Collider is excited to share an exclusive trailer for Manifest West, a film about a family's attempt to go off the grid and become self-sufficient with the surrounding land. The trailer, however, shows that leaving the rest of the world behind doesn't save anyone from its troubles, it merely takes those troubles up the mountain with them. Hailing from Joe Dietsch and Louie Gibson, it's a coming-of-age film from the perspective of a young girl who sees her family fall into chaos as their move to the North American wilderness turns violent with cracks in their relationships growing over time.
Early on in the trailer, the family is portrayed as perfect with a loving mother, portrayed by (Annet Mahendru), and father (Milo Gibson), who sell their move into the wilderness as an adventure to their two daughters Riley (Lexy Kolker) and Mary (Madison Friedman). Their newfound freedom off the grid is billed as a happy occasion for the four members with upbeat music swelling as each one gets used to their new life. With no school, no work, and just the land at their fingertips, it lulls viewers into a false sense of security that this is going to be a touching film about a tight-knit family making their own way out in the wild. Even their fellow mountaineers seem to welcome them into the lifestyle.
Things slowly take a turn halfway through though. Through their mannerisms and the inclination that they think they're better than other people, the mountaineers give off an unsettling vibe that seems to also spread to the father. When child protective services visit the family's home, it's implied that the father may have a criminal record and that he may be abusing his own family. From there, everything spirals out of control as the family descends into infighting, police close in on the mountains, and the father takes up his rifle to fight off anyone who would threaten their way of life.
Manifest West is the second feature film for Dietsch following his acclaimed debut film Happy Hunting which he also collaborated with Gibson on. Whether as executive producers or co-creators, the pair are no strangers to working together, most recently executive producing Brian Gottlieb's Grow last year. It's there that they also first worked with Mahendru who starred in the horror film opposite Peter Vack and Philip Tabor.
Like Happy Hunting before it, Dietsch and Gibson's is shaping up to be another festival favorite. The drama premiered earlier this year at Mammoth Film Festival where it won Best Genre Film, prompting the massive Samuel Goldwyn Films to grab the North American rights to the film back in July. Alongside Mahendru, Gibson, Kolker, and Friedman, the film also stars Tim Heidecker and Michael Cudlitz among others.
Manifest West premieres in theaters and on digital on November 11. Check out the exclusive trailer below.