If you’ve been coming by here for a while by this point, you’re probably familiar with Géla Babluani. Five years ago, Babluani erupted on the scene with a little movie called 13 Tzameti. A low budget affair, it was the story of a down on his luck guy who weasels his way into a deadly game that could potentially earn him a lot of money. The story wasn’t much of a mystery considering we all knew from the trailer that the game in question was Russian roulette but man, the sequence used in the trailer was damned effective and it was just as effective in the context of the film which carries that high level of suspense for most of its running time.

For a follow up, Babluani decided to go the Michael Haneke route, remaking his own film. Not exactly what I’d hoped for considering he hasn’t done anything else but here we are, with a less than stellar trailer for 13. Starring a fantastic cast which includes Sam Riley, Ray Winstone, Alexander Skarsgård, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham and Michael Shannon, this production definitely has the star power and budget to get a little attention.

There’s no question that I’ll see this. Big fan of Riley, Skarsgård and Winstone but it’s the casting of Shannon as the referee that really impresses me; that’s a seriously brilliant move but the trailer is missing the tension of the original and I’m not sure the problem is limited to the trailer.

13 is scheduled for a SXSW premiere next March.

Trailer, via Shadow and Act, tucked under the seats.