Teaser Trailer: David Michod’s Animal Kingdom

Patrons of the film festival circuit will receive a double dose of David Michôd next January. Sundance plays host to a pair of his projects — one which he penned and Spencer Susser directed (Hesher) and the another, which he both wrote and directed. Perhaps the title with the most buzz in the World Dramatic Competition, Animal Kingdom receives its world premiere in the miniscule Park City Egyptian theater – tickets will be scarce. Michod was at the festival last year, with a short called Netherland Dwarf.

The teaser doesn’t tell us much about the storyline except tragedy my be looming, but an out of context tune from Air Supply, slo-motion and handheld aesthetic and Guy Pearce wearing a ‘stache and fashion-less detective garb, puts this Australian feature in the top tier of my coverage list.

Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge. Pope Cody, an armed robber on the run from a gang of renegade detectives, is in hiding, surrounded by his roughneck friends and family. Soon, Pope’s nephew, Joshua “J” Cody, arrives and moves in with his hitherto estranged relatives. When tensions between the family and the police reach a bloody peak, “J” finds himself at the center of a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down. Pearce plays a troubled cop and is the one who thinks he can save him the 17 year-old.