. Hopkins plays Finley Hart, the eccentric genius behind a global data-mining program. Upon his death, five remote agents — including Finley’s son — are contacted by a mysterious A.I. entity to reactivate the initiative, which may enable time travel. As sinister events occur at each of the agents’ homes, they must decide whether entering their passwords will save the world...or destroy it.