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This year's Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and as usual, there's all sorts of interesting news coming out of the event. Last night saw the announcement of something that should appeal to anyone who loves classic horror, Italy, and Dario Argento.
Argento authority Alan Jones took to the Twitterverse yesterday to share this bit of news: "CANNES: Just announced, Dario Argento's Dracula in 3D, filming in Italy January, period setting." STYD got Jones to elaborate a bit, adding that the synopsis indicates it will be "a faithful translation of the Bram Stoker novel." Argento will write and direct.
Dracula represents Argento's second attempt at bringing a classic horror icon to the screen (the first being the disappointing Phantom of the Opera). The director's career has sputtered in recent years, marked by a series of underwhelming gialli (Italian thrillers) and an absolutely dreadful attempt at closing his Three Mothers trilogy with Mother of Tears. Perhaps Dracula will allow Argento to do something different while also providing him with a strong story so that he can concentrate on the visual stylings that made him famous in the '70s and '80s.
I'm about as big an Argento fan as you're likely to find and even I'm nervous about this project. I love the idea of seeing Italy's greatest horror filmmaker tackling Stoker's classic novel, but hearing that it will be in 3D and given Argento's recent track record, it's easy to envision this project going off the rails in a very bad way. What do you think? Are you excited or nervous about the prospect of this happening? Click the comment button and share your thoughts.
He's done.
