NOVOCAINE: TRAILER 1
The Boys star Jack Quaid joins the growing list of everyman actors headlining fish-out-of-water action movies. With a wickedly dark sense of humor on his side, he just might be enough to stand out from the crowd. This is the gruesome 1st trailer for Novocaine.
Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is a mild-mannered bank manager with a rare disorder leaving him unable to feel pain. His burgeoning romance with a coworker (Amber Midthunder) goes awry when a gang of robbers break into his bank and kidnap her. Impulsively following them, Caine accidentally causes the police to think he’s in on the crime.
With no other options, this chipper everyman is forced to take matters into his own hands. Turns out, being unable to feel pain gives you an edge in a fistfight. Despite being a man of peace, Caine reluctantly embarks on a gleefully bloodsoaked rampage through the city’s underworld to save the girl he loves and, if he can stop vomiting at the sight of a dead body, nothing will get in his way.
On the surface, Novocaine feels like a film we’ve all seen before. Coming off the tail end of a new wave of R-rated action movie auteurs, a resurgence in pulpy self-aware crime films, and a society obsessed with everymen fighting a corrupt system, Novocaine’s central themes feel like the dregs of Hollywood put through the blender.
But a film doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel to capture an audience. It just has to offer its own engaging story, and lead star Jack Quaid delivers in spades, imbuing the everyman-turned-vigilante Nathan Caine with a heaping dose of charm. The trailer’s tone skews middle-of-the-road, appealing to a four-quadrant mainstream audience. It milks every possible goofy scenario from the lead character’s unique power, but lacks the dark humor needed to differentiate it from the pack.
In a cinematic landscape filled with American Ultra, Upgrade, & Venom, the 1st trailer for Novocaine settles itself into a more easygoing space. It’s still bloody, but it’s a film destined for a happy ending. Co-directors Dan Berk & Robert Olsen pack the trailer with enough whip-smart dialogue and fun camerawork to keep audiences entertained for 90 minutes, but Novocaine feels likely to be a respectable hit before being doomed to the bargain bin rather than leaving any lasting impact. And there’s nothing wrong with that, you’ll still find me front-and-center on opening night.
Directed by Dan Berk & Robert Olsen, Novocaine will release theatrically in the US on March 14, 2025. The movie stars an ensemble cast led by Jack Quaid.
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