First Look at Knives Out
Rian Johnson has had a pretty fascinating career as of late, thanks to LOOPER and STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI both bringing his unique talents to blockbuster-level projects. But sometimes, you have to go home and walk around the halls you once knew, and that’s exactly what it looks like Johnson’s doing with his upcoming film, KNIVES OUT, as he’s returned to his retro stylish ways in what looks to be a bitingly black comedy. Behold, the film’s first trailer, courtesy of Lionsgate:
In the grand tradition of drawing room murder mysteries, KNIVES OUT gathers a family’s worth of interesting characters and puts them in the middle of a caper involving the death of their “beloved” patriarch, played by Christopher Plummer. The suspects involved with this crime bring out an all-star cast of talent, ranging from Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon and Don Johnson to Ana de Armas, Chris Evans and Katherine Langford.
Each of these likely culprits seem to be hiding something, and with motives flying as fast and frequently as curse words and harsh feelings, unraveling KNIVES OUT's mystery plot might get a bit complicated. As always, it’s up to a group of sleuths (Daniel Craig, Lakeith Stanfield and Noah Segan) to determine just what’s transpired, and who the real villain is, before it’s too late.
Touted as Rian Johnson’s first big film after STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI — and his last project before he dives back into that galaxy far, far away — KNIVES OUT is radically different from the output we’ve seen from the director as of late. At the same time, it’s a beautiful return to form, when looking back at his earlier work.
KNIVES OUT looks like the sort of movie you’d expect if BRICK and THE BROTHERS BLOOM decided to settle down and have a kid. It has the old-timey flair both films shared, with the humor of the latter film mixing with the noir-ish tendencies of the former. That right there is a blend that should bring back Johnson’s die-hard fans, while attracting more recent admirers of his work as well.
Most importantly, KNIVES OUT looks like it’s just having a lot of fun with what it does. There are creepy and harder-edged elements that flash by in this quick jaunt of a trailer, and then there’s acidic dialogue that will definitely get some R-rated laughs. Chris Evans’ character, Ransom Robinson, is certainly proof of that, as his swearing in this trailer is only matched by his witty one-liners.
There are a lot of surprises, twists and flat-out shocks that KNIVES OUT is probably hiding from us for the time being — and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it! The film will be in theatres on November 27, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. This looks like one killer party you’re going to want to RSVP to.