Twilight star Robert Pattinson gets bloodied and beaten at the hands of Guy Pearce in the first photo for The Rover, Australian director David Michôd's follow-up to his critically-acclaimed Animal Kingdom. Guy Pearce stars as Eric, a drifter who has left society behind him. When his car, the last thing he owns, is stolen by a gang of thugs, he enlists the help of Reynolds (Robert Pattinson), a gang member who was abandoned during the chaos. Take a look at this photo, featuring Eric pulling a gun on a bloodied Reynolds, then read on to see what director David Michôd had to say about his drama.

The Rover Photo

The story is set in Australia after a massive financial crisis that sent many scrambling into the desert mines to find their fortune. The filmmaker describes the landscape that is similar to a period of American history, albeit much more brutal and violent.

"It's like a new gold rush. Where people from all corners of the world have come out to the desert to scrape out an existence. Petty criminals and miscreants and hustlers. The basic story is really quite elemental. You've got a really dark, dangerous, murderous person in Guy's character, and in Rob's character you have a quite troubled and damaged, but beautiful and naïve, soul."

While many may think this film is similar to the Australian desert classic Mad Max, the filmmaker is quick to point out this is a much different kind of movie.

"You put cars in the desert in Australia and people are going to think of Mad Max. And with all due respect to that film - and I stress that - I think The Rover is going to be way more chillingly authentic and menacing."