Lars von Trier is not my cup of tea. I’ve only seen a couple of his films but it was enough to know that his themes were a bit harsh for me and hearing people talk about Dancer in the Dark and Dogville never encouraged further viewing but that may all have changed in one trailer.

When a still for von Trier’s new film Antichrist was released a few weeks ago, the web went a bit crazy. I couldn’t quite see why (aside from the fact that it’s damned creepy) since I’ve always thought of von Trier as a director who pushes the envelope, but the image did get my attention. Now that I’ve seen the trailer, I want to know when we can expect a North American release.

To put it quite bluntly, this trailer is awesome. It’s beautiful, dreamlike, gorgeous and equally scary, creepy and down right disturbing. Is von Trier playing at horror? Maybe some of his previous films are too but none of the trailers I’ve seen have suggested any of them are true “horror” films but this one certainly does. The official synopsis explains that a couple, played by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, retreat to a cabin in the woods in an effort to save their troubled marriage but things turn sour when nature “takes it course”. So basically, this is the movie that takes the nature attacks theme of The Happening (our review) and goes full blown horror? Sure looks like it.

Thanks to The Auteurs for the heads up on the wicked trailer.