‘Apex’ Trailer: Charlize Theron Evades Psychopathic Killer In The Australian Wilderness

Theron faces off against a sadistic Taron Egerton in Netflix’s intense Australian survival thriller, premiering April 24.

Instead of crocs and dingoes, Charlize Theron is tasked with evading a sadistic human predator during an Australian backpacking trip in the new trailer for Netflix’s Apex. As Theron’s grieving character, Sasha, ventures out into the fictional Wandarra National Park in the New South Wales wilderness, her hardcore retreat quickly transforms into a human hunting expedition.

If it plays anything like the footage above, Apex forgoes subtlety in favor of high-stakes action. The moment Sasha realizes she’s embarked on a true survival test is revealed early when an off-putting local named Ben (Taron Egerton) she’d run into at a gas station reappears and says: “You’ve got until the very end of this song to get as far away from me as you can.” Writer Jeremy Robbins injects a little levity into the life-or-death situation by having Ben play “Go” by British electronic music duo The Chemical Brothers on a boombox, but according to Theron, the primary thematic elements are largely serious.

“This is a psychological thriller,” Theron told Netflix. “It’s really a story about survival, not just physically but emotionally. And it’s about finding out what you’re made of.” Director Baltasar Kormákur added that the story “felt almost existential. Through action, through horror, through hardship, you reveal the characters.”

Whether the severity of the situation translates on-screen remains to be seen, but the action certainly should, given that Theron worked extensively with professional rock climber Beth Rodden to perform many of her own stunts. “She’s the OG,” Theron said of her expert trainer. “I knew I was in good hands, but I had no idea that I would fall in love with [climbing]. And I absolutely fell in love with it. I want to continue it.”

Apex is one of 50 movies Netflix plans to release in 2026. While movies built on existing IP like the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man generate the most buzz, the Los Angeles Times reports that about half of Netflix’s cinematic releases this year are based on original scripts.

“We’re zigging where legacy studios are zagging,” Dan Lin, Netflix’s film chairman, said at an event in March. “We have a very healthy content budget. So if there’s a great movie out there, we’ll go out and either build it or acquire it,” Lin said. In particular, Netflix is strategically releasing more comedy movies like Kevin Hart’s bachelor party-driven 72 Hours, John Cena and Eric André’s buddy comedy Little Brother, and Eva Longoria’s Kim Kardashian-starring romcom Fifth Wheel.

“We’re taking the chance, and we’re making the movies,” Lin said. “It’s what we’re delivering, I hope, [it’s] what audiences want and what they’re craving. There are a lot of genres that you just can’t find in theaters anymore. So, we’re making those kinds of movies.”

In the meantime, watch the trailer for Apex before it debuts on the streaming service April 24.