Matt Smith Is Creepy AF As Charles Manson In The Chilling New 'Charlie Says' Trailer

It seems like 2019 is the year for putting true crime and cultish serial killers onto TV and movie screens. There's already been a lot of buzz around the two Ted Bundy releases out this year but, alongside that, true crime fans can also look forward to Charlie Says. Starring Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Merritt Wever (New Girl), and Hannah Murray (Skins), Charlie Says will follow the story of the women who joined the cult of Charles Manson, one of the most formidable and infamous killers in U.S. history. But when is Charlie Says out in the UK?

The first trailer for Charlie Says landed on Wednesday, March 13, and depicted the former Doctor, Matt Smith, as a shaggy, haggard, and surprisingly accurate-looking Manson. "Sometimes there has to be some death of self. Changes. Tears. Are you willing to die for me?” he says in a creepy-sounding monologue within the trailer.

Charlie Says, which was directed by the legendary Mary Harron (American Psycho), won't so much focus on the head of the Manson "family" himself, but will instead spotlight the women who fell under his spell. It'll follow three of them in particular — Leslie Van Houten (played by Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón) — in an attempt to bring their story to the forefront.

As per the film's official synopsis, this is what you can expect from Charlie Says:

"Confined to an isolated cellblock in a California penitentiary, the trio seems destined to live out the rest of their lives under the delusion that their crimes were part of a cosmic plan—until empathetic graduate student Karlene Faith [Wever] is enlisted to rehabilitate them. Convinced the prisoners are not the inhuman monsters the world believes them to be, Karlene begins the arduous process of breaking down the psychological barriers erected by Manson. But are the women ready to confront the horror of what they did?"

According to its IMDB release info page, the film is set to arrive in the U.S. on May 2019, but there's yet to be any word on a UK release, although I can't imagine that it'll be too long after. According to Variety, IFC, the film production company behind iconic films such as Boys Don't Cry, scored the US rights for the film following the premiere at Venice Film Festival in September, 2018.

Bustle have reached out to a rep at IFC for more info about a UK release date, and I will be sure to update you as soon as any news becomes available.

Matt Smith is practically British acting royalty at this point, so it'd be an absolute travesty if the film didn't come to the UK ASAP. Who can forget Smith's stellar performance as the eleventh Doctor, or his convincing portrayal Philip the Duke of Edinburgh? And Hannah Murray is another member of the Charlie Says cast who has earned her place in the British acting hall of fame, having stolen our hearts as Cassie in the coming-of-age phenomenon Skins. Since then, Murray has gone on to appear in the Stuart Murdoch-directed God Save The Girl and HBO's epic fantasy series Games of Thrones.

By the looks of the trailer, Charlie Says is set to be one of the most exciting films of 2019, so watch this space.