Haunting first trailer for Dark Night, loosely based on the Aurora cinema shooting

We’ve seen some dark trailers in our time but this really will take some topping.

Loosely based on 2012’s shooting at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, where 24-year-old James Holmes, armed with shotgun, semi-automatic rifle and a Glock 22. handgun killed 12 and injured 70 during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, the film follows six strangers on the day of such an incident.

Shot in a pseudo-doc style, director Tim Sutton’s film uses first-time actors for the roles to ensure extra realism – a factor which wasn’t lost on critics who saw the film at its recent Sundance premiere, claiming it offered a sobering critique on US gun culture.

Much like how Gus Van Sant’s Elephant was partly based on the Columbine massacre, it’s going to shock you - but then that’s the aim. Not least if you watch it on the big screen: one tease of a scene showing fidgety audience members checking their phones unaware of the impending horror is proof of that.

Due for release in the US on 3 February, expect a UK release to follow shortly after.