The Hole in the Ground trailer: First look at 'remarkable' new horror film

The first trailer for a brand new horror film expected to storm Sundance Film Festival has arrived – and it’s as creepy as fans of the genre would hope.

Directed by Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin, The Hole in the Ground – produced by powerhouse indie studio A24 (Lady Bird, Eighth Grade) – is set to receive its world premiere at the festival later this month.

The synopsis reads as follows:

"Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill (Seána Kerslake) is building a new life on the fringes of a backwoods rural town with her young son Chris (James Quinn Markey). A terrifying encounter with a mysterious neighbour shatters her fragile security, throwing Sarah into a spiralling nightmare of paranoia and mistrust, as she tries to uncover if the disturbing changes in her little boy are connected to an ominous sinkhole buried deep in the forest that borders their home.”

Expect word-of-mouth to trickle out upon its first screening at the Utah event ahead of its UK release in March. Could it be this year’s Hereditary? Ari Aster’s acclaimed horror, which stars Toni Collette, premiered as part of the festival’s Midnight section in 2018, leading to feverish excitement in the following months.

Either way, it’ll be a great springboard for what looks to be yet another win for the genre that’s been having an extremely successful few years, both critically (The Witch) and commercially (A Quiet Place, The Nun, Netflix smash Bird Box).

The Hole in the Ground – which co-stars James Cosmo – will be released in the UK on 1 March.