Back in 2002, American audiences were introduced to The Ring. The movie was about a cursed videotape, and if you watched it you would die in seven days. It was a simple concept executed well and has since become a modern pop culture staple. Now we have Playback, a new thriller from director Michael Nickles that seems to try and match some of what The Ring had going for it, but in a much more convoluted way. The film stars Christian Slater, Ambyr Childers, Toby Hemingway, and Alessandra Torresani, and now the first trailer has arrived online.

Check it out below and in HD over on Apple.



The trailer starts off well, with the classic "murder in the past" setup, but I honestly have no idea what's going on past that point. My best guess is that a teen watches the murders videotapes and then somehow becomes possessed, gets magic powers and can use television screens to kill people? Or he can control anyone that steps in front of his camera lens, but it only works if they are looking right at it? One can only hope that the full cut does a better job explaining what the hell is going on in the 95 minute final cut than this two minute spot.

Look for Playback when it arrives in theaters on March 9th.