The hottest film out of the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival is Guillermo del Toro‘s The Shape of Water, which is being called a masterpiece that will easily swim into Oscar contention. With our review arriving this weekend, we’re excited to share new footage from the film in the form of a red band trailer.
If it weren’t clear before, The Shape of Water is del Toro’s The Creature From the Black Lagoon, a remake he had once been attached to over at Universal Pictures. Del Toro’s take is an unspoken romance, literally, that interestingly resembles the story arc of Free Willy. Here, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) has a forbidden romance with this creature and, as the trailer suggests must free it back into the ocean. The trailer is “red band” because there’s a pretty vicious scene with Michael Shannon, who is always an excellent villain. Outside of that it’s quite emotional and promises to be, at the very least, as good as del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth.
[Related] The Iconic Horror Movie Scene That Inspired The Shape of Water
In the other-worldly tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1963:
“In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of silence and isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.”
Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones also star.
The Shape of Water swims into theaters on December 8, 2017.
