Chris Hemsworth has played a Norse god, a cult leader and a himbo receptionist, but he’s never done something like this before. In the new film Spiderhead, Hemsworth takes on the role of Steve Abnesti, a brilliant science and tech visionary. He’s the mastermind behind the titular Spiderhead, a state-of-the-art penitentiary that allows its inmates to shorten their sentences by participating in drug trials for mind-altering substances. But the trials come with a cost: These drugs wreak havoc on inmates’ emotions, calling into question their every notion of free will. 

Spiderhead is based on the New Yorker short story “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders, adapted for the screen by screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland, Deadpool). The film follows one of Abnesti’s inmates, Jeff (Miles Teller), who develops feelings for a fellow inmate (Jurnee Smollett). Director Joseph Kosinski is no stranger to this kind of material: His films from Oblivion to Tron: Legacy frequently revolve around the conflict between personal and societal control (and also occasionally touch on shiny computer guys going really fast on cool motorcycles). 

You can check out the trailer below and enter the lab when Spiderhead premieres on June 17.

'Spiderhead' TrailerA prisoner begins to question the purpose of the drugs he's testing for a pharmaceutical genius.