An absolutely chilling clip from this summer’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has touched down online, expanding on a scene we previously saw in the final trailer. I don’t think it comes as much of a surprise to anyone that we’re going to get a much darker film than Rise of the Planet of the Apes when Dawn opens in July. But with this clip, which finds angry ape Koba (mo-capped by Toby Kebbell) tricking and then brutally murdering two human guards, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is not going to be your typical family-friendly blockbuster.
Perhaps that’s a good thing. Director Matt Reeves previously delivered a stellar but very dark take on vampire flick Let the Right One In, and the idea of apes wiping out the human race is a pretty depressing one. Still, a lot of kids are going to want to go see this post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick, and what they see up on the big screen seems like it might be a lot to handle. After all, this is called Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – no matter how likeable they are, it seems pretty clear that the humans in this movie don’t stand an ice cube’s chance in hell against an ape army (especially if even a few of those apes are as devious and ruthless as Koba appears to be).
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Enrique Murciano, and Judy Greer. It opens in 3D on July 11th.
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.