Luca Guadagnino is making his quick return after last year’s Queer, shifting gears into darker, more volatile territory with After the Hunt, a psychological thriller set against the backdrop of a pristine Ivy League institution. Known for exploring desire and emotional complexity through his lush visuals, Guadagnino now pares things back, tracing the slow, quiet erosion of trust, morality, and control.
After the Hunt is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which is Guadagnino’s usual launching pad for new projects, before opening the New York Film Festival. It will receive a limited release in October, followed by a wider rollout. With Amazon MGM behind the distribution and early buzz already building, it’s poised to become one of the most talked-about films of the season.
Here’s what we know so far:
After the hunt
After the hunt
The film stars Julia Roberts as Alma Olsson, a Yale philosophy professor whose reputation starts to unravel after her student Maggie Price, played by Ayo Edebiri, accuses fellow professor Henrik Gibson, portrayed by Andrew Garfield, of sexual assault. As the university grapples with the scandal, Alma is pulled into the heart of the controversy, forced to face both the institution’s silence and her own hidden secrets.
Written by first-time screenwriter Nora Garrett, the film takes a sharp, layered approach to questions of complicity and institutional protection. Guadagnino is clearly not interested in tidy resolutions, and the story moves with a controlled unease, where every moment feels charged without needing to be loud – the trailer, released earlier this summer, makes this clear.
There are no outbursts, no grand speeches, just the slow tightening of tension. Julia Roberts’ Alma appears calm on the surface, but there is something clearly unraveling beneath. Maggie is steady and direct. Her presence cuts through the academic polish around her. Andrew Garfield’s Henrik exudes a discomforting charm, paired with an academic stature that’s precariously close to collapse. The cast is tightly curated, with Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny adding weight to an already tense ensemble. Sevigny’s character embodies the friction between generations. She is tied to old traditions but clearly unsettled by the forces of change pressing in.
Set to a haunting score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who are coming off a Golden Globe win for Challengers, the trailer builds a mood that is cold and unshakable. It is less showy than Challengers, but no less gripping. Cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed shoots on 35mm, giving the film a texture that feels both timeless and stifling. The production was seen filming in various locations around Cambridge, especially within the University, lending the film a raw, authentic academic feel.After the Hunt arrives at a moment when conversations around power and accountability are still evolving. Luca Guadagnino has said the movie focuses on societal division and extreme viewpoints rather than the themes of sexuality or love common in his earlier work, calling it “a very timely movie for where we are now.”
Words – Sarah Arsalan
