'Dark Places': EW preview

STARRING Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicholas Hoult, Corey Stoll

DIRECTED BY Gilles Paquet-Brenner

RATED R

RELEASE DATE August 7

Rough-hewn Libby Day wouldn’t be friends with Gone Girl’s privileged Amy Dunne, but they share a seed of darkness planted by Gillian Flynn. In this adaptation of Flynn’s second novel, Libby (Charlize Theron) is famous for surviving a family massacre that she blamed on her older brother, Ben (Corey Stoll). Twenty-five years later, she trades on her fading tabloid fame and revisits the crime with a macabre “kill club” determined to prove Ben’s innocence. Flynn consulted with writer-director Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Sarah’s Key) on his screenplay. “Gilles loved the nastiness of Libby, so there was never even a conversation about making her [nicer],” says Flynn.

• By Jeff Labrecque @JeffLabrecque