First Trailer for ‘Went Up the Hill’ Ghost Story Starring Vicky Krieps
by Alex Billington
June 15, 2025
Source: YouTube
“She’s not gone… she spoke to me too last night.” Greenwich Entertainment has unveiled the first official trailer for Went Up the Hill, an intriguing ghost story film from New Zealand. This initially premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival last year, and will be released in limited theaters this summer in the US. The second feature made by Kiwi director Samuel Van Grinsven, also of Sequin in a Blue Room before this. Jack ventures to remote New Zealand for the funeral of his estranged mother and meets her widow Jill. But his mother’s spirit returns to inhabit each of their bodies – instigating a life-threatening three-way nocturnal dance. Went Up the Hill is a psychological drama is inspired by writer / director Samuel Van Grinsven’s own memories of his childhood in New Zealand’s South Island. An intimate, modern ghost story that explores the extremities of grief in our pursuit of letting go. The film stars Dacre Montgomery, Vicky Krieps, and Sarah Peirse. This looks like it has some serious style, with slick cinematography by DP Tyson Perkins, along with an unsettling supernatural tale to tell. Described in reviews as “stunning, uneasy, & harrowing.”
Here’s the first official trailer for Samuel Van Grinsven’s film Went Up the Hill, direct from YouTube:
Abandoned as a child, Jack (Dacre Montgomery) travels to remote New Zealand to attend the funeral of his estranged mother Elizabeth. There he meets her widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps), who has many questions of her own… Over the nights that follow, Elizabeth returns and possesses Jack and Jill, using each of their bodies to speak to the other. Jill faces Elizabeth’s suicide, while Jack confronts his abandonment. As they learn she is trapped in limbo, Jack soon begins to doubt Elizabeth’s reason for returning. Caught in a life-threatening nocturnal dance, Jack and Jill must find a way to let go of Elizabeth’s hold before she pushes them to the edge. Went Up the Hill is directed by New Zealand filmmaker Samuel Van Grinsven, making his second feature film after directing Sequin in a Blue Room previously. The screenplay is written by Jory Anast and Samuel Van Grinsven. It’s produced by Vicky Pope, Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton. This initially premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival last fall. Greenwich Ent. will release Van Grinsven’s Went Up the Hill film in select US theaters starting August 15th, 2025 later this summer. Who’s curious?
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