The new Ghostbusters: Afterlife is making it very clear that the latest installment of this beloved franchise is trying to craft a different identity than its most recent predecessor. The upcoming film is both a continuation of the original films and a bit of a soft reboot. But if the latest teaser clip with Paul Rudd and everyone’s favorite demonic dessert is any indication, the movie makers aren’t afraid to embrace Ghostbusters' traditional darker, comedic roots.

The minute-long scene starts innocently enough, playing on the casual nature of the store setting, but a chilling scream off-screen hints at something more sinister afoot. When Rudd’s character encounters a group of adorable, yet possessed, mini-Stay-Puft marshmallows, viewers quickly see why this new big screen offering shows no desire to play it (too) safe.

RELATED: Ghostbusters: Afterlife Rating Revealed

What makes these adorable little creatures, and their depiction, so interesting is the way the director, Jason Reitman, chose to amplify their psychopathic nature. It begins with a shocking, nasty nibble on the end of Rudd's finger, then immediately becomes an explosion of little puffy terrors, literally crashing into his feet. It's then with joyous delight that they literally skewer themselves – and the pop-culture cuddly trend of Baby Yodas and Baby Groots along with it – and begin making each other into living s'mores. The chilling and disturbing nature of their remorseless, dead-eyed stares as they rejoice in a sugary orgy of death is what’s truly horrifying. While they're still cute, the presentation of these anthropomorphized Pufts is more akin to the original Ghostbusters' dark, horror-comedy roots.

Although still played for fun, this new Ghostbusters: Afterlife clip is intensely dark and savage, as these remorseless little treats massacre each other with giggly smiles and hearty laughter. It is certainly nothing like the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, a film that seemed to push all the original dark, horror-comedy elements right off the screen in favor of just laughs. The new movie still looks fun, but it doesn’t quite align thematically with the previous two.

The original 1984 Ghostbusters, directed by Ivan Reitman (Jason Reitman’s father) pairs several horror scenes with more traditional-looking grotesque monsters and rotting corpses. While littered with humor, the movie still tries to balance itself with layers of seriousness. The original movie set the tone in its opening jump scare, with the haunted librarian and later with the nightmarish arms that pop out of a chair and grab hold of Sigourney Weaver. These scenes aren’t played for laughs and are genuinely scary.

RELATED: Sony Pictures Opening Thai Theme Park With Jumanji, Ghostbusters Rides

ghostbusters

For the sequel, Ghostbusters II, the movie had even fewer horror-comedy elements as it started to drift away from the darker themes. Nevertheless, it still flirted with seriousness. A good example is the sequel’s baby-on-a-ledge scene, or when the daemonic nanny steals the child. There are no comedic undertones to these more dramatic moments. Even the ghosts of the haunted Scoleri Brothers, who received the electric chair for murder, make the audience imagine their terrible crimes rather than directly showing them. In short, nothing is quite as horrifying as what is being teased in the new movie.

The original Ghostbusters managed to straddle the fine line between dark, campy-comedy and horror. But slowly, the franchise became more family friendly and less intense with its storytelling. But if this new clip of these sentient marshmallow-y monsters is any indication of where this franchise is heading, the future looks bright thanks to this darker looking installment.

Directed by Jason Reitman, Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd and Mckenna Grace. The film arrives in theaters Nov. 11.

KEEP READING: The Real Ghostbusters Cartoon Series Is Coming to YouTube