Guillermo Del Toro Shares Test Footage From Scrapped AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS Adaptation

Guillermo Del Toro Shares Test Footage From Scrapped AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS Adaptation

Guillermo del Toro came very close to getting his adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness to the screen, and has now shared our first look at some CGI test footage from the cancelled film.

By MarkCassidy - Nov 11, 2022 10:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Horror

As fans of the filmmaker will no doubt be aware, Guillermo del Toro was attached to helm an adaptation of H.P Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness about ten years ago, and the Blade 2 director has now shared our first look at some CGI test footage.

The list of projects Guillermo del Toro has been involved with that never came to fruition is almost as long as his actual filmography, and this ill-fated take on Lovecraft's sci-fi horror novella is arguably the one fans regret missing out on the most.

The ambitious, big-budget project, which had both Tom Cruise and James Cameron on board as producers, obviously never saw the light of day, but Del Toro was already deep into pre-production when the plug was pulled.

Now, Del Toro has shared some brief footage from the cancelled film to his new Instagram account (via FearHQ.com).

Lovecraft's novella tells the story of an Antarctic expedition whose members encounter an ancient civilization older than the human race beneath the ice. This clip shows one of the terrifying creatures, referred to as "Elder Things" in the book, approaching an unfortunate explorer.

"All CGI test for a rig - ILM for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (a decade ago) never-before-seen," the Cabinet of Curiosities maestro captioned his post.

There have actually been several attempts by other studios to get an adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness off the ground, but nothing ever came to fruition. Is there a chance this footage could ultimately afford Del Toro the opportunity to pick up where he left off? We can live in hope!

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MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 11/11/2022, 10:04 AM
How that CGI fella didn’t sh*t himself instantly is beyond me.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 11/11/2022, 10:06 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - he did. They CG'd it out
MochaKing
MochaKing - 11/11/2022, 2:18 PM
@MyCoolYoung - rofl
IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 11/11/2022, 10:06 AM
You know…I found this CGI version equally creepy and terrifying as it might have been live action.

Perhaps would it be cheaper to do this way instead of live?
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 11/11/2022, 10:32 AM
@IronGenesis - Yes CGI is cheaper but usually with horror movies they don't get the same budget or quality as high budget films so it has a higher chance of looking like crap. Animatronics/live vfx will always look good no matter the budget if you are good at editing.

Just compare The Thing 1982 vs The Thing 2011, and that's why cgi is never reliable but cheaper and faster.
IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 11/11/2022, 11:42 AM
@mastakilla39 - recall a few years back
Jim Carrey Christmas Carol or Zemeckis Beowulf?

That was live actors but then cgi over?
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 11/11/2022, 10:06 AM
Please make this movie
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 11/11/2022, 10:06 AM
I’m sold
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/11/2022, 10:12 AM
We need this
Spoken
Spoken - 11/11/2022, 10:16 AM
Lovecraft movies always get the shit end of the stick, hell anything LOVECRAFT I feel just has bad luck attached to it. I was really excited for this movie when it was in production. Hopefully the Netflix show could do it, I kind of liked Pickman's Model.

Happy to say I made my own Lovecraft movie in GTAV in ReAnimator, so hopefully that gets a good remake/reboot one day.
xfan320
xfan320 - 11/11/2022, 10:17 AM
Netflix? Are you listening to the people...??

You have a working relationship with GDT...it's NOT impossible...Stranger Things is ending soon....

Please..? 🤞
Matchesz
Matchesz - 11/11/2022, 10:23 AM
Explain to me how they can do test footage out of pocket but if this same exact scene was put into the movie all of it sudden it costs millions to make and the cgi looks worst
DoctorDerange
DoctorDerange - 11/11/2022, 10:27 AM
I’ve been talking to my wife about an adaptation of at the mountains of madness for years. One of the best lovecraft stories in my opinion and would translate to screen perfectly. If I ever win the lottery I will make this movie myself.
Spoken
Spoken - 11/11/2022, 10:33 AM
@DoctorDerange - Fun fact, I tried to adapt this story in GTAV but it is very difficult. I could get the set, atmosphere and characters on point, but the monsters would be difficult to pull off.

