Penny Dreadful is slowly turning itself into one of our most anticipated new series to uncover. The latest, fullest (finally!) trailer for the Showtime series gives us a bit more than the creeps — and, at long last, actually gives us a look at the full cast (Look! There’s Reeve Carney! I spy a Billie Piper!) and horrifically unsettling storyline we're about to encounter. Things are about to go bump in the night.
“Do you believe there is a demi-monde? A half world between what we know and what we fear? A place in the shadows, rarely seen but deeply felt,” the now-familiar voiceover begins. But this time, things are different. “Where some unfortunate souls are cursed to live always.”
Twisted, contorted bodies, secret passageways, and devilish red eyes — all of it points to a “yes” to the question posed earlier. At least in the world of Penny Dreadful — and what a hyper-visual world it turns out to be.
Bugs, threesomes, portraiture (hey, we are dealing with Dorian Gray — Carney — after all), priests, creepy children, contortionism, spiders, possession, crawling adults, mystical-looking symbols, old-timey cameras, biting, sex, blood (so much blood), screaming, wolves, rain, high-pitched ringing, pale people, and vampire teeth (OK, maybe that last one’s a bit less scary at this point): also known as everything unsettling to ever happen in creepy storytelling, maybe ever. This series is kitchen-sinking it on the scary front — and, hopefully, with all that stuff a crafty and creepy story will arise.
Slated for a May 11, 2014 release, Penny Dreadful, is a horrific, dramatic look at some of literature’s most famous and terrifying characters — including Dr. Frankenstein and his little friend, Dorian Gray and his creepy portrait, and even some of Dracula’s buddies — as they become involved in some decidedly unsettling Victorian London doings. It stars a veritable smorgasbord of impressive actors, including Rory Kinnear, Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Reeve Carney, Billie Piper, and more. It was created, written and executive produced by John Logan and executive produced alongside Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris, with direction from J.A. Bayona (The Impossible) for the first two episodes.
For those who’ve missed out on the previous trailer-teaser incarnations, we’ve included them below.
The teasers themselves are here and here.
Also seriously worth your time are the behind-the-scenes videos detailing the show’s visual intricacies and horrific delights, which you can check out here.
