Liam Neeson is an Ancient Tree in A Monster Calls Teaser Trailer

Posted on April 14, 2016

A new teaser trailer has been released for the children's fantasy A Monster Calls. The film is based on the children's book written by Patrick Ness, who adapted his own book into a screenplay. Twelve year old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) is having a tough time. His mother (Felicity Jones) is battling cancer and no one talks to him at school -- it's like he's invisible. Every night he has the strangest nightmare, in which a monster appears to tell him stories. But the monster warns him that he must eventually tell his own story -- or else.

Not sure if the nightmares are real or not (his rooms shows evidence of a tree-ish visitor in the morning) Conor is getting more and more stressed as he has to shoulder an adult's burdens. Liam Neeson is the voice of the ancient tree monster who has lived for thousands of years. The trailer has some amazing visuals. But what really stands out is Liam Neeson's gravelly voiced tree. He is simply amazing. He tells Conor, "I know everything about you....Conor O'Malley. The truth you dream, the truth that you hide." And we believe him.

The book is quite sad, and moving. Ness based the book on the ideas of Siobhan Dowd who wrote the outline of the book before dying of cancer. The adaptation seems to be capturing the dark and scary tone of the original book.

The film was directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (The Impossible). Sigourney Weaver, Tony Kebell, Geraldine Chaplin and Lewis MacDougall co-star in the film, which will be released on October 14, 2016. Take a look:

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