Shia LaBeouf is a charming psychopath pulling on strings in the chilling trailer for David Mamet’s prison drama Henry Johnson

Pulitzer Prize-winning filmmaker David Mamet (Redbelt, Catastrophe, State and Main) comes out of a 10-year hibernation today with a trailer for his upcoming thriller Henry Johnson. The prison drama finds Shia LaBeouf (Holes, The Peanut Butter Falcon, The Tax Collector) and Evan Jonigkeit (The Night House, Archive 81, Bone Tomahawk) turning up the heat inside a hostage situation.

Here’s the official synopsis for Henry Johnson courtesy of the project’s production company 1993:

Written and Directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, Henry Johnson follows the title character (Jonigkeit) as he navigates his search for a moral center, after an act of compassion upends his life. Looking to authority figures he encounters along the way — including his eventual cellmate, Gene (LaBeouf) — Henry’s journey leads him down a road of manipulation and ethical uncertainty. The film is an exploration of power, justice and the consequences of letting others choose your path for you.

In David Mamet’s Henry Johnson trailer, Henry (Evan Jonigkeit) forms a unique friendship with Gene (Shia LaBeouf), a charismatic criminal who whispers like a snake into Henry’s ear about the value of secrets, manipulation, and what to do when you seemingly hold all the power. While Henry contemplates his next moves, a hostage situation spirals out of control as uncertainty surrounds the scene.

According to today’s Henry Johnson press release, David Mamet “is an award-winning playwright, filmmaker and author. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Glengarry Glen Ross — currently on Broadway in a revival starring Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr — as well as Academy Award nominations for his screenplays of Wag the Dog and The Verdict. His feature film directorial credits include The Spanish Prisoner, Oleanna, House of Games, State and Main, Heist, Spartan, The Winslow Boy, Redbelt and Phil Spector.”

Chris Bauer (True Blood, Heels, The Wire) and Dominic Hoffman (S.W.A.T., The Voices, Swamp Lion) star alongside Jonigkeit and LaBeouf, with Lije Sarki and Evan Jonigkeit producing. Peter Baxter, Marcel Bonn-Miller, and Sheldon Stone are executive producers.

Henry Johnson is an adaptation of Mamet’s 2023 play of the same name. The film will be released independently in partnership with production company 1993. Henry Johnson releases on May 9 through the film’s website. It will also get a simultaneous release at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles. What do you think about today’s Henry Johnson trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.

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