As most are aware, Guillermo del Toro was at one point knee deep in a film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1931 novella At the Mountains of Madness, which of course never came to fruition. The project’s origins date back to 2006, and the plan was for the film to be a rated R affair with a big budget and both Tom Cruise and James Cameron on board to produce.

The would-be H.P. Lovecraft adaptation essentially tells of a disastrous Antarctic expedition that encounters unspeakable horrors after discovering ancient ruins.

Several studios ultimately ended up passing on the big-budget project, spelling the end of del Toro’s Lovecraftian dreams. But we’re still asking ourselves… what could have been?

We may never know, but Guillermo del Toro has at least taken to his just-launched Instagram account this week to share some never-before-seen test footage from the project!

Del Toro captions the footage, “All CGI test for a rig – ILM [Industrial Light & Magic] for At the Mountains of Madness (a decade ago) never-before-seen.”

The footage runs 25-seconds long and shows an explorer in the mountains (of madness) being attacked by a tentacled beast, and it can certainly be described as “Lovecraftian.” The monster splits open and reveals a humanoid form within, before unleashing its long tentacles and swallowing up the doomed explorer. It’s a small but delicious taste of GDT going full HPL.

At the Mountains of Madness may be no closer to reality but Guillermo del Toro has brushed up against H.P. Lovecraft in his new Netflix series “Cabinet of Curiosities,” which features two Lovecraft adaptations. A few of the other episodes are of the Lovecraftian variety as well, particularly the Panos Cosmatos-directed “The Viewing,” which will totally melt your mind.

In his most recent comments about the At the Mountains of Madness project, del Toro had noted that his vision has evolved over the years, and a new script would have to be written.

 

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