Were on the precipice of Frankenstein overload. FOX has an upcoming modern-day series. Candyman director Bernard Rose has an upcoming modern day movie. Both Victor and his monster are seen regularly on Showtimes Victorian Penny Dreadful. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Igor to James McAvoys Victor in Octobers period-set Victor Frankenstein from director Paul McGuigan and writer Max Landis. Thats not to mention whatever this gestating Universal Monstervere has in store. Also on deck is ITVs Frankenstein Chronicles, an investigative horror series starring Sean Bean (above in Black Death) as a detective in 1827 London, his discovery of a corpse likely leading to the more familiar Frankenstein mythos. What makes the latter distinct is the new reveal that Frankenstein author Mary Shelley will in fact be a character on the show.
Rainmark Films, the London-based production company behind Frankenstein Chronicles, has delved into details on the series, which is currently shooting in Northern Ireland. Rainmarks Tracey Scoffield says, Its a mash-up of a genre detective thriller and a horror brand. As it is set at the same time that Mary Shelleys novel Frankenstein was written, and with Mary Shelley being a character in the series, it feels very real.
Without wanting to give too much away, the series is, to an extent, set in the world of Mary Shelleys book, Scoffield continues. It was a time when people were very interested in new science and body-snatching took place for medical research. Those themes were fed into her work and we are set in that world.
Chronicles is created by Benjamin Ross and Barry Langford. The previously announced synopsis reads: Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel recruits John Marlott (Bean) after a successful operation by Thames River Police to apprehend a gang of opium smugglers. As Marlott stands on the waters edge contemplating the arrests, he makes a shocking discovery: A corpse washed up on the shore is not what it seems at first glance. Instead, its a crude assembly of body parts arranged in a grotesque parody of a human form. The mutilated child-like body leaves an indelible impression on Marlott who is tasked by Peel with tracking the perpetrator of this heinous crime. As he investigates, Marlott discovers that what hes dealing with is more horrific than he could possibly have imagined.
Langford has said, Marlotts investigation takes him into the dark corners of Regency London. He discovers an underworld of prostitution, drug smuggling, bodysnatching, and murder for profit. The rational evidence points first one way, and then another as he contemplates a frightening alternate scenario. [Screen Daily]
