If the trailers are to be believed,Gore Verbinski’s upcomingA Cure for Wellnessfinds the mercurial director back in the same eerie environs asThe Ring, his (quite good) remake of the J-horror classicRingu. In recent years, Verbinski has become a go-to-guy for bigger projects, whether it be a volume of the unending, uninspiredPirates of the Caribbeanfranchise or his fascinating, catastrophic adaptation ofThe Lone Ranger. His true talents, however, are in building a tense, unstable atmosphere of dread or misery, and crafting images of alienation, bewilderment, and, occasionally, effective emotional oomph. Action and adventure in the bright sunshine does not fit him as well.
That’s why the marketing campaign forA Cure for Wellnesshas grabbed more than a few fans that have recently abandoned Verbinski despite his continued sense of visual style. The first clip for the movie, which you can take a look at below, summarizes the moodiness that Verbinski has proven uniquely gifted at evincing over the years, utilizing pale blues, sickly greens, watered-down yellows, and whites to convey a feeling of unease.Dane DeHaan, who plays the main character, is looking for an escape from what looks like a sanitarium, where he has gone to heal his seemingly exasperated nerves, only to be surrounded by menacing guards andJason Isaacs' secretive doctor. From the look of the trailers, however, there are things far more frightening and unnerving in Verbinski’s latest than a few beefy guys in orderly outfits.
Here’s the first clip fromA Cure for Wellness:
Here’s the official synopsis forA Cure for Wellness:
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests here longing for the cure. From Gore Verbinski, the visionary director of THE RING, comes the new psychological thriller, A CURE FOR WELLNESS.
