Known for creating some of the most chilling films ever, even Guillermo del Toro gets spooked, as is evident thanks to a recent series of posts by the director on social media. As the director of such gems as Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water, del Toro has long been lauded as one of the great filmmakers of our time; one who is able to blend fantasy and horror seamlessly in a way that fills us with both wonder and dread at the same time.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter) on August 20, del Toro revealed that he’s staying at an old hotel in Aberdeen, Scotland. As expected, he’s occupying the most haunted room (something he says he always does), and while the Mexican filmmaker said at the time that nothing of note had happened to him, his residence in the room was only made possible thanks to the quick exit of a producer due to some “odd electrical and physical occurrences.”
A couple of days later, del Toro gave a promised update on his status, saying that he’d decided not to sleep in the room. Not because anything specific happened, but because he says the atmosphere feels “oppressive,” and that in order to function at his best on set, he needs “six hours of sleep to have a good shooting day.” Despite not seeing anything spooky happen, he still insists that “something is in that room with me.”
Perhaps it would serve the filmmaker well to go through some sort of cleansing ritual before he leaves Scotland to make sure that he doesn’t bring anything back with him. We’d hate for him to look out the window of his plane and see some gremlins tampering with the engines the same way John Lithgow did in Twilight Zone: The Movie.
Guillermo del Toro Is Set to Bring His Own Version of Frankenstein to Life
The reason for del Toro’s visit to Aberdeen brings us to the release of his next movie, Frankenstein. While filming wrapped in Toronto earlier this year, the director is set to shoot the remainder of the film in both Scotland and London, with production expected to last until October.
Frankenstein has been a passion project of del Toro’s for years, and while he initially sought to bring it to life as far back as 2007 with Universal, it wasn’t until his multi-year deal with Netflix came to fruition in 2023 that the project got off the ground. Names such as Doug Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch were bandied about to play The Monster over the years in his gothic reimagining, but the role ultimately went to Jacob Elordi. Oscar Isaac is set to portray Dr. Victor Frankenstein, with Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz also on board to star.
Related
Why Guillermo del Toro is a Perfect Director for Frankenstein
There have been countless adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein over the years, but Guillermo del Toro’s new film could best them all.
Set to debut on Netflix at some point in 2025, let’s hope that del Toro can get through the rest of Frankenstein without facing any supernatural hurdles. The last thing we want is for the movie to eventually show up in an episode of Shudder’s Cursed Films. We’ll have more news on the project, including a release date and trailer, as it becomes available.
