HBO's Lovecraft Country drops monstrous first trailer: 'This place is dangerous'

HBO has a new killer genre show on the horizon and now it's got its very first trailer. The long-coming Lovecraft Country, greenlit from executive producers Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams over two years ago, finally has some footage to show of its Matt Ruff adaptation. The meshing of 1950s Jim Crow oppression and cosmic spooky horror will strike a Watchmen-like tone thanks to showrunner Misha Green — and this first trailer doesn't skimp on the monsters.

The first look sees stars Abbey Lee, Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollet-Bell, Courtney B. Vance, and Michael K. Williams in a world where real-world and otherworldly horrors clash (or stem from one another). Atticus Freeman (Majors), his friend Letitia (Smollett-Bell), and his Uncle George (Vance) are going to a very spooky part of the country during a time when any black person touring America was tempting fate. Looking for Atticus' missing father (Williams) is only going to get weirder, wilder, and more effect-heavy as historical and fantastical threats abound.

Take a look:

OK, what in the world was that? That place certainly LOOKS dangerous, as the trailer's voiceover explains. Daniel Sackheim and Yann Demange direct the first few episodes of the show, which will give fans this nice blend of genres in the near future. The counting in the trailer certainly screams "Watchmen!" while the lead's promise that he hasn't even gotten to the strange part teases a heaping helping of twists. Awesome.

Even Ruff is excited, posting on his blog that this is the first he's seen of the footage. "I read a draft of the pilot script, and visited the film set a couple of times, but this footage is as new to me as it is to you," Ruff wrote. "As it is, watching the trailer is like getting a glimpse of a parallel universe—one whose elements are familiar to me, but still different enough to feel fresh: There’s the Winthrop House; there’s the white citizens’ brigade who want Letitia out of the Winthrop House; there’s Hippolyta’s orrery; oh, wow, there’s the Braithwhites’ pet shoggoth. It’s a translation, for sure, but it’s cool."

Lovecraft Country hits HBO this August.