If you’re a horror fan, by now you’ve probably caught wind of the less-than-stellar early screenings of John Carpenter’s The Ward at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Being Carpenter’s first theatrical feature since 2001, there was initially a lot of anticipation surrounding the film, but sadly it ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of the fest. In fact, as it stands right now, I don’t think the movie even has U.S. distribution. Warner Brothers is putting it out in the U.K. this month, however, which is why the first official trailer has finally hit the web.

I actually think this movie still has a fair amount of commercial potential as it can be easily marketed in the vein of movies like The Uninvited, The Unborn, The Grudge, and the many J-Horror remakes we’ve seen in recent years (not to mention Amber Heard is about to have her biggest role yet in Drive Angry 3D). But I think that is precisely why it is such a big letdown for John Carpenter fans. There are very few traces of the man who directed Halloween and The Thing in this film, making it feel as if it is nothing more than a paycheck to him. The Ward hits theatres in the U.K. on January 21st; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.