The long-awaited first teaser trailer for the new JOKER movie starring Joaquin Phoenix is here. The details are light, of course, but the official synopsis reads as such. “A failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and becomes a psychopathic murderer.” Okay? We already knew that one. Star Zazie Beetz’s has apparently called the script “Dope” in interviews. But what of the new grimy realistic take on Gotham and the Joker in general that writer-director Todd Phillips has given this approach? Matched only in intensity by Phoenix’s performance and the gravitas of having Robert De Niro in the cast? Take a look.

In theaters October 4th

Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, Shea Whigham

Norman Gidney is the founder and editor-in-chief of HorrorBuzz, which he launched in 2015 to cover everything that goes bump in the night: horror films, haunts, books, games, and the people who make them. He also runs The Screaming Room Film Festival and hosts the Horror Movie Night series at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California.