Howard Phillips Lovecraft
List activity
983 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
40 titles
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVincent PriceDebra PagetLon Chaney Jr.Charles Dexter Ward arrives at a small village to visit the house he inherited from his ancestor who died there 100 years ago.It's not Poe, it's Lovecraft
The sixth of eight Roger Corman's movies based on Edgar Allan Poe is not based on Poe at all. It took the title from Poe's poem, but the plot is based on the novel "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H.P. Lovecraft. If you are familiar with the work of H.P.L. it will be very obvious during the whole movie. But it can pass for Poe, to be completely honest. Recognizable Corman's directing, phenomenally creepy Vincent Price, and deeply disturbing atmosphere typical for H.P.L. achieved almost without any special effects and explicit horror – a combination that never gets old.
7,5/10 - DirectorDaniel HallerStarsBoris KarloffNick AdamsFreda JacksonA young man visits his fiancée's estate to discover that her wheelchair-bound scientist father has discovered a meteorite that emits mutating radiation rays that have turned the plants in his greenhouse to giants. When his own wife falls victim to this mysterious power, the old man takes it upon himself to destroy the glowing object with disastrous results.There's no monster at all
"The Colour Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft is turned into pretty much lousy movie. Titles "Die, Monster, Die!" and "Monster of Terror" are misleading as there are no monsters in this story. It is about mutations of plants and animals caused by meteor fallen into small isolated English town. There's too much idling although movie lasts just a little above an hour and even Boris Karloff didn't leave much of impression. Special effects are ridiculous. I understand that movie is made in the '60s when they couldn't do much better than this, but it would be better if they simply left those shots out and based the movie more on building tension, leaving our imagination to compensate for missing effects. This way it just ended up ridiculous and pretty much boring. From Karloff in Lovecraft's story I expected much much more than this.
5/10 - DirectorVernon SewellStarsBoris KarloffChristopher LeeMark EdenRobert Manning visits the remote country house where his brother Peter was last seen. While his host seems outwardly friendly and his niece more demonstrably so, Robert detects a feeling of menace in the air."The Dreams in the Witch House" by H.P. Lovecraft
If I told you about Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele being in the same movie, you would instantly assume I'm talking about some horror movie from middle of the last century and, if you hoped to see horror, you would be very disappointed. Although it was classified as one, this movie does not have H of horror. It is not frightening, has no supernatural elements, it is not suspense, there's no blood or sudden scare scenes. The movie is totally realistic and music and effects are more appropriate for some alien SF than for horror, which this movie is not anyway. This is a mediocre thriller that has pretty scenography and slightly spooky atmosphere, few resonant names and absolutely nothing more than that. I'm not sorry about spending 90 minutes on it, but I definitely do not recommend it.
6/10 - DirectorDaniel HallerStarsSandra DeeDean StockwellEd BegleyWilbur Whateley travels to the Arkham Miskatonic University to borrow the legendary Necronomicon. But, little does anyone know, Whateley isn't quite human...LOVEcraft
Objectively, this movie is nothing special, but it almost perfectly conveys Lovecraft's atmosphere. For true Lovecraft fans, this will be a real delicacy. For the rest of you, this is nothing but mediocre '70s horror.
7/10 - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.One of the most overrated movies ever
It is considered to be one of the best horrors of the '80s and maybe even one of the best horrors overall?! If that's true I do not want to see the rest of them. I cannot say it is complete crap, but it definitely is waste of time. Extremely overrated nonsense with no purpose. The basic idea is good, but it's not developed nearly enough. Characters are two-dimensional and stereotypical. The movie has no depth, does not provoke thoughts, cannot be more linear than it is, does not arouse any emotions, there's no tension, and finally, it is not even scary at all. There are movies that are very stupid, but make you crap your pants in fear. Stupid but with purpose. This one is not even that. It is as if people who were accustomed to make only low-class action movies their whole lives suddenly decided to shoot the horror. Linear, shallow and boring.
4/10
Carpenter acknowledged that the work of H.P. Lovecraft also inspired the film, but I can not see connection... - DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBruce AbbottBarbara CramptonAfter an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.Awesome finale
80's are definitely a golden era for B production gore horror. And this is one of the brightest examples. It's based on Lovecraft and painfully stupid. Although I had an awesome time watching it, I cannot rate it higher than 5,5/10. But last 15 minutes, and especially the scene in which sweet sexy Meg is sexually abused by a severed head, deserve straight 10. The scene is hilarious. :D
5,5/10 for the movie overall.
9/10 for last 15 minutes.
10/10 for naked Barbara Crampton and David Gale's head. - DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBarbara CramptonTed SorelA group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.80's classic horror, based on Lovecraft and shot with same cast used for Re-Animator year before.
7/10 - DirectorDavid KeithStarsWil WheatonClaude AkinsMalcolm DanareWhen a meteorite lands near his family farm during a storm in Tennessee, the son of a struggling farmer believes it's connected to strange plague-like events afflicting the crops, the farm animals and even the family themselves.Pleasant surprise
IMDb rating almost kept me away from this jewel. That would be a big mistake. The first hour is a mystery drama with SF premise, and then in the last twenty minutes it grows into good horror. In my opinion, few scenes with lousy effects should have been skipped and without them movie would be more convincing, but even this way this is the best Lovecraft adaptation I saw so far and one of the best movies in its class, primarily because of excellent atmosphere it builds and succeeds to maintain on the level till the very end. This one definitely goes to my collection.
