They are the things of legend – the films that we all heard were in the works but never materialized. George Romero’s Resident Evil, The Creature from the Black Lagoon remake – we’ve all heard of the dreaded “Development Hell” but until now – no one has taken the time to take a look into those deep, dark corners.
Dave Alexander is the Editor in Cheif of Rue Morgue Magazine – he’s also the driving force behind Untold Horror – a new documentary series that will investigate the projects and films that never managed to make it to the screen. He talks with genre legends George Romero, John Landis, William Lustig, Takashi Miike and a bunch of other folks and spills the beans on all the coolness we never got to experience. There’s a trailer for the project – check it out!
Screen Anarchy got the early scoop via a press release – here are the goods:
“Dave Alexander, former Editor-in-Chief of Rue Morgue magazine, and partners, have launched Untold Horror, a multi-media brand dedicated to exploring the greatest horror stories never told — and bringing some of these stillborn stories back to life. The label is anchored by the currently in-development “Untold Horror” documentary series, created, produced and written by Alexander and Mark Pollesel, produced and directed by Bob Barrett and produced and edited by Kevin Burke, with Andrea Butler line producing. While the production team is currently seeking distribution and broadcast partners, premiere details for Untold Horror will be announced at a later date.
Hosted by Alexander, the multi-part documentary series features interviews with George A. Romeo (Night of the Living Dead), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer), William Lustig (Maniac), Richard Raaphorst (Frankenstein’s Army) and more. Untold Horror will examine a variety of filmmakers, from Hollywood heavyweights to independent legends; from award winners to stubborn mavericks, delving into the projects that they’ve spent months, years and, in some cases, decades attempting to breathe life into.
What happened to David Cronenberg’s Frankenstein? Roger Avery’s legendary Phantasm script? The dozens of George A. Romero projects announced over the years that disappeared? Why couldn’t the combined powers of Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron and Tom Cruise create At the Mountains of Madness? Has there ever been an unmade film with more talent attached to it than The Creature From the Black Lagoon remake? Why did these passion projects die, and what killed them? Can any of them live again in some form or another? Untold Horror looks beyond the frustration and heartbreak, however, to celebrate the spirits of these projects, the passion in their creators’ hearts, and often the other projects — film or otherwise — that rose from the ashes. We ask not just the creators, but experts in the industry, studio decision makers and passionate fans if these buried movies could — or even should — rise again. We’ll even discover that, thanks to fervent fandom, some of them already are coming back to life.
Untold Horror was conceived in the summer of 2015 by Dave Alexander and Mark Pollesel as brand dedicated to answering the question that genre fans often ask: “Whatever happened to that movie?” With additional partners Bob Barrett and Kevin Burke, the documentary series will explore the tantalizing projects that were announced but died in Development Hell, uncover the compelling unannounced projects by our favourite artists that fans have never heard about, and discover just what it would take to bring some of them back to life. The goal is to explore the sometimes tortured relationship between art and commerce in the most compelling genre of them all. Beyond this, the label will form partnerships to bring Untold Horror to other mediums, with a blog, book series, art show, live readings and more.”
The article also states that the project is still looking for a distribution partner or some kind of broadcast deal but shit – this one sounds like a slam dunk. Come on Shudder or Netflix – pick this sucker up and get in front of our face.
Dave is co-founder and lead news reporter for Gruesome. Dave has built his resume working for Diabolique Magazine, The Horror Channel, Horrornews.net, House of Horrors and Creature Corner. He has worked with Tom Savini on his official site since 1997 and is also co-host of the popular podcast Horror News Radio.
