A remote Scottish island becomes the place for an absurd battle of wills in the first trailer for Sundance hit The Incomer. The R-rated comedy, which won the NEXT Innovator Award at this year’s festival, pits two fiercely independent siblings against an awkward government official sent to evict them from their ancestral home.
New The Incomer trailer stars Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin
The recently released trailer offers a glimpse into the strange, deadpan world created by Scottish writer-director Louis Paxton in his feature debut. What begins as a straightforward fight over land rights quickly spirals into something far more peculiar, blending folk mythology with comedy and unexpected moments of genuine humanity.
It features Domhnall Gleeson as Daniel, a visibly uncomfortable council worker dispatched to reclaim the island on behalf of the government. His arrival threatens everything Isla and Sandy, played by Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke, have spent their lives protecting.
The siblings survive by hunting seabirds, retelling ancestral stories, and defending their home from so-called “Incomers.” Yet the confrontation that happens gradually transforms into something stranger and more humane, as all three characters discover the fears, loneliness, and myths that bind them together.
Emun Elliott, Michelle Gomez, and John Hannah round out the cast. Hannah appears as a mythological sea creature connected to Isla’s story, hinting at the film’s fantastical elements that impressed Sundance jurors. The festival jury praised Paxton’s combination of “deadpan humor, animation, and myth” when awarding the film its prize (via The Playlist).
Paxton has come to his feature debut with an eclectic background. His previous work spans shorts, along with episodes of the BBC One crime drama Shetland. That varied experience appears to inform a film that defies easy categorization, currently sitting at 92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes from 38 reviews.
Shirley O’Connor and Emily Gotto produced the film under Sumerian Pictures, which has scheduled a theatrical release for September 25.
