Watch Liam Neeson Read the First Chapter of A MONSTER CALLS

A Monster Calls, the latest film from J.A. Bayona (who scored the Jurassic World 2 director's chair), has earned a decent amount of praise since its debut on the festival circuit earlier this year, and watching the trailers, it's easy to see why. I haven't seen the film yet myself, but it appears as if it includes a solid story and a handful of powerful performances to boot, and it probably helps that it's based on a beloved book (which was written by author Patrick Ness).

A motion-captured Liam Neeson plays the title monster in the film, so the movie's marketing campaign has deftly utilized his deep, gravelly voice in a new video to help promote the film adaptation. Watch Neeson read the first chapter of Ness's book below:

In Select Theaters This Friday Everywhere January 6 A visually spectacular drama from acclaimed director Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Impossible"), based on the award-winning children's fantasy novel. 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother's (Felicity Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith.

A Monster Calls hits limited theaters this Friday, and then expands nationwide on January 6, 2017.