This short trailer for Outcast, the new Cinemax series based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name, is heavy on fleeting imagery, but awfully short on explanations. (Although it has been explained that Cinemax already renewed it for a second season, months before it even airs.) After watching it, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a show about evil spiders invading a town, or maybe about creepy children who turn people into monsters, or God knows what else the combination of brief but suggestive shots may conjure up in your mind. Whereas the first trailer focused on Patrick Fugit’s tortured protagonist, this one is focused on, well, implying that the show is very creepy.
The good news is, this thing’s not lying to you. The A.V. Club saw the pilot episode at SXSW this year, and it is, indeed, unsettling as all hell. Without giving anything away, we can tell you the show is chock-full of gloomy atmosphere, elusive bad guys, and some scenes that will—if you’re anything like us—make you exclaim, “Holy hell, that was fucked up.” Which isn’t surprising, given this comes from Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, and his commitment to delivering disturbing narratives shows no signs of flagging. Plus, in terms of sheer intensity, Outcast’s opening sequence might even surpass the notorious cold open of Walking Dead—remember when Rick shoots a little girl zombie in the head, and that’s the start of the series? Yeah, like that, only a little more troubling. Outcast premieres Friday, June 3 at 10 PM ET.