Pendulum Sends Joseph Gordon-Levitt Into a Very Strange New Mexico Retreat

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Pendulum will release on January 1st 2027

When healing becomes something darker.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is heading into some seriously unsettling territory with Pendulum, an upcoming psychological horror thriller that places the actor inside a mysterious new-age retreat where healing and something much darker appear to be closely connected.

Written and directed by Mark Heyman, the film marks the feature directorial debut of the screenwriter who co-wrote Black Swan, while Darren Aronofsky is among the producers, and Pendulum will arrive in U.S. theaters on January 1, 2027, through Vertical Entertainment.

A Retreat Where the Rules Start to Change

Married couple Patrick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail (Phoebe Dynevor), travel to a new-age retreat in New Mexico after experiencing a traumatic event and looking for a way to recover, where the retreat is led by the enigmatic Ella-Rose (Jacki Weaver), whose spiritual practices initially appear to offer the couple some hope.

Patrick, however, becomes increasingly suspicious of what is happening around him, while Abigail becomes more deeply influenced by Ella-Rose, and that divide between the couple appears to be at the heart of the horror, with Patrick forced to question whether the retreat is genuinely helping his wife or whether something much more sinister is taking place.

Mark Heyman Takes His First Feature Behind the Camera

Heyman isn't new to the horror world despite being a first-time feature director, as he previously co-wrote Black Swan, the Darren Aronofsky psychological horror film, making the connection between the two projects particularly interesting, and Pendulum is based on Heyman's own screenplay, and Aronofsky produces alongside Jacob Jaffke and Dave Caplan.

Heyman has described the film as deeply personal, saying it was inspired by his own family lore and real events connected to New Mexico, where he grew up and where those events took place, and describing the location as making the story feel even more surreal.

Gordon-Levitt leads the film as Patrick, with Phoebe Dynevor playing Abigail and Jacki Weaver taking on the role of Ella-Rose, while the supporting cast includes Norman Reedus, Jena Malone and Anna Deavere Smith.

The film has also received an R rating for strong/bloody violent content, sexuality, drug use, nudity and language.

Trailer