Documentary Series ‘Untold Horror’ Will Dive Into the Horror Movies that Never Were
The only thing I find more fascinating than the movies we currently have are the ones that we’ll never be. There are countless movie projects out there that either died on the vine, never came into existence, or were actually filmed and just never released. And now a new documentary series is looking to explore that rich history with the creators who made them.
“Untold Horror” is a new documentary series from from former Rue Morgue Editor-in-Chief Dave Alexander that looks to explore horror films that never saw the light of day. Here’s how the press release describes it as provided by Screen Anarchy:
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.
The first story to live again will be a children’s book about monsters by genre legend George A. Romero (The Crazies, Creepshow, Night of the Living Dead). The Little World of Humongo Bongo will be published by ChiZine Publications (CZP) a British Fantasy, World Fantasy, and Bram Stoker Award- winning independent publisher of surreal, subtle, and disturbing dark literary fiction, in association with Untold Horror.
Originally released in French for the European market, The Little World of Humongo Bongo will be released internationally in English (excluding France and Belgium) in Fall/Winter 2017.
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.
This whole thing really sounds like a deeply fascinating project, but I’ll be really eager to see just how much these creators share about projects that never came together. I imagine some might want to keep plenty of details close to the vest in case they decide to make them one day, but it’ll still be interesting to hear about those fabled projects. Along with the press release they also put out a brief trailer that teases some of the creators and the stories they show in the series. Check it out below.
