Kathryn Bigelow’s first movie in 8 years is not exactly the feel-good flick you might want this fall.

In A House of Dynamite, premiering on Netflix next month, Bigelow tries to answer the question of how the United States would respond to an enemy attack. “When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond,” goes the official description.

The trailer (above) paints a grim picture in response. Government officials and military brass in situation rooms and security force workers in control rooms work against the clock to figure out where the missile will hit, who is responsible, and how to react.

 “I always thought just being ready is the point,” says Idris Elba’s character. “It keeps people in check, keeps the world straight. If they see how prepared we are, no one starts a nuclear war.”

Unfortunately, someone has started something and things quickly become…unprecedented.  A character remarks that they’ve never seen the military readiness condition set to DEFCON 2 (near nuclear war) before, and another says that diverting the missile would be like “hitting a bullet with a bullet.”

A House of Dynamite stars Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson (among many others) and was directed by Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) from a script by Noah Oppenheim (Zero Day.) The film is said to be an Oscar-contender, which is unsurprising given that Bigelow has already taken a best director and two best picture statuettes.

The cast also includes Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Malachi Beasley, Brian Tee, Brittany O’Grady, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Willa Fitzgerald, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Kyle Allen, and Kaitlyn Dever. 

A House of Dynamite had its world premiere earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival and will be released in select theaters (to qualify for Academy Awards) on October 3rd. If you’d prefer to watch the end of the world as we know it at home, you can stream it on Netflix beginning October 24th.