Instead of getting right to the action and suspense, the second–and latest–trailer for The Gift (STX Films) starts off with that announcer guy who does all the horror movies (I’m convinced it’s one guy) recounting tales of vengeance by those who were tormented in school. One particular story caught my attention, too.
The trailer talks about a man in his 60s who went to the home of a former classmate, and killed him. Now, at first I couldn’t find anything. But, after digging just a little bit deeper, this story came up, although the ages don’t seem to be the same. I’m convinced, however, that the account Mr. Creepy Announcer Voice Guy mentioned is the story of Carl Ericsson of South Dakota. The motive? A jockstrap placed on his head:
Because one day in January of this year, Ericsson decided to exact revenge on a former high school classmate. So Ericsson rang the man’s doorbell, asked him his name, and then shot him to death.
You can tell Ericsson was definitely feeling some type of way for all these years. Damn!
“He said that a jockstrap was put on his head,” Kenneth Meyer said. “It’s the only thing he’s ever mentioned in talking to law enforcement.”
Ericsson, who a psychiatrist said suffered from anxiety and depression for years, last month pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder in the death of Norman Johnson.
Okay, interesting tidbit aside, here’s The Gift trailer #2:
Synopsis:
Can you really go through life having never wronged anyone? Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young married couple whose life is going just as planned until a chance encounter with an acquaintance from Simon’s high school sends their world into a harrowing tailspin. Simon doesn’t recognize Gordo (Joel Edgerton) at first, but after a seemingly coincidental series of encounters proves troubling, a horrifying secret from their past is uncovered after nearly 20 years. As Robyn learns the unsettling truth about what happened between Simon and Gordo, she starts to question: how well do we really know the people closest to us, and are past bygones ever really bygones?
From the producer of Whiplash and The Purge, Jason Blum, comes a chilling psychological thriller that marks the feature directorial debut of acclaimed actor and writer Joel Edgerton (The Great Gatsby, Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior).