‘Demonic’ Trailer: ‘District 9’ Director Neill Blomkamp Is Back With A New Horror Movie
Neill Blomkamphas helmed his first feature film since the 2015 misfireChappie, and here’s the trailer to prove it. Blomkamp’s latest isDemonic, a horror movie about a young woman who unleashes some terrifying demons. There’s obviously more to the story than that, but everyone is playing things close to the vest here. Even the trailer is careful to not give too much away. See for yourself below.
Demonic Trailer
“Don’t be scared.“Here is the exclusive teaser trailer for@NeillBlomkamp’s horror/sci-fi thriller#Demonic. Coming to theaters and@vudufanson August 20th!pic.twitter.com/Aqsct8jw6G
— Fandango (@Fandango)August 24, 2025
Demonic! What’s it about? Well, perhaps this synopsis will help: “A young woman unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades old rift between mother and daughter are revealed.” Okay, that didn’t help much. But I’m curious. There’s clearly a lot more going on here – it looks like the story involves some sort of…video game? Or virtual reality? It’s hard to say. At one point, the main character gets strapped into some gear and wakes up in what looks likeThe Simsfor a second. Maybe this is the spiritual sequel toSerenity, the movie where Matthew McConaughey is a character living inside a fishing video game.
In any case, the film starsCarly Pope(Elysium),Chris William Martin(The Age of Adaline), andMichaelRogers(The Blacklist). It was written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, making this his first feature film since 2015’sChappie. Blomkamp burst onto the scene withDistrict 9, a clever, violent sci-fi flick that expanded a shorter film he made. And while it helped make Blomkamp a big deal,District 9almost didn’t happen. The filmmaker was originally supposed to direct a movie adaptation of the video gameHalo, but when that fell apart, he moved on toDistrict 9.
District 9was a big hit and landed multiple Oscar nominations. All eyes were on Blomkamp, and he followed up his hit with another sci-fi movie,Elysium. While that movie did well enough at the box office, it didn’t receive the same overwhelming praise asDistrict 9. And then cameChappie, which was derided by critics and flopped at the box office (although it still has its fans). Since then, Blomkamp has toyed around with various projects, including aRobo-Copreboot/sequel, but nothing has really come together.
Can Blomkamp bounce back with what looks like a smaller-budgeted film than he’s used to? Perhaps! I do like a lot of the visuals here, although I feel like I need to actually see what the movie is about before I fully commit to it.
