Documentary series Untold Horror will cover films that didn’t get made

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

My favorite director among the "masters of horror" is George A. Romero, and while I cherish the movies he has made, I'm also fascinated by the stories of the movies he couldn't get made. Projects like adaptations of Stephen King's The Stand and Pet Sematary, the musical DIAMOND DEAD, the zombie movies he still wants to make right now, etc. He spent the seven years between THE DARK HALF and BRUISER developing projects that didn't get off the ground, and there were other ones lost before that.

Those sort of projects are exactly what former Rue Morgue editor-in-chief Dave Alexander and his collaborators plan to focus on with their newly launched multi-media brand Untold Horror, which is anchored by a documentary series in which genre directors will discuss the movies that got away.

Hosted by Alexander, the multi-part documentary series features interviews with George A. Romero (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.

In addition to the documentary series, Untold Horror will also branch into other mediums with a blog, book series, art show, live readings, and more.

The first book to come from Untold Horror, through publisher ChiZine Publications, is The Little World of Humongo Bongo, a children's book about monsters written by Romero. Humongo Bongo has already been published in French for the European market and will be receiving an English release this fall/winter.

This sounds like an incredible project to me, as there are many unmade films I would love to hear the stories behind. I really can't wait to watch the documentary series. There are no release details to share as of yet, but a trailer can be seen below: