Emma Watson’s latest character has seriously bad luck. In the new Colonia trailer, posted on Watson’s Facebook page Monday, she plays Lena, a woman who ends up in a cult while trying to find her kidnapped boyfriend. The craziest part is that the film is based on a true story.
Set in Chile in 1973, a young couple, Lena and Daniel (played by Watson and Daniel Bruhl), is separated when General Augusto Pinochet’s secret police, DINA, kidnap Daniel. As the preview shows, Lena is determined to find her boyfriend, and her search takes her to Colonia Dignidad, a religious and agricultural community that also happens to be a cult.
The cult’s leader, preacher Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist), is chilling in the preview. “I can see doubts, turmoil in your soul,” he tells Lena. “Oh, you think you made a mistake, that you shouldn’t have come here. You regret, you regret deeply.”
To say that things don’t look good for Lena and Daniel would be an understatement. In real life, Colonia Dignidad was a site where some of those kidnapped by DINA were taken to be tortured. Given that Lena is also shown with at least one injury in the trailer, it seems like she won’t escape unscathed — if at all — herself.
Watson is best known for starring in the Harry Potter franchise, but she has also appeared in a variety of other films. Her credits include Noah, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, and more. She’s set to appear in another upcoming thriller as well: Regression with Ethan Hawke.
Colonia was co-written by Academy Award winner Florian Gallenberger and Torsten Wenzel. Gallenberger also directed, while Benjamin Herrmann produced. The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival Tuesday and will hit German theaters on Jan. 21, 2016. A U.S. release date has not yet been announced.
