Joaquin Phoenix unleashes hell in You Were Never Really Here trailer

Brutal, bloody, and badass aren’t words you normally associate with Joaquin Phoenix, the guy we just recently glimpsed as Jesus in the upcoming Mary Magdalene film. But in the first trailer for You Were Never Really Here, which first debuted at the Cannes Film Festival this year, Phoenix is brutal, bloody, and badass.

Jonathan Ames penned the original book on which the film, written and directed by Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), is based.

Phoenix plays Joe, a traumatized war veteran who now makes a living tracking down missing girls. One job, however, takes an even darker turn. He finds the teen, Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov), and brutalizes her kidnappers along the way, but the rescue attempt goes south when he uncovers a conspiracy that could get him killed.

The cast also features Judith Roberts, John Doman, Alex Manette, Dante Pereira-Olsen, and Alessandro Nivola.

Critics covering the festival circuit called You Were Never Really Here “a film of prismatic brilliance,” “an arthouse Taken,” and “daring and sickening.” The film walked away from Cannes bearing awards for best actor (Phoenix) and best screenplay (Ramsay) — the latter of which was shared with The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

You Were Never Really Here will be released in select theaters by Amazon Studios on April 6, 2018. Watch the trailer above.