Survival Horror Movie Whalefall Unveils Its Most Chilling Trailer Yet

Published Sep 10, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Austin Abrams can't catch a break this fall Image: 20th Century Studios Sign in to your Polygon.com account I don't know about you, but I've never wondered what it would feel like to be swallowed up by a whale while taking a morning swim. Fortunately for all of us, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Kraus has chosen to answer that question with his novel Whalefall, and its movie adaptation is out next month. On Thursday, 20th Century Studios released a new trailer for the whale horror movie, and it's as gross and frightening as you'd expect. Whalefall follows diver Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams), who ends up getting swallowed by a giant sperm whale. With only an hour of oxygen left, he has to find a way out before he suffocates and becomes whale food. The new trailer is narrated by his father (Josh Brolin), who provides nuggets of wisdom like, "Remember: survivors survive." Thanks, pops! Whalefall stars Austin Abrams, who's about to have a terrifying autumn. While you and I might be going apple picking or strolling through a pumpkin patch, he'll fight his way out of a whale after trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in next week's Resident Evil. Abrams won't be playing series favorite Leon S. Kennedy, but instead a new character created for the film. "I'd rather watch a movie starring a schlub who's, like, out of shape and has never fired a gun before!" Resident Evil director Zach Cregger recently told Polygon. Abrams isn't an out-of-shape schlub, but he's definitely the guy who can nail the feeling of being a scared player on the run from a hungry zombie. And, in Whalefall, a hungry sperm whale. Whalefall gobbles up theater screens on Oct. 16.