I did make ReAnimator, so don't lose hope lol
Vigor
Vigor - 11/11/2022, 10:36 AM
Dontstickyourdickinthat
Shivermetimbers
Shivermetimbers - 11/11/2022, 10:43 AM
@Vigor - Dont tell me what to do. It looks so nice and warm and...moist.
Kumkani
Kumkani - 11/11/2022, 10:38 AM
OT: It hasn't been confirmed yet but there are reports that Kevin Conroy has passed away.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/11/2022, 10:48 AM
@Kumkani - hope this is fake.
Kumkani
Kumkani - 11/11/2022, 10:59 AM
@GhostDog - It seems confirmed. Lots of people are talking about it now.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/11/2022, 11:00 AM
@Kumkani - damn. Was waiting to see if Hamill said anything yet.
vegetaray
vegetaray - 11/11/2022, 11:08 AM
One of the Lovecraft episodes in Cabinet of Curiosities was an absolute abomination to the original story…Knowing Del Toro let the individual directors do their thing kind of takes some of the blame off his shoulders but knowing how big a Lovecraft fan he is, well, it was definitely a letdown that he let it slide…

All that being said, on one hand I’d like to imagine that him having full control over a Mountains of Madness film would turn out something truly amazing…On the other hand his post Oscar win work, including Cabinet, really hasn’t been the best of content 🤷‍♂️…His only directorial work since then (Nightmare Alley) was mediocre at best…I have high hopes for Pinocchio but if that doesn’t land then I’m not sure he’d stick something as complex of Mountains at this point in his career…Huge fan of his but yeah, it is what it is at this point…
keithvw
keithvw - 11/11/2022, 11:20 AM
Not a fan of the way this snippet of test footage plays out. Like too much modern horror, the camera lingers too long on a monster standing there for the sake of showing off its design. Like why would the monster just sit there? And why would the guy, with the monster standing a stone's throw away, move as if the monster didn't know he was there? It's nicely rendered footage, but lazy storytelling that looks like it could have come from any other monster movie.

A better solution:

Man is in cave. He sees a massive shape outside, no idea what it is. He grabs his shotgun and approaches cave entrance. The massive shape, obscured by snow, changes and grows. The man raises his shotgun and yells out to the shape. The shape comes closer, grows larger. Man cocks the shotgun. Monster approaches, grows. Man yells out again that he's going to shoot. Before he can finish his sentence, tentacles launch from the blizzard and pull him back into the fog. Scene ends.

There, motive on either side. We're not just displaying a monster for the sake of displaying a monster.
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 11/11/2022, 3:48 PM
@keithvw - How is your idea not also out of a thousand other movies?
keithvw
keithvw - 11/16/2022, 12:47 PM
@Tasmaniac - Because it's not focused on showing off the monster. It's focused on the fact that there is some kind of threat, but we as the audience, and the character, don't know what the threat is and never truly see it. The footage above it too much of a God's eye view of the action to be suspenseful. There needs to be tension. Much of the time, adding tension means sacrificing showy visuals. Sometimes, in the case of Jaws, it meant sacrificing showing the shark through almost the entire movie (though we all know the real reason for not showing the shark). The more you show your monster, the less scary your monster will become. Don't show the monster at all, and the audience has nothing to be scared of. It's about hitting that sweet spot. Tension must always come first, though.
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 11/19/2022, 6:33 PM
@keithvw - I understand what you meant and I didn’t say that the concept is wrong, but my point still remains: It has still been done in a thousand other movies. And what is to say that it wouldn’t have been done in this movie? This is one scene taken in total isolation, with zero context or reference as to when in would have appeared of the film, had it been made. It’s more than likely that this is exactly what would have been done, as it’s an exceedingly common setup prior to the big reveal. And the stupid trope of the character approaching the obviously big/scary unknown entity instead of doing what a rational human being would do in that situation and take up a defensive position? So ridiculous, it ruins these type of movies for me more often than not.
BassMan
BassMan - 11/11/2022, 11:28 AM
Why would you not make this?!
McMurdo
McMurdo - 11/11/2022, 12:15 PM
He loves John Carpenters the Thing
CassianAndor
CassianAndor - 11/11/2022, 9:17 PM
@McMurdo - He was clearly very influenced by The Thing. The screenplay for this is actually leaked on the internet too if you know where to look. The Shoggoths in it (that’s the monster in the video) are pretty much the exact same creature as the one in The Thing. When they absorb someone they can even take on their form to trick the other humans. There’s even the “test” scene in the script where one of the characters makes everyone prove they aren’t a shoggoth. The script calls them “things” constantly as well. The star headed Elder Things on the other hand are only referred to as Old Ones.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 11/17/2022, 3:29 PM
@BloopBlorp2 - I've heard in the past that the script is online. I'll Def have to find and peep that for fun.
CassianAndor
CassianAndor - 11/11/2022, 2:56 PM
That’s not an Elder Thing, it’s a shoggoth.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 11/11/2022, 3:09 PM
It's 'alright' feels like he watched Dead Space and latched the monster from that onto a tentacle being and then took the 'tentacle explode out chest' gimmick from the Thing remark and made it less interesting.
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 11/11/2022, 3:49 PM
That is pure nightmare fuel.
Vanillain
Vanillain - 11/12/2022, 1:02 AM
I don't know. I feel like it's really tough to crack HP Lovecraft since it's more existential horror. Slapping in a scary-looking monster just makes it monster horror, which the source material has, but not the main driver of what makes it eerie.
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