Guillermo del Toro has made a name for himself by creating wonderfully weird tales of horror, monsters, and fantastical creatures. Movies like The Shape of Water, Hellboy, and Pan’s Labyrinth have cemented his status as a master of the macabre. So who would be better than the Oscar winner to adapt a Stephen King novel? Apparently, he’s already got this classic in mind.
Guillermo del Toro sat down with Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler of The Kingcast to chat about horror author Stephen King’s It, the gigantic novel that spawned a nineties miniseries with Tim Curry and a more recent two-part feature film adaption. In between discussing the work of H.P. Lovecraft and scary clowns, Guillermo del Toro revealed which Stephen King novel he would most love to adapt for the screen. He said:
You know the novel that I would have killed to adapt, and I know there’s two versions of it, and I still think maybe in a deranged universe I get to do it again one day is Pet Sematary. Because it not only has the very best final couple of lines, but it scared me when I was a young man. As a father, I now understand it better than I ever would have, and it scares me. A hundred times more.
There have already been two film adaptations of Pet Sematary, but it would certainly be interesting to see Guillermo del Toro’s unique take on the chilling novel (Stephen King has said that it’s one of the scariest books he’s written). The director’s attention to detail, to both the creatures and the worlds he creates, would undoubtedly lend a terrifying authenticity to the paranormal tale.
But just what about Pet Sematary intrigues Guillermo del Toro so much? Apparently, the novel contains one of his favorite scenes from a Stephen King book. He’s even imagined how he would use special effects to craft a genuine interpretation. Guillermo del Toro explained:
For me, the best scene in that book is when [Louis] opens Gage’s coffin, and for a second he thinks the head is gone, because this black fungi from the grave has grown like a fuzz over the kid’s face. … I think you cannot spare those details and think that you’re honoring that book. One of the things I thought about Pet Sematary that we would do in post is when the dead return, when Gage returns, I’d spend an inordinate amount of money taking out the sheen from his eyes. So that the eyes are dull.
While there are no plans for Guillermo del Toro to direct a version of Pet Sematary, horror fans everywhere can always cross their fingers. In the meantime, you can check out both film versions of Pet Sematary on Amazon Prime Video. Fans of Guillermo del Toro can head to theaters on December 17 to catch Nightmare Alley, his latest onscreen venture into the supernatural.