Fangoria Studios has announced that it’ll be teaming up with Through the Lens Entertainment to bring three of Junji Ito’s manga horror stories to the big screen: Bloodsucking Darkness and The Mystery of the Haunted House Part 1 and Part 2. Fangoria is aiming to “redefine the horror and manga experience” by staying as true to the source material as possible and will work alongside Ito on these new films. It also wants these projects to balance Japanese nuance and the sensibilities of “innovative” horror to create a “new cinematic experience” for fans.
“It’s important to recognize the universal appeal of horror stories,” Fangoria Studios SVP Armen Aghaeian said in a press statement. “There’s no better way to commence our partnership with Through the Lens Entertainment than with the legendary horror author and artist Junji Ito’s stories. After all, everyone screams in the same language.”
Several of Ito’s manga works have been adapted for the small and big screen over the decades, in both live-action and animation, with the majority of them receiving mixed reviews at best. Ito’s work in manga has been hailed for combining creepy stories with incredibly detailed art that works across genres of supernatural and cosmic horror. One of the most ambitious projects in development is an animated adaptation of Uzumaki, one of Ito’s most-famous stories that revolves around the citizens of a fictional town who are plagued by a supernatural curse involving spirals.
First announced in 2019, the four-episode series has been delayed several times as the production staff has been aiming to animate Ito’s unique art faithfully. Uzumaki does have a premiere date locked in, as it’ll debut on September 28 on Adult Swim. If you’re looking to get an idea of just how creepy Ito’s work is, you can check out his next collection of manga short-stories.
