On Thursday, HBO Max released the trailer for The Fallout, a film about two teenage girls grappling with the grief of surviving and losing classmates in a school shooting.
The trailer, which opens with a trigger warning, sees Vada (Jenna Ortega) and Mia (Maddie Ziegler) meeting in a school restroom while a shooting erupts in the hallways. As the haunting vocals of Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over” play in the background, the two teens bond over their trauma and heal after surviving the massacre.
“Did you have like the craziest nightmares last night?” Vada asks Mia in one scene. “You have to be able to sleep to have nightmares,” Mia responds.
The Fallout marks the directorial debut for Megan Park. “I hope viewers leave reminded that this is not a problem of the past,” she tells Rolling Stone. “I also hope it’s a reminder that grieving isn’t a linear process and although trauma may never fully leave us, there is always a way forward.”
Park put eight-time Grammy winner Finneas in charge of composing the film’s score. “Working with Finneas was very easy. He’s an incredible talent and although this was the first film he had scored, he clearly understood the process and had a strong vision,” Park says. “He delivered a unique soundtrack that not only supports the film tremendously but is such a beautiful listen on its own.”
As for Ziegler, who got her start on Dance Moms and recently starred in West Side Story, she spoke to Today about working with Park. “It’s so cool to be part of a female-led movie,” she said. “This message needs to be brought up way more and I’m glad it’s being brought to the forefront.”
The film premiered at last year’s South by Southwest Film Festival and earned two awards, while its director, Park, received the Brightcove Illumination Award for her work.
The Fallout — which also stars Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, and Shailene Woodley — premieres on HBO Max on Jan. 27. Watch it here.