The American Military Is Put Under a Microscope in The Kill Team Trailer

A24 released the trailer for Dan KrausssThe Kill Team Tuesday. The film stars Nat Wolff and Alexander Skarsgrd and is based on the real events that inspired Krausss 2013 documentary of the same name. The film premieres in theaters and on demand October 25th.

Wolff stars as Andrew Briggman, a young U.S. soldier whos sent to Afghanistan in 2009 and witnesses the killing of innocent civilians under the direction of Sergeant Deeks (Skarsgrd). When Andrew considers reporting the killings to higher-ups, he feels his own team and leader begin to turn against him, and fears that he might be their next target.

Krauss 2013 Kill Teamdocumentary which was partly based on a 2011Rolling Stone report chronicled a rogue band of American soldiers, led by Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, who killed three Afghani citizens. The film centered on Spc. Adam Winfield, a member of Gibbs team, who tried to report the crimes and was subsequently charged with murder upon returning to the U.S.

These events are much bigger than just soldiers or the institution of the military, Krauss toldRolling Stone in 2013 when the documentary premiered. War crimes are not a new phenomenon theyve been occurring since the Greek wars. I just read the Odysseyand theIliad and you see desecration and all kinds that are familiar to people who have studied similar cases from the Vietnam era. We dont hold the licenses on war crimes. Part of the thesis of the film, part of the fundamental conflict of the film, has to do with this notion that clean war is a modern myth.