Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace unleash hell in gritty 'Dead Man Down' trailer: Watch

"Revenge. I've never thought about it before. But when I saw you, I knew I had my answer."

Those ominous words are spoken by Noomi Rapace ("Prometheus") at the beginning of the new trailer for "Dead Man Down," a gritty upcoming action thriller helmed by Rapace's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" director Niels Arden Oplev. The film centers on Victor (Farrell), the employee of a ruthless crime overlord (Terrence Howard) who agrees to help a badly-scarred woman (Rapace) get even with his boss - the man whose actions directly resulted in her disfigured appearance.

Based on the gloomy, hard-bitten first trailer, "Dead Man Down" looks to be a dreary, pull-no-punches thriller with a morally-complex central duo (there is a noir-ish quality to the setup), crepuscular visual style and high body count. In short: you'll probably come out of this thing feeling like you need to take a shower.

The problem here is that while the trailer does a good job of setting up the film's tone, Farrell and Rapace aren't exactly audience draws, and Oplev's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" credentials will likely only draw in that franchise's hardcore fans. Add to that the somber atmosphere that's established and this may prove a hard sell with mainstream audiences - though genre aficionados who don't mind their action movies a little down and dirty may well be appeased.

My grade: B+. After watching the trailer below, rate it for yourself at top left.

"Dead Man Down" is slated for release on March 8.

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Chris Eggertsen
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A former contributor to sites including Bloody-Disgusting and AfterElton, Eggertsen enjoys rock music, rainy days and smelling the pages of old books. You should read all of his articles and follow him on Twitter because it's the right thing to do.