Of course it’s based on a true story.

Paramount Pictures released a trailer for its upcoming comedic mystery Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose. The movie’s description is as follows: “When famed paranormal psychologist Dr. Nandor Fodor (Simon Pegg) investigates a family’s claims of a talking animal, he uncovers a mysterious web of hidden motives. Soon, everyone becomes a suspect in Dr. Fodor’s relentless pursuit of the truth.”

Pegg’s co-stars include Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting, Speechless), and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, Nobody, Piranha 3D), along with author Neil Gaiman as the voice of Gef the Mongoose. Paul Kaye, Ruth Connell, Tim Downie, Gary Beadle, Edmund Kingsley, Drew Moerlein, and Jessica Balmer also star.

And yes, it really is based on historical fact. Back in 1930s Britain, the Irving family was convinced they had a talking mongoose on their property, and told anyone who would listen that their farmhouse on the Isle of Man was inhabited by an animal named Gef. This phenomenon attracted the attention of various psychic investigators, as dramatized for the film.

The clip introduces Pegg as Fodor, a paranormal investigator who is drawn into a case of a family that lives on the Isle of Man and claims “a talking mongoose lives in their barn.” As Fodor visits the family and tries to verify the claims about the talking goose, the mystery deepens, and just when he’s doubting his own sanity, he (maybe) gets a chance to see the creature with his own two eyes.

Adam Sigal (Chariot, Daydreamer, When the Starlight Ends) directs from a script he wrote.

Author Neil Gaiman seems a natural for the role of the mysterious critter’s voice, and indeed he had heard about the story even before producers contacted him for the coveted role.

“Neil is one-of-a-kind and his creativity is unlimited,” co-producer Clare Bateman-King said in an interview in Deadline. “This is such an integral part to the film and we truly needed somebody who could bring an impactful and effective energy to the voice of the mongoose. It’s been such a fun time getting Neil involved and we’re so excited for the moment audiences hear his take on the fabled mongoose, ‘Gef.’”

“I first read about Gef, the mysterious talking mongoose, when I was at school in a book of true-life ghost stories,” revealed Gaiman. “I never thought I’d find myself narrating a film about his exploits, or indeed, providing his voice. But the chance to work with old friends like Simon Pegg and Minnie Driver was irresistible, and I hope very much I have managed to do the mysterious mongoose justice.”

Fact or fiction? All will be revealed when Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose pops up in theaters on September 1st, 2023.