Del Toro Productions to Feature Stories by Lovecraft & Others

Credit: Pixabay

I apologise for missing last week. I was busy editing much of the newsletter for this month on the day of its release. This month’s issue features a free short story, so if you haven't yet subscribed to my newsletter, “Night Creatures' Call”, you can do so here. In this and future issues of the newsletter you’ll find things such as news about my upcoming book and future Book-To-Movie reviews. 

A couple of productions by Guillermo del Toro, producer of dark fantastic films such as “Pan's Labyrinth” and “The Orphanage”, are coming up. One is a movie and the other a TV anthology series. Both will feature adaptations of stories by authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and others. 

Del Toro’s movie, entitled, “Nightmare Alley”, is based on a 40s noir novel by William Lindsay Gresham. A remake of an earlier adaptation from 1947, the movie is about a traveling carnival in which one of its employees who is ambitious and manipulative becomes involved in a relationship with a dangerous psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett, “A House with a Clock in Its Walls”). Although del Toro himself says that the movie is based in the real world and has no fantastical elements to it, the trailer seems to promise dark settings and colourful costumed characters. Why wouldn't it? It's involving a carnival for crying out loud! Also, a central line in the trailer which goes "Is he man or beast?" hints at a theme of otherworldly monsters although such a theme would probably remain at the metaphorical level. According to Tor.com, the planned theatrical release date for the movie is December 17. 

Del Toro is also getting in on the TV anthology revival with a horror series that, according to "Rue Morgue, just went into production. It will stream on Netflix but a premiere date has not yet been announced. The name of the series is "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities". It will include episodes adapted from short stories including two by H.P. Lovecraft. Other authors whose work it will adapt are ones such as Michael Shea, Henry Kuttner and Emily Caroll. Some episodes will be based on original stories by del Toro himself. Some of the stars to be included in the show are Demetrious Grosse of “Lovecraft Country”, Sabastian Roche of “The Man in the High Castle” and Ben Barnes of “Shadow and Bone”. Other creators who will be working on the series include Mika Watkins (“Black Mirror”), Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”) and Vincenzo Natali (“In the Tall Grass”).

Join me here next week for another Book-To-Movie review! Are you looking forward to del Toro's upcoming movie, "Nightmare Alley" or his TV anthology series, "Cabinet of Curiosities"?

Until next time . . .