Crime in the southern United States has always been treated like a bit of a joke by Hollywood. In classic comedies like Smokey and the Bandit to more recent farces such as Logan Lucky, southern criminals are seen as goofballs and slackers. But in the new film Arkansas, southern crime is shown to be just as serious and deadly as anywhere else.
The film stars Liam Hemsworth and Clark Duke, who also directs, as two men at the very bottom of a local drug-dealing operation in Arkansas. The pair start messing around on the job, which leads the boss of the outfit — played by Vince Vaughn — to deem them a threat and put out a hit on them. The film has just released its first trailer, and while the first half of the trailer is light and humorous, a change occurs midway through. After looking like a Smokey and the Bandit-style romp, the trailer becomes astoundingly dark, the second half of the trailer becomes pretty intense as the bodies start piling up. Check it out below.
In addition to the aforementioned trio of actors, the film also features John Malkovitch, Vivica A. Fox, and Eden Brolin, so the cast certainly isn’t lacking. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by John Brandon, which is regarded for its dark sense of humor. It looks like the film will follow in much the same tone as the book — in other words, it still looks funny — but it’s still treating its crime pretty seriously, and with a good deal of action, too. We’ll find out what this genre mashup looks like when Arkansas arrives in theaters (if any are open) and On-Demand on May 1.
