A24 Films has made quite the name for themselves despite being less than a decade old. Producing films from 2015’s futuristic thriller Ex Machina to 2019’s grittiest film in Uncut Gems, the fledgling film company has seemingly cemented their place in Hollywood in rather expeditious fashion. The notation “A24” in big, black New York Broadway style lettering is typically a good sign moviegoers are in for a treat, and it looks like they may get the next opportunity for that sooner than they expect. A24 picked up their latest project in acquiring the North American rights to Lamb, an Icelandic folk horror film that explores the depths of the country’s vast wilderness, and the subtly menacing first trailer for the project has just been released.
Though not a single word is spoken throughout the trailer, it is abundantly obvious the tone is more ominous than it is inviting. Backed by the soft hum of a woman, presumably the film’s star Noomi Rapace, across cuts of unremarkable yet seemingly somber scenes, the trailer leaves plenty of room for the imagination to fill in the gaps as to what Lamb might exactly be about. What we can tell is that the project is set in the Icelandic countryside and focuses on a family raising sheep, and though it isn’t totally clear what direction the film goes from there, something bad is about to happen at virtually any second. A24 projects are notorious for this brand of subtle sinisterness, so Lamb seemingly fits right in with the rest of their catalog. Though no official North American release date has been planned by them yet, Lamb will see its world premier a week from today at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
A24 rarely misses, if ever, and it looks like their streak may just continue with Lamb. They must have seen something of promise in Valdimar Jóhannsson as this is his debut film, a lot of faith to put in a young filmmaker. The filmmaker resonated a similar sentiment though when asked about A24 acquiring distribution rights to his film: “A24 is a company I have been following for years, and I am very proud to be a part of their unique community of filmmakers.” A24 fans and other interested moviegoers can await the first reviews of Lamb when it debuts at Cannes next week, and anticipate a release likely later this year.
