Images
More Morning Insanity, Check Out Original Cronenberg ‘Total Recall’ Storyboards!
With Columbia Pictures unrolling their down to Earth (literally) remake of Total Recall in theaters August 3rd, us die-hard fans of the 1990 Paul Verhoeven-directed adaptation (loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”) have been revisiting the Mars-based political genre film over and over. There aren’t all that many behind-the-scenes looks at the original available, which is why this following story is so uber-exciting.
io9‘s Ron Miller writes, “My wife and I both worked for nearly a year on the David Cronenberg version of Total Recall. At Dino DiLaurentiis’ studio outside Rome, we worked under the direction of the brilliant production designer, Pierluigi Basile. I produced scores of drawings and paintings while Judith created models of sets and spacecraft, mostly of paper and balsa wood.”
Related: [OMFG] Did You Know The ‘Total Recall’ Trailer Ripped Off The Trailer For… ‘Total Recall’?!
He adds, “What eventually became Pyramid Mountain in the Verhoeven version was originally a prehistoric Martian sphinx excavated from the Martian desert, and a good deal more screen time was have been allotted to Kuato, including an elaborate dream sequence where he morphed first into the sphinx and then into a kind of phosphorescent vagina. Cronenberg had some very Cronenberg touches, such as agents with guns hidden within their bodies, but absolutely my favorite idea of all those we came up with was to have camels imported from earth to haul freight across the Martian deserts. This would, of course, have been after significant terraforming had already been done…but not so much that the camels didn’t have to wear respirators!”
But those are just words. Miller has put together a small collection of this preproduction art, along with a few of Judith’s models, to illustrate a little of what Total Recall might have been! Click the link and enjoy!!
We have an exclusive first look at A Man in the Woods With an Axe, a blood-soaked, genre-twisting homage to 1980s slasher films.
Spanning four decades, A Man in the Woods With an Axe begins in the summer of 1987 before pushing into the modern era, weaving together timelines and perspectives in a way that builds both dread and intrigue.
Drawing inspiration from genre standouts like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Hatchet, and The Cabin in the Woods, the film blends visceral horror with moments of dark humor, creating a uniquely balanced experience that honors tradition while carving its own identity.
Writer-director Dillon Brown (Primal Darkness) aims to deliver everything fans crave from a slasher while boldly subverting expectations with a mid-film twist that redefines the story.
“This is an unapologetic love letter to the films that made me fall in love with horror,” Brown tells Bloody Disgusting. “But I didn’t just want to recreate that feeling; I wanted to challenge it. About halfway through, the film takes a turn that completely changes how you view not only this story, but the genre itself.”
Brown describes the vintage-inspired production as “far and away the bloodiest film I’ve ever made,” with practical effects helmed by Cody Ruch (The Mill, Pig Hill), an instructor at Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects Program.
From Horror Dadz Productions, A Man in the Woods With an Axe is currently in production and targeting an early 2027 release.
You must be logged in to post a comment.