X-treme horror
20th Century FOX
Just like artist Bill Sienkiewicz’s 1980s comic book series for The New Mutants, director Josh Boone’s film adaptation changes the X-Men franchise as we’ve come to know it on screen. It’s X-Men meets horror.After years of delays, talks of reshoots that appear to have never come to fruition, and Disney’s purchase of the 21st Century Fox studio that left question marks around a lot of planned films, The New Mutants is finally ready to hit theaters. With the latest trailer reveal comes a treasure trove of hidden gems, homages, and secrets to what this “Stephen King meets John Hughes” tone will bring.As the five teen mutants who are forcibly kept at a secret facility must face the sins of the past as strange phenomena begin to occur, so too do we face the horrors that lie within this trailer. Let’s unpack the biggest moments.
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Traumatic past
20th Century FOX
As with Sienkiewicz’s art, The New Mutants film begins and ends with Danielle Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt.Dani, a Native American, hails from the Cheyenne Nation and maintains the ability to create complex illusions, often by tapping into someone’s fears. At this point, she doesn’t know it. So, she’s forced to face her own worst fear: a memory of fire and mayhem. She clings to what appears to be her father’s arm as she rushes through snow and away from the destruction laying waste behind her, the source of which can’t be seen.
What’s up, doc?
20th Century FOX
“The reason you survived is because you’re a very uncommon girl,” Dani is told by Dr. Reyes (Alice Braga), the mysterious physician at the even more mysterious hospital (if we can even call it that) where they reside.
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Bedtime scares
20th Century FOX
The spirit of Sienkiewicz’s images is alive and well.Where previous X-Men comics had been bright with fine lines, one of the first images of his ’80s New Mutants run — Dani peeking out from beneath her bed sheets at the creature lurking beneath her bed — noted a stark shift in tone. Boone transposes some of this imagery in the context of the film.
