That the first New Mutants trailer has arrived on Friday the 13th is no fluke. 20th Century Fox has said their latest X-Men spin-off would be more of a horror movie than a superhero blockbuster, and this teaser leaves little doubt of that. Though the film may feature teenage mutants, this two-minute preview gives little hint of as much. Instead, it’s all about the budget horror clichés: jump scares, creepy faces pushing through walls, and the setting of a gloomy old abandoned hospital.
Oh, sorry, did I say hospital? Actually, it’s a haunted house. You can tell because of the part where Cannonball (Stranger Things‘ Charlie Heaton) says, “This isn’t a hospital… It’s a haunted house!”
Anyway, it’s not just horror tropes in this teaser. The already-tired trailer trend of sparse, somber, children’s choir covers comes full circle here with a slightly more haunting than usual edit of Pink Floyd’s already children’s choir-sung “Another Brick in the Wall.” How apt for not a hospital but a haunted house.
New Mutants will assumedly finally reveal Heaton’s butt turning into a flame when the film hits theaters April 13.
