'Unhinged' Trailer: Whatever You Do, Don't Honk At Russell Crowe

What happens if you honk at a guy in traffic who's having the worst day of his life? That's the question answered in Unhinged, a new Russell Crowe thriller which, in the grand tradition of films like Duel, Joy Ride, and Falling Down, presents a worst case scenario for the protagonist and will maybe make you think twice about slamming on the horn the next time you're out on the road. Check out a new trailer for the movie below, complete with a retro voiceover that leans into the film's throwback vibe.

Trailers for this movie want you to empathize with Crowe's character's point about decorum while also depicting him as a guy who's clearly in the middle of a mental breakdown. But his character loses all moral superiority the second he starts lashing out and turning violent, so I'll be interested to see what this movie's actual goal is outside of the context of a simple trailer. Does the movie itself actually want you to empathize with Crowe? Does it have more going on than initially meets the eye? Or is it just a straightforward throwback to the types of mid-level B-movies that are harder to come by these days than they used to be?

Here's the movie's synopsis:

Academy Award winner Russell Crowe stars in Unhinged, a timely psychological thriller that explores the fragile balance of a society pushed to the edge, taking something we've all experienced – road rage – to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion. Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is running late to work when she has an altercation at a traffic light with a stranger (Crowe) whose life has left him feeling powerless and invisible. Soon, Rachel finds herself and everyone she loves the target of a man who decides to make one last mark upon the world by teaching her a series of deadly lessons. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know just how close you are to someone who is about to become unhinged.

Unhinged is insisting on being one of the first movies back in theaters in the United States. It opens on August 21, 2020.