Watch the Chilling Birth of Pinocchio in ‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’

Viva Pictures shares a fresh look at Pinocchio: Unstrung, a horror take on the classic fairy tale that throws the old story out the window and sends Pinocchio on a murderous rampage in his quest to become a real boy.

Something isn’t right… James (Cameron Bell) and his friends are beginning to realize that Geppetto (Richard Brake) is hiding a terrifying secret in this new clip from Pinocchio Unstrung.

What starts as curiosity quickly turns into fear as they uncover clues that something sinister is lurking behind Geppetto’s workshop and Pinocchio may be far more dangerous than anyone imagined.

The dark coming-of-age reimagining of Pinocchio follows the iconic puppet’s disturbing journey toward becoming real, and the MPA rating teases just how bloody and violent Pinocchio and Cricket are in this splatter-filled, twisted take on the children’s classic story.

A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Robert Englund also appears in the film.

Pinocchio Unstrung has been given an R-rating for “strong bloody horror violence and gore, language, and brief graphic nudity.”

The official description reads, “A chilling reimagining of the familiar fable, ‘Pinocchio Unstrung’ unfolds inside an elite London prep school. Influenced by a sinister Cricket (Robert Englund) and created by Geppetto (Richard Brake), Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.”

Emmy winner Todd Masters oversees the practical animatronics, which look phenomenal. Jagged Edge Productions is behind the production.

Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Pinocchio Unstrung will open in theaters on July 24, via Viva Pictures.

It is the latest standalone addition to Jagged Edge’s growing low-budget Twisted Childhood Universe, which currently includes Blood and Honey and its sequel, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare. A third  is set to shoot soon, while , the Avengers-esque crossover film bringing all the characters together for an IP bloodbath, is in development.