We horror fans are constantly on the lookout for new ideas. Sure, we love our traditional genre tropes as much as any other fandom, but we also crave originality and inventiveness. We want to see stories we’ve never encountered before, and if the trailer for LandLocked is any indication, I just might’ve found a new movie that fits that bill perfectly. Here’s what the film is about:
Summoned to his soon-to-be demolished childhood home, Mason discovers an old VHS camera that can see into the past, driving him to record as many memories as possible before the doomed house is destroyed.
Utilizing the director’s own home movies, filming in the actual locations where he spent his youth and casting real-life family members to play fictionalized versions of themselves, LandLocked combines narrative and documentary with horror and sci-fi to create a movie unlike any other…
Admittedly, that plot synopsis doesn’t really tell us much, but what it does say is pretty intriguing. We all know what it’s like to find ourselves caught in a rabbit hole of nostalgia, so even though we don’t exactly know what this story is about, it has a universal appeal that I for one find just about irresistible.
That being said, a great idea is only half the battle. A movie also has to execute its premise well, and thankfully, the LandLocked trailer promises excellence in that regard as well. While the movie’s budgetary restraints are pretty obvious, this trailer is so atmospheric that its ultra low-budget feel isn’t a problem. It effortlessly sucks you into the story and gets you to wonder just what the hell is going on here, so I fully expect this movie to kickstart 2023 with a bang.
LandLocked hits VOD and select theaters on January 6, so we’ll get a chance to see it in a bit under a month. In the meantime, check out our review of the film from its festival run earlier this year.