Kirsten Dunst to explore trippy dream world in ‘Woodshock’

A24 Films has premiered the first trailer for Woodshock, upcoming feature directorial from Kate Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy.

Haven’t heard of it? We’re not surprised. It stars Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia, Spider-Man, Marie Antoinette) in the lead, but has undoubtedly been overshadowed by the forthcoming theatrical release of Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled, in which Dunst also stars.

Woodshock deserves as much attention as it can possibly get, a film that A24 Films has dubbed “something special”. They should know, having swooped in way back in 2015 to secure the distribution rights in the United States.

The film focuses on Theresa, a young woman haunted by profound loss and torn between her fractured emotional state and the reality-altering effects of a cannabinoid drug. It is described as a “hypnotic exploration of isolation, paranoia, and grief that exists in a dream-world all its own”. The duo behind the film aren’t kidding. See what they mean by viewing the trippy trailer here.

Though Woodshock is the feature film debut from the Mulleavy sisters, they’re no strangers to Hollywood, having established the Los Angeles-based fashion brand Rodarte. The pair previously also worked as costume designers, most notably on the 2010 film Black Swan starring Natalie Portman. Having always had the desire to direct, the siblings developed the screenplay for Woodshock over a period of several years.

Pilou Asbæk (Ghost in the Shell, Lucy), Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Green Room), Lorelei Linklater (Boyhood, Bomb City), Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto, The Nice Guys), Susan Taylor (Heat, Greenberg) and Steph DuVall (Showtime’s Ray Donovan) star alongside Dunst.

Ken Kao’s Waypoint Entertainment financed and produced the film, along with Ben LeClair and Michael Costigan under their Cota Films label.

Woodshock is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on September 15, 2017 in the United States – no word on when it’ll arrive in other territories.