The Past is Back and it's Mad as Hell in "The Gift" Trailer

We’ve all got things we’d like to leave in the past, but in the new trailer for The Gift one of them shows up out of the blue, wearing a goatee that implies decidedly sinister intentions. That goatee is being sported by Gordo, played by Joel Edgerton (who also wrote and directed). Gordo has set his sights on Simon (Jason Bateman) who, it’s implied, did something not very nice to Gordo when they were younger. Also targeted, by extension, is Simon’s wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall).

The trailer sets the tone early, opening with some close-ups of yearbook pages while an ominous trailer voice intones on about some official-sounding examples of people waiting decades to take revenge for slights real or imagined. Then we cut to a chance – or maybe not so chance? – meeting which brings Gordo and Simon back together. That quickly devolves into the usual psychological thriller, cat-and-mouse shenanigans. Gordo shows up in weird places, makes spooky, serious faces and overall just gives off some threatening vibes.

One thing the trailer does gloss over is the titular “gift,” since gift-giving seems intended to play a bigger part of the goings-on. Maybe in a post-Terminator: Genisys world a little trailer restraint is a good thing. The Gift will be in theaters on Aug. 7.