A lawyer and businessman are among the visitors to Westworld, a futuristic theme park where the gunhands and dance hall girls are all robots programmed to serve the guests’ violent and lustful fantasies—until something goes wrong with their circuitry. No longer the guests’ obliging victim, a black-clad humanoid gunslinger turns on the two heroes and the ultimate amusement turns deadly serious as the men are pursued to a deadly climax by an implacable, unstoppable foe.

Why we’re looking forward to this: Why we’re looking forward to this: The original Westworld film starring Yul Brynner and James Brolin was a great science fiction / horror movie based on the book by the late Michael Crichton. This new take on the story, given the full series treatment by HBO looks to be somewhat darker in tone and even more up the This Is Horror street than its predecessor.

Produced by JJ Abrams and Christopher Nolan, who know a thing or two about great storytelling, Westworld features a raft of top drawer actors including Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton and will hopefully be every bit as engaging and sinister as the trailer suggests as its initial ten episodes unfold.

Westworld will be open for business on HBO in October.

RICHARD COSGROVE