Promising Young Woman is the latest entry into the new female empowerment genre that is going around Hollywood these days.

Everyone said Cassie was a promising young woman… until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future. But nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be: she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past in this thrilling and wildly entertaining story.

Directed by Killing Eve producer Emerald Fennell and starring British actress Carey Mulligan, it tries to put a new spin on revenge fantasy.

Promising Young Woman looks well made and seems to create a pretty eerie atmosphere. Mulligan is a good actress who has won numerous awards in her home country of England over the years and she seems to really be into the role.

The only problem is that the film seems to give out mixed signals.

It’s supposed to be a revenge fantasy but in order for something like that to work, the audience needs to have sympathy for the person seeking revenge and give you a reason to cheer for the character.

You don’t get any of that from the trailer. What happened to her that she needs to get back at the world? Why should we care for her?

Instead of being a powerful woman who was wronged and is now going to set things straight, she comes off as unhinged and as more of a villain than anything else.

The trailer does not seem to know if you are supposed to like her or not.

And is it just me or does a lot of the imagery try to piggyback off of Joker?

Despite all that, the film still looks like it may be worth checking out.

Promising Young Woman tries to fix past wrongs when it hits cinemas on April 17, 2020.