A24 has acquired U.S. rights to Paul Schrader’s thriller First Reformed which stars Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried. The film, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival followed by screenings at Telluride and Toronto, will be distributed in 2018.

The thriller centers on Ernst Toller (Hawke), a mysterious reverend based in a small town in upstate New York. When Toller is approached by Mary (Seyfried), a pregnant woman struggling with a seemingly unstable, radical activist husband, he gets embroiled in a treacherous scenario that forces him to confront his troubled past and drives him to increasingly dangerous and shocking behavior.

The producers of First Reformed are Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Victoria Hill, Gary Hamilton, and Deepak Sikka. The production companies are Killer Films, Fibonacci Films, Omeira Studio Partners, and Arclight Films.

Arclight is handling international rights to the project with CAA co-repping North America.