Fox Searchlight has released the first trailer for Antlers. This is the latest horror offering from Guillermo del Toro, who is back up to his monster business in this one. Del Toro serves as a producer on the creature feature, but it's Scott Cooper (Black Mass) who is in the director's chair. Based on this first trailer, it appears that's going to make for one heck of a creepy pairing, as this initial footage is ominous, horrifying and downright unsettling.

The trailer kicks off with a quiet child reading a story out loud to his class. It becomes clear very fast that something isn't quite right with this kid, or the story he's telling. His teacher looks understandably concerned. While that's happening, we're cutting away to footage of this kid's home life, which is anything but usual. It all builds to a scattershot conclusion of various, eyebrow-raising and terrifying shots. We get glimpses of the creature at play here, but it's pretty clear everyone wants to keep this movie's secrets intact, for the time being.

Keri Russell (The Americans, Felicity) anchors the cast, with Jesse Plemmons (Game Night, Breaking Bad) on board as well. Jeremy T. Thomas (Lore, The Righteous Gemstones) plays the young boy at the center of the story. As for Scott Cooper, he's helmed several acclaimed features in the past, but this is his first real stab at horror. His debut was the Oscar-nominated Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges, which was followed up with the thriller Out of the Furnace. Cooper then directed the gangster flick Black Mass, before moving onto the western Hostiles. So he's kind of been all over the place up to now. Why not tackle horror?

Antlers centers on a small-town Oregon teacher (Keri Russell) and her brother (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, who discover that a young student (Jeremy T. Thomas) is harboring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences. The movie is based on the short story The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca, who co-wrote the screenplay with C. Henry Chaisson and Scott Cooper. David S. Goyer and J. Miles Dale serve as producers. Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane and Amy Madigan round out the ensemble.

In addition to the teaser, the studio has also released a new poster, which is equally foreboding. It boasts the tagline, "Pray it desires not you," with a massive, creepy, bloody heap of antlers at its center. Guillermo del Toro has been busy producing, as opposed to directing, ever since winning his Best Picture Oscar for The Shape of Water. His most recent effort as a producer, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, has turned out to be quite the success. Will del Toro strike again next year? Antlers is set to arrive in theaters sometime in 2020. Be sure to check out the trailer from the FoxSearchlight YouTube channel for yourself.

Antlers movie poster