Director Paul Feig Offers Insight on His Big Universal Monster Movie DARK ARMY
A couple of months ago it was reported that Universal Pictures would be producing a new universal monster movie called Dark Army. The idea for the film came from director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy, Ghostbusters) and he is set to write and direct the movie.
At the time of the announcement, it was revealed that the film would “tie into the Monster universe” and that it “will include characters from Universal’s classic monster library and original characters created by Feig.” We now have a bit more information on what Feig is planning for the film thanks to an interview with ComingSoon. When asked about the tone of the project, he said:
“I’m a mega-fan of those old horror movies. I call them more monster movies than horror movies, quite frankly. Horror movies to me now represent slasher and that kind of thing, which I don’t enjoy at all. I loved those old movies like ‘Frankenstein.’ ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ is probably one of the greatest movies of all-time. I love that movie so much, and there are some things from that movie that I’m using in this new movie ‘Dark Army.’ But I really want to do a James Whale-ish, modern day version of a monster movie that is about these characters. What I love about monsters is they’re outsiders, it’s just the most extreme version of outsiders. Frankenstein is one of the most sympathetic characters ever to be put on the screen, even though he does terrible things. He’s just looking for acceptance and love. If you read Mary Shelley’s book he’s a pure spirit who becomes evil because he just gets shit on constantly. Everybody just can’t get past the way he looks, and it turns him murderous. (laughs) That’s the extreme version of that kind of thing, but I love that feel. I want to bring that ookie spookie feel back to movies, but with these monsters you root for and understand at the same time. I finished the first draft of the script and I’m so excited about it! I’m literally on fire about getting this movie made as soon as I can. I turned it into the Dark Universe people last week and they loved it. Now it’s going over to the heads of Universal, so we’ll see.”
That actually sounds like a movie I might enjoy… if it was coming from another director I might be more excited about it. After what he ended up doing with that Ghostbusters film, I’m not convinced he can make a great monster movie. But, who knows, maybe he’ll surprise me. When asked about his James Whale reference and if there would be a layer of camp and satire in the film, he said:
“You know, I want that level of humor in there. He took it seriously, but he’s still going, ‘We’re gonna have fun with this.’ There’s side characters that are fun. There’s stuff that’s a little over-the-top but in a real way, like you buy it? You buy those characters even though they’re way over-the-top. I never go, ‘Oh, they’re just all going look at how crazy we are, let’s make these ridiculous.’ No. These are just extreme personalities. I’m so excited to do this! I just hope they let me do it.”
What do you think about what Feig is trying to do with the movie? Do you think he’ll be able to pull it off and deliver an enjoyable monster movie?