Stephen King's son's book to be adapted by Piranha 3-D director

For most of us, the day after the night before means whimpering quietly on the sofa, squinting at crap TV and fighting to keep down the ill-advised full English that seemed so appealing the hour before.

For the hero in Joe Hill’s second novel Horns , soon to be brought to the big screen by French filmmaker Alexandre Aja, it means waking up to a dead girlfriend and a pair of bovine horns sprouting out of your tender head. A black coffee might not cut it.

Aja has become an exciting name in horror since Switchblade Romance , his stylish Hills Have Eyes remake and last year’s self-conscious boobs-and-blood vehicle Piranha 3-D , but Horns already feels like a project with a pedigree when you consider that Joe Hill is none other than the son (or spawn) of Stephen King, the undisputed maestro of the macabre.

What’s perhaps most terrifying about the movie is the fact that Shia LaBeouf was linked with the lead (and a producing role!), but viewers of a nervous disposition can relax – he’ll be plying his charisma-vacuum trade elsewhere.

The Piranha director seems to be an inspired choice to adapt Hill’s rich, twisted thriller, and is clearly a man of many talents, having co-written Elijah Wood’s newest, Maniac .

Reports suggest Horns could be with us before too long, with shooting provisionally set for spring or summer 2012 should financing come together. Be prepared for a dark, fantastical ride.