10 Cancelled Horror Movies We'll Never Get To See

A H.P. Lovecraft 1936 novella, At the Mountains of Madness follows a geologist who uncovers an ancient alien civilisation in Antarctica. As he explores, he stumbles upon all sorts of nightmarish beings, including iconic Lovecraftian monsters like the Elder Things and the Shoggoths.

Lovecraft is a niche market, which is why most adaptations have a very small budget. However, Guillermo del Toro wanted his version of At the Mountains of Madness to be a big-budget epic. Producer James Cameron pushed this idea further, suggesting Tom Cruise for the lead and shooting the project in 3-D. And with ILM and Weta overseeing the visuals, At the Mountains of Madness would've been monumental.

Sadly, del Toro's uncompromising vision is what led to the movie's demise. With a budget of $150 million, Universal wasn't keen on financing a horror picture, especially since it was intended to be R-rated, and due to the lack of a traditional monster or resolution, the studio didn't have a clue how to market it. Also, since the story had a lot of resemblance to Prometheus, which was released around the same time, del Toro wasn't shocked when the plug was pulled.

That said, there is still some hope, since Guillermo told IndieWire last year that he's considered adapting the story as a stop-motion feature. Though del Toro's original vision is dead, At the Mountains of Madness may still get adapted in one way or another.