It was heaps of fun, needless to say. The exhibit is built as a mini-mock-up of del Toro's actual house (or houses, more like, as I gather he divides his time between Toronto and LA) which he has modelled after Forrest J. Ackerman's. From the '70s to the '90s, the "Ackermansion" was something of a tourist destination for (ahem) sentimental nerdy types, chock full of Universal Monsters memorabilia he'd collected over several decades -- gone to the four winds since his passing, alas.
The Ackermansion, before the clutter. |
There is indeed an abundance of STUFF: film props . . .
. . . comic book ephemera . . .
"Tussaud can bite my shiny wax..." |
. . . plus bundles of weird tchotchkes that have captured del Toro's eye and earned a place in Bleak House.
If you've seen Pan's Labyrinth or The Devil's Backbone you already know del Toro's taste for the macabre runs a tad deeper than Ackerman's likely did. Many of the pieces on display are unsettling, quite moving, or both. The prime example to my eyes is this Boris Karloff-Frankenstein's Monster bust.
"That's right: Toronto." |
You feel sorry for the brute -- and so you should!
It's an experience, in other words -- not to be missed. In Toronto until January 7, 2018.
2 comments:
Was it also a house-decorating ideas trip, Darrell? Getting the ELW acclimated to an alternate view on home improvements...
Haha -- yes, something like: "See? Our clutter isn't nearly this bad!"
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