Agoraphobics and astrophobics should probably stay far away from this one. The new trailer for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity is promising nothing short of the most pants pissing scenario ever put to the big screen. As if flying and crashing weren’t bad enough, a new precedent has been set: floating off into the vast expanse of space and freezing, starving or asphyxiating. Sounds like a contender for one of the worst ways to die this side of drowning in an alkali bath.
The film stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. And if it wasn’t painfully obvious from the trailer, the two astronauts are 372 miles above our pale blue dot. Unfortunately for them, space debris strikes their shuttle leaving them not only completely vulnerable to the elements, but also out of contact with mission command, and in a case of adding even more insult to injury, they have a dwindling air supply. Suffice to say these two are not just suffering from a case of the Mondays.
The cinematography looks nothing short of beautiful, and the CGI is awe inspiring, especially considering we live in a day and age where the reality of a “Sharknado” has been fully realized with stunning PS1 quality CGI. But of course, the central focus isn’t the FX, it’s the simplicity of the story. The little things like hearing only the breaths being taken or the dialogue going on between the two actors add those little touches of realism, and the absolute dread that this sort of scenario will undoubtedly bring about in audiences.
Gravity should be on everyone’s radar at this point, and if it isn’t then this newest trailer just might have you hopping onto the bandwagon as well. This is science “reality” filmmaking at its scariest and it should convey to audiences just how terrifying space is when it arrives on October 4th, 2013.
