Netflix unveils first trippy trailer for Chris Hemsworth movie Spiderhead

Netflix has released the first trailer for Spiderhead – and it's very weird. 

In the footage, which you can watch above, we see Chris Hemsworth as the brilliant but ethically dubious scientist Steve Abnesti. He's administering some seriously mind-altering drugs on his patients, who are actually inmates of a penitentiary – played by Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett – and things get trippy very quickly. 

"Time to worry about crossing lines was a lot of lines ago," Abnesti says in the trailer, as well as promising that "our work will save lives… we're making the world a better place." Judging by how sinister the trailer gets as the violence ramps up, we're not so sure we believe him...

The film is based on a New Yorker short story by George Saunders titled 'Escape from Spiderhead,' and is scripted by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernicke, who wrote Deadpool and Zombieland together. Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski helms the movie, making this a reunion with Teller, who plays Rooster in the sequel.

One of the creepiest aspects of the trailer is the upbeat music over the disturbing visuals, and the idea for the contrast came to Kosinski in a rather mundane place. 

"The idea of the soundtrack came while I was sitting in a dentist chair," Kosinski told Entertainment Weekly. "I was listening to something like Christopher Cross while getting a tooth drilled. It felt interesting for Abnesti to create this air of relaxation and good times in a facility that's doing something much more nefarious."

The film hits Netflix this June 17. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the best Netflix movies streaming now to fill out your watchlist. 

Molly Edwards
Entertainment Writer

I'm an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.