“At the Mountains of Madness”

I read recently of a plan to make a movie from H. P. Lovecraft’s story At the Mountains of Madness. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_Mountains_of_Madness#Film

Some years ago I mulled over the story as a possible film. It was a quite unrealistic goal for me, but it was a useful and enjoyable exercise.

Several of his stories are structured as a collection of documents, such as diaries, newspaper clippings and letters. Each of the items would provide a slightly different part of the puzzle. The Call of Cthulhu is a good example of this approach.

At the Mountains of Madness does not use this structure, but I thought it might be a good way to approach the film. It would be structured like Citizen Kane or Rashomon. It would be nice if it were as good as those movies.

My idea was to start with a series of short newsreel reports of the expedition, which give the basic facts of the story, but cover up important details. Next would be a 1950s style movie which would fictionalize the story. This would be followed by a “cheap” TV style documentary, which would present a sensationalized version of the story, but still fall short of the true horror.

Finally, the film would conclude with a “real life” interview with the last surviving member of the expedition as he lies on his deathbed. In a series of flashbacks, he would reveal the actual events of the story.

I still think this could be a good way to make the movie. One of the issues stalling the proposed movie is cost. I wonder if this approach could be cheaper to make. I still like the structure. Maybe I can find another story where I can use it.

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