Alex Aja sure hit the genre running when he broke into horror with High Tension, a brilliant cat-and-mouse thriller that he soon followed up with his remake of Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes—a remake that, in my opinion, far exceeds the original. Since then, however, Aja has been making mediocre (at best) movies—Mirrors, Piranha 3D, and Horns each have their moments, but they just don’t hold a light to High Tension or The Hills Have Eyes. I hate to use the word overrated, but Aja certainly hasn’t become the once promising horror director that we all thought he’d be. And I only say this because his upcoming film, The 9th Life of Louis Drax, doesn’t look like vintage Aja and it has me on the fence.

That said, I quite like this first trailer, as it teases the whodunit angle with elements of horror. I’m also a huge fan of Sarah Gadon (can she be in everything?) and what’s with that crazy looking monster? The 9th Life of Louis Drax hits theaters on September 2nd.

After surviving eight near-death accidents throughout his unlucky life, Louis Drax plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday. While police investigate the cause of Louis’ near-fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father Peter [Aaron Paul], acclaimed neurologist Dr. Allan Pascal uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy’s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition. But as he’s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of Louis’ seeming ability to cheat death, the doctor finds himself falling for Louis’ mother, Natalie. As new clues emerge in the case, a shocking revelation changes the fates of Louis Drax and everyone around him.

It stars stars Jamie Dornan, Aaron Paul, Sarah Gadon, Oliver Platt, Molly Parker, Barbara Hershey, and Aiden Longworth.