Netflix drops 'Wendell & Wild' trailer, a stop motion horror film from Jordan Peele and Henry Selick
Netflix has dropped the first trailer for Wendell & Wild, an animated horror film that crawled from the minds of Coraline director Henry Selick and Get Out director Jordan Peele.
The trailer exudes a creepy yet magical vibe as it warns viewers to "be careful what you wish for" while showing off its stop motion-style of animation, which is reminiscent of Selick's previous dark fantasy films such as Coraline and his more famous work, The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Based on an unpublished book of the same name by Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman, Wendell & Wild follows a troubled teen named Kat Elliot who is haunted by the events of her past.
As if she isn't struggling enough with her inner demons, now she meets actual ones named Wendell and Wild who enlist her aid to summon them to the land of the living. She must now confront the scheming entities to start a new life in her old hometown.
The film is directed by Selick using a screenplay co-written with award-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele, whose films Get Out, Us, and Nope have established him as a modern master of horror.
Since the film is still targeted toward younger audiences, balancing between kid-friendly and horror tones have been a challenge for Selick, according to his interview with Screen Rant.
"It is one of the main challenges on the films I do. They've got to be scary enough to raise the hairs on your neck. My plan is to scare but not scar. But there's no formula for that. [I]t's about timing duration but keeping that tone right. That's kind of one of the biggest challenges," Selick explained.
He continued, "But I'd say that dramatically, [Wendell & Wild] is darker than anything I've done. But as far as scares and so forth, I think Coraline actually was a little scarier in a couple of sections. This has more comedy to balance with the darker aspects."
Aside from helming the screenplay, Peele also lends his voice for the film alongside Keegan-Michael Key. They are joined by Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong and Ving Rhames.
Wendell & Wild is set to premiere on Netflix on Oct. 28, just in time for the spookiest holiday of the year.