Trailer Park: "Melancholia" (Directed By Lars Von Trier)

Anyone who’s seen Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist knows that the guy is one sick bastard. And, yes, we love him for that. Though he’s made a bunch of great flicks (namely Dogville), the controversial auteur really turned heads with Antichrist, a violent and emotionally devastating psycho-horror pic that mangles eyes with images of a fox licking its own guts, Willem Dafoe’s testicles being smashed with a wood block, and Charlotte Gainsbourg cutting her you-know-what with rusty scissors.

For his next film, Von Trier seems to have toned it down, though the plot of Melancholia hints at darker elements not shown in this first trailer. Melancholia is a science fiction/drama hybrid set against the end of the world, brought upon as a planet “hiding behind the sun” heads straight towards Earth. This first preview starts off much like Rachel Getting Married; Kirsten Dunst is about to marry Alexander Skarsgaard (Eric on True Blood), with Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt, and Gainsbourg all in the mix, as well.

Just when it seems that Melancholia is an arthouse spin on any random Katherine Heigl movie, though, Von Trier’s usual weirdness comes into play, among them bizarre slow-motion shots, uncomfortable nudity, and widespread melancholy (hence the title).

We can’t wait to see how batshit crazy Melancholia gets once the planets collide, if they do at all. As of now, we’ll settle for this gorgeous and intriguing trailer. Magnolia Pictures has the U.S. distribution rights for the film, but there’s no release date as of now.