'Body Cam' Trailer: Mary J. Blige Stars In A Supernatural Cop Thriller

The trailer for Body Cam at first unfolds like the socially conscious thriller that you'd expect from a film with that title: Mary J. Blige's veteran cop sees something unnerving from her partner's body cam. But suddenly, there's a supernatural twist and we're in a full-fledged horror movie, where a superpowered individual is launching a war against the police. Watch the Body Cam trailer below.

The 2019 Naomie Harris-starring crime thriller Black and Blue recently, if somewhat clumsily, addressed racial tensions among the police and minority communities, but it seems at first like Body Cam will pick up where that film left off, opening with a very similar premise: a black female officer sees footage on a body cam that haunts her and puts her in jeopardy. But nope, it's just a superpowered individual with a vendetta for the police, who attacks and kills several officers of Blige's (very diverse) force.

Body Cam appears to be a straightforward monster movie, with the police fighting off a supernatural entity, despite the social implications that its title and premise have. But perhaps there's more to this movie than the trailer appears to advertise, as the synopsis refers to a "sinister secret among the police force surround the shooting and cover up of an unarmed youth." Whether Body Cam can pull off giving its supernatural monster movie a socially conscious edge is yet to be seen, but Blige is a talented actress — earning an Oscar nod for her supporting role in 2017's Mudbound — who could conceivably walk that tonal tightrope.

Directed by Malik Vitthal, Body Cam also stars Nat Wolff in a co-lead role, with a supporting cast that includes Anika Noni Rose, Theo Rossi, and David Zayas.

Here is the synopsis for Body Cam:

While investigating the bizarre murder of a fellow officer, veteran Renee Lomito (Mary J. Blige) discovers a mysterious figure in their body cam footage. Haunted by visions of the event, she suspects something supernatural is targeting the cops in her unit. Now, in a race against time to find the one person she thinks can stop these killings, Renee uncovers a sinister secret among the police force surrounding the shooting and cover up of an unarmed youth. Nat Wolff also stars in this intense action thriller.

Body Cam gets released on Digital on May 19, 2020.