'A Christmas Carol' Trailer: Guy Pearce Is Totally Scrooged In This Dark Adaptation Of The Dickens Classic

A Christmas Carol has always had elements of horror. It is, after all, a story about ghosts. But what if someone cranked all that spookiness up tenfold? The result might look like this new BBC miniseries adaptation, which looks like a full-blown horror movie take on the Charles Dickens classic. Guy Pearce plays the greedy Ebenezer Scrooge, who finds himself confronting all sorts of creepy goings-on. Watch the A Christmas Carol trailer below.

A Christmas Carol has never gone away – there are dozens upon dozens of adaptations of the Charles Dickens story. But the tale seems to be in the midst of some sort of moment. Both Disney and Apple are working on their own expensive musical adaptations of the story, but before we get to see them, we'll be haunted by this new BBC miniseries. This take was scripted by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, and it looks to be as dark and gritty as that series.

The story is the same as it ever was: miserable jerk Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three spirits (one of whom is played here by Andy Serkis), and forced to examine his past, present, and future on Christmas Eve. If he doesn't change his wicked ways he'll be doomed for all eternity. You probably know how it turns out.

What separates this take on the story from others is how creepy it looks. Honestly, if they didn't drop the name Scrooge at the end, I wouldn't even suspect this to be an adaptation of A Christmas Carol. The BBC describes this as "a haunting, hallucinatory, spine-tingling immersion into Scrooge's dark night of the soul," and I have to admit, I'm curious. I've always been a fan of the Dickens story, and if this spooky adaptation can bring something new to the proceedings, I'm in.

In addition to Pearce as Scrooge and Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past, A Christmas Carol features Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley; Charlotte Riley as Lottie; Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit; Vinette Robinson as Mary Cratchit; Jason Flemyng as the Ghost of Christmas Future; Kayvan Novak as Ali Baba; and Lenny Rush as Tim Cratchit. The story will unfold across three episodes.

Steven Knight produces along with Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott, while Nick Murphy directs.

A Christmas Carol will haunt you sometime this December.