The Little Mermaid takes a bite out of man in upcoming Lionsgate horror movie

Putting a terrifying twist on childhood stories has long been a favored pastime of the horror genre, but the past few years have kicked things up a notch with the creation of the Twisted Childhood Universe, starring a killer version of Winnie-the-Pooh and many of his other friends from the Hundred Acre Wood and many more stories on the way, featuring scary takes on Bambi, Peter Pan, and more.

And that's not all, the second Steamboat Willie (the short film that publicly debuted Mickey and Minnie Mouse) hit the public domain, filmmakers started cooking up horror versions of the famous mouse himself.

Next, while not in the Twisted Childhood Universe, Lionsgate is adapting its own horror version of The Little Mermaid, based on the Hans Christian Anderson story. Bloody Disgusting exclusively revealed the trailer for the upcoming film, which will be released this December on digital and on demand. An R-rated take on the classic tale (which is now in the public domain) that the Disney movie also adapts, Lionsgate's version is described as a "darkly fascinating twist" on the fairytale.

The Little Mermaid casts "Prince Eric" as an archaeologist named "Dr. Eric Prince, who is part of an expeditionary trip in the Caribbean. He and his students uncover an ancient temple, and Eric finds himself drawn to a mysterious woman they meet at sea. But as the trailer teases, she turns out to be more like a deadly siren than a sweet-tempered mermaid.

Needless to say, if you enjoy when movies create nightmarish versions of your childhood favorites, then there are plenty more in store for you in the coming year.

The Little Mermaid releases digitally on December 17, 2024, and the Twisted Childhood Universe is gearing up to release multiple new movies in 2025, including Bambi: The Reckoning and Pinocchio: Unstrung. On January 24, 2025, Terrifier star David Howard Thornton will play the slasher version of Steamboat Willie in the film of the same name.

To keep tabs on all things involving the Twisted Childhood Universe, check out our guide right here.