Hereditary and Midsommar writer/director Ari Aster pits Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix against one another in the critically heralded thriller, Eddington.

Eddington returns audiences to May of 2020, when COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill and protests over racial division and the murder of George Floyd rocked the US.

In the small town of Eddington, New Mexico, the convergence of these issues has created a major rift, with Pascal’s progressive Mayor Ted Garcia on one side and Phoenix’s Sheriff Joe Cross on the other. When Joe challenges Ted in the next mayoral election, their rivalry sparks a powder keg that could have disastrous consequences for the entire town. (All 2,345 citizens.)

While Aster made his name in horror, the trailer for Eddington suggests it’s more of a Western thriller, with the titular town not being big enough for both Joe and Ted’s ambitions. Between Western staples like stand-offs and shootouts, the trailer above also re-visits the pandemic bubble of 2020, featuring everything from COVID-19 nasal swabs (ouch) to discussions of social distancing.

The 2020 setting also allows Aster to explore the increased role social media and conspiracy theories played during social isolation. But Eddington goes beyond mere doomscrolling. Emma Stone plays Joe’s conspiracy-obsessed wife Louise, while Austin Butler portrays the cult leader she latches onto. Get a sneak peek of their unsettling performances in the trailer above, which threads the needle between absurdity and the all-too real anxieties of 2020.

Eddington also stars Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., and William Belleau.

Eddington hits opens exclusively in theaters on July 18.