We Have Always Lived in the Castle channels Hill House horror in first trailer

Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House won't be the only mainstream Shirley Jackson adaptation to scare audiences silly. This week, Brainstorm Media unveiled the first creepy trailer for the star-studded movie version of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which is based on Jackson's final finished novel from 1962.

Directed by Punisher director Stacie Passon, the film features a principal cast of impressive genre heavyweights like Sebastian Stan (Avengers: Infinity War), Taissa Farmiga (The Nun), Crispin Glover (American Gods), and Alexandra Daddario (True Detective). 

In particular, Farmiga and Daddario play sisters living in a grand manor house with their crazy uncle (Glover) five years after the rest of their family died suspiciously. When a mysterious cousin (Stan) shows up to nab the family fortune, dark secrets begin to crawl out into the open.

Watch the trailer now:

The movie screened at the LA Film Festival last September and received mixed reviews with many of them veering on the positive side. For example, Variety's Courtney Howard wrote:

"Stacie Passon, director of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, sharply channels the author’s atmosphere of dread, paranoia, and isolation, making the past feel prescient."

Alan Ng of Film Threat was a little less impressed, saying:

"The best I can say about We Have Always Lived in a Castle is it’s a slow-paced dark tale of family, which is fine if you’re drawn to this type of story. I ultimately enjoyed the film but I would probably think twice about a second viewing."

Adapted for the screen by Teen Wolf producer Mark Kruger, We Have Always Lived in the Castle will receive a limited theatrical release on Friday, May 17.