Jeremy Saulnier, one of the most underappreciated genre directors working today, is back with a new film that promises to deliver the same level of tension and excitement as his previous efforts. His latest, Slayground, is a thriller set in a Halloween haunted house attraction where one of the actors (Cory Michael Smith) finds himself framed for murder. Or maybe he did it and just doesn’t remember. Who knows? The trailer looks like a typical Saulnier thriller, with a guy on the run for his life, and that’s all that really matters.
Saulnier’s last film, Rebel Ridge, was a modern take on First Blood that flew under the radar, much like his earlier work, Green Room and Blue Ruin. But with Slayground, he’s re-teaming with A24, which distributed Green Room, so maybe this one will finally get him the recognition he deserves. The film also features music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, because what’s a thriller without a pulse-pounding score?
The Plot Thickens
The official synopsis for Slayground reads like a standard-issue thriller: “Scare-actor ‘Metal Mike’ Graves wakes up in a haunted attraction surrounded by the dead bodies of his co-workers with no memory of how they got there. As a state-wide manhunt closes in, he races to uncover the truth – even if the trail leads straight back to him.” It’s a familiar setup, but with Saulnier at the helm, you can bet it’ll be executed with a level of skill and tension that’s all too rare in modern thrillers.
The film’s poster is also worth a mention, if only because it’s a nice change of pace from the usual generic thriller posters that flood the market. It’s a clever play on the haunted house theme, and it suggests that Slayground might actually be a film that’s willing to have a little fun with its premise. But let’s not get too excited – after all, this is a Hollywood thriller we’re talking about, and “fun” is usually just a code word for “formulaic and predictable.”
The State of the Industry
It’s worth noting that Slayground is just the latest in a long line of thrillers that have been churned out by the Hollywood machine in recent years. It’s a genre that’s been done to death, and yet studios keep coming back to it, like a dog returning to its vomit. Maybe it’s because thrillers are just easy to make – they require minimal setup, minimal characters, and minimal plot. Just throw some good-looking people in a room, add some jump scares and a few twists, and you’ve got yourself a movie.
But every so often, a film like Slayground comes along and reminds us that there’s still some life left in the old genre. Maybe it’s the work of a talented director like Saulnier, or maybe it’s just the fact that the film’s setup is slightly more interesting than the usual “guy wakes up in a room with no memory” routine. Whatever the reason, Slayground is definitely worth keeping an eye on, if only because it might actually be a thriller that’s worth watching.
And so, Slayground will join the ranks of the thousands of other thrillers that have been released in the past few years, each one hoping to stand out from the crowd and make a name for itself. It’s a tough road ahead, but with any luck, Saulnier’s film will manage to carve out its own niche and find an audience. After all, as the great philosopher once said, “you can’t have too many thrillers.” Somewhere, a studio executive is nodding very seriously, thinking that this is the kind of original thinking that will finally propel their studio to the top of the heap.
Finn McFrame, celebrated satirical mastermind and self-proclaimed “Emperor of Irony,” started his illustrious career as a cinematographer, where his expertise in capturing every single frame of a squirrel stealing a baguette earned him accolades at obscure film festivals.
Born in the glamorous town of Boring, Oregon, Finn grew up with dreams of being a Hollywood director until he realized that satire, not cinema, was his true calling—or at least the one that let him sleep until noon.
Finn McFrame: changing the world, one satirical lens flare at a time.
⚖️ ENTER THE LEGALIZER
Think the government has no idea what it's doing? Put your case before the Federal Case Terminal and find out.
