Watch the Full Trailer for Jennifer Kent’s Babadook Follow-Up, The Nightingale

We’ve been waiting a while now for the U.S. release of The Nightingale, Aussie director Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to 2014’s terrifying indie hit The Babadook, and now it’s almost upon us. After garnering strong reviews at its premiere in the Venice Film Festival, The Nightingale is headed our way in August, but the full trailer for the film arrives today.

As one might expect, The Nightingale looks incredibly taut and intense, judging from this footage. It’s a feminist period story of revenge, set in colonial Australia, which follows a woman who seemingly has little left to live for. The full synopsis is as follows:

Set in Tasmania in 1825, Clare, a beautiful 21-year-old Irish female convict (Aisling Franciosi), witnesses the brutal murder of her husband and baby by Hawkins, a British officer (Sam Claflin), and his cronies. Unable to find justice, she takes Billy, an Aboriginal male tracker (Baykali Ganambarr), with her through the hellish wilderness to seek revenge on the men, and gets much more than she bargained for.

Much of the conflict seems to boil down to the culture clash between Clare and Billy, who are nonetheless united in the disgust and hatred they feel toward the imperialist brutality of the British government and military. In terms of influences, it looks a bit like The Last of the Mohicans meets Bone Tomahawk, meets last year’s Revenge from director Coralie Fargeat. Given the psychological probing of The Babadook and its underlying themes about the role of women and mothers in society, you can be certain that The Nightingale will also have plenty to say on the subject.

The Nightingale will hit U.S. theaters in NYC and L.A. on Aug. 2, 2019, with a nationwide expansion to follow. Check out the full trailer below.