Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is surely one of the fall’s most enigmatic releases — and one of the most eagerly awaited. Here are the first production stills from the film, and it looks every bit as creepy and moody as you’d expect from the man behind Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain (which was awesome despite its generally negative reception).

The movie is about a retired professional wrestler, played by Mickey Rourke, who is trying to survive on the small-time independent wrestling circuit. It sounds campy, but I think it’s more likely to be grim — and it sounds, if anything, awfully depressing. These photos confirm that, I think, as does the fact that Clint Mansell is once again writing the musical score.

The movie premieres in Venice next month, then Toronto shortly thereafter. It doesn’t have a US distributor yet, but that won’t last long. Check out a couple more photos (including one featuring Marisa Tomei as a stripper) below.

I love Darren Aronofsky, I’d see just about anything he does!