Some interesting news was reported over at IGN this morning as they revealed that their very own DVD Editor, Christopher Monfette, has scripted an adaptation of Clive Barker’s short-story Down, Satan!, one of Barker’s infamous Books of Blood stories. Read on for details on the adaptation, along with a synopsis for the short story.
DOWN, SATAN!, one of the shortest stories, relates the tale of a wealthy middle-aged businessman, Gregorius, who becomes depressed when he believes God has deserted him, and he comes up with a plan to build a Hell on Earth in order to summon Satan, believing that God will then sweep him (Gregorius) out of Satan’s clutches and into His heavenly fold. In his vast Satanic Cathedral, Gregorious soon loses sight of his original intention of attracting God’s attention, and he is captured after torturing to death hundreds of people in the well-equipped torture chambers. It is deliberately left ambiguous whether Gregorius went insane, or if he really did succeed in tempting Satan into taking residence in his own personal Hell.

Monfette talked with IGN a bit about how difficult it was to turn a 4-page story into a feature length screenplay.

“It’s not easy,” he says. “But we found a way into the narrative that expands upon the ideas without stretching or distorting them. There’s drama and horror and suspense and scale and if we’ve done our jobs, we should have something intensely original.”

Click here for the full story or check here for a complete list of announced BOOKS OF BLOOD adaptations.