New Parasite Trailer Ups Paranoia and Anticipation for U.S. Release

If you follow festival buzz from afar, you’ve probably been hearing rave reviews of Parasite for months. The time for the U.S. premiere is nearly here, courtesy of NEON Films, which acquired North American rights to auteur director Bong Joon Ho’s (Okja, Snowpiercer) latest masterpiece.

Parasite dominated Cannes with its world premiere in May, besting Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to win the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize. The film has been praised for its dark comedy, as well as its twists and turns—a signature of Joon Ho’s, which has left the rest of us wondering what the film is actually about. A prior Parasite trailer contained more plot points, while this new trailer is more discreet and dizzying. Both are a masterclass in how trailers should be done: maximizing intrigue and minimizing audience knowledge.

For some context, the film revolves around two polar-opposite families: the affluent Parks and the impoverished Kims. The families lives weave together as the opportunist Kim children seek employment as a tutor and art therapist for the Parks. These services are necessary to each family in different ways, but when a “parasitic interloper” cuts into this delicate web, the relationship between the Kims and Parks shatters—along with much else, as the cryptic trailer hints through shots of blood spatter and broken dishes.

Parasite is scheduled to hit American theaters on Oct. 11. Watch the new trailer below.