Ben Wheatley Returns With Experimental Sci-Fi

Ben Wheatley doesn’t sit still. That’s true in a genre sense – this is a filmmaker who’ll hop from harrowing horror (Kill List, In The Earth), to wry comedy (Sightseers, Happy New Year Colin Burstead), to glossy period pieces (Rebecca) and thrillers (Free Fire), to gigantic global shark blockbusters (Meg 2: The Trench) from film to film. It’s also true in the sense that Wheatley rarely disappears for long. And since he served up 2023’s Jason Statham-starring megalodon sequel, Wheatley has been hard at work on not one but two new features (as well as last year’s TV series Generation Z). For a while, we’ve known about the upcoming Bob Odenkirk-starring Normal. But he’s also been working away on a film titled Bulk – an experimental sci-fi film which looks anything but… well, normal. Watch the trailer exclusively here.

Yes, this looks like Wheatley in mind-exploding A Field In England mode here, a film that couldn’t look like more of a pivot from Meg 2. At the heart of the Bulk madness is Sam Riley, starring alongside Alexandra Maria Lara, while you’ll also see glimpses of Noah Taylor in there too. Oh, and lots of model vehicles, some lo-fi effects, mentions of “the brain collider” and the “distortion zone”, and a bunch of mushrooms. That sounds about right – welcome back to the wild side, Ben.

Here’s a synopsis: “When an overzealous scientist pushes his experiments with string theory too far – his brane explodes. Thats “brane”, not “brain” – but that means someone has to sort out the mess he has created. Our hero Corey Harlan is sent in – kicking and screaming – to find the heart of the brane and its creator Anton Chambers. Now manifested as a normal town house hosted by the enigmatic and multi-dimensional Aclima, his adventure begins. A house where opening a door from one room to another can lead you to other worlds, not just the kitchen.” Make of that what you will.

Stay tuned for more info on when Bulk will be making its way into the wider world later this year – but first up, it’ll premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival shortly on 14 August in the Midnight Madness strand, followed by a special preview at Bradford Pictureville on 16 August. Prepare your brains (or is it branes?) for a wild trip.