7/10 (8,5/10 within the genre) - DirectorJean-Paul OuelletteStarsCharles KlausmeyerMark Kinsey StephensonAlexandra DurrellCollege students check out a haunted house where in the 1800's an ugly monster called "the Unnamable" was trapped in a vault.Mediocre and boring
If I start writing all that's wrong with this movie, it would be faster for you to watch the movie and make your own conclusions than to read my review. So, I'll just make a few notes about what's good in it:- The movie is based on H.P. Lovecraft and, although this is one of the worst adaptations, Lovecraft is still Lovecraft, and it is very hard to destroy it so much to be unwatchable.
- Dancer Katrin Alexandre and team that takes credits for the look of The Unnamable did an excellent job and made one of the best monsters in the history of cinematography. Unfortunately, it's shown in its full glory just briefly.
- Few moments of naked Laura Albert.
Everything else is mediocre and boring, so I recommend this only to the most hardcore fans of Lovecraft and '80s B-production horrors. For the rest of average audience this is just another crap.
5/10 - DirectorCharles BandStarsBarbara CramptonJeffrey CombsDavid WarnerIn this 'sequel' anthology, the film offers a TRANCERS sequel written by original creators Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo, a new Lovecraft adaptation THE EVIL CLERGYMAN, featuring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, and finally a sequel to THE DUNGEONMASTER."Full Moon Features is uniformly crap these days. Films with bad actors, being murdered by lousy looking puppets, on cheap sets, with lousy make-up and digital effects. And it's not like the Full Moon "golden age" of the early 1990s produced masterpieces of cinema either. Stripped of nostalgia, even their most polished films are guilty pleasures at best. "Pulse Pounders" was an anthology film shot in 1988, during the waning days of Empire Pictures, when Charlie Band made genuinely good films. The story of how the film was lost until VHS work prints emerged earlier last year is well-known by now. Since Charlie is so bereft of quality productions these days, and wants to milk his fan base for all they're worth, instead of releasing "Pulse Pounders" as a whole, the individual segments have been given stand-alone releases, first "The Evil Clergyman," then "Trancers: City of Lost Angels" later this month, and finally "Dungeon Master II" sometime next year.
"The Evil Clergyman" is a sexed-up take on one of Lovecraft's lesser short stories. Taking place on one set with only a cast of five, a woman visits the home of her deceased lover, a clergyman who, as you may have guessed from the title, was of a less then virtuous nature. Over the twenty-seven minute runtime, she is accosted by the spirit of her dead lover, a spirit of his victim, and his human-faced rat familiar.
The movie invites open comparison to "Re-Animator," featuring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and David Gale. In both films, Gale menaces Crampton while naked, her nude backside getting kissed by the man-faced rat. Charles Band isn't as strong a filmmaker as Stuart Gordon but does a good job here, making decent use of shadows and space. The cast truly shines. Combs is at his sexiest, seducing Crampton, while his malevolent intent is obvious beneath the surface. David Warner has a fantastic cameo as Combs' ghostly victim. The highlight of the film is a frenzied Warner monologue, making it clear to Crampton that her boyfriend isn't a good guy. While Crampton is the lead character, her performance is probably the weakest, with her mostly screaming in fear. Richard Band provides a beautiful longing, sensual, sinister score that feels like it stepped right out of the late eighties.
A simple story, "The Evil Clergyman" prances along at a fine pace, producing some okay atmosphere and even maybe a scare. The ending is delightfully perverse, the moment when you could most be tricked into thinking Stuart Gordon actually did direct this. The presentation is less then ideal, the picture grainy and dark, the dialogue sometimes hard to hear over the rest of the sound mix. This is sort of apropos though, considering so many Full Moon films were first watched as grainy VHS tapes. While ultimately a trifle, "The Evil Clergyman" should definitely be seeked out by fans of the studio, the cast, and the adapted author." - Bonehead-XL - DirectorBrian YuznaStarsJeffrey CombsBruce AbbottClaude Earl JonesDoctors Herbert West and Dan Cain discover the secret to creating human life and proceed to create a perfect woman from dead tissue.Above average for its genre and, in my opinion, better than first one.
7/10 - DirectorDavid McCormickStarsMark LaCourTim VerkaikEddie MooreReporter Clint Harrison is sent to investigate a massacre at a Louisiana campground and finds that it may be linked to the Dansen clan an old local family thought to have died out years ago.I couldn't possibly write it better than this, so I won't waste time
"Another uncredited adaptation of Lovecraft's Lurking Fear. I admit that, even with the low-quality packaging, I had a bit of hope for this one. The fact that I'd never heard of it until it is surfaced on DVD, 14 years after being filmed, didn't exactly help matters.
The first thing I noticed about this no-frills DVD is that the title of the film is presented as "Drak Heritage" on the menu. This didn't exactly fill me with confidence as people who give a damn about their release would never let such an obvious and glaring error slip past them. The sound quality fluctuates horribly during the film and some of the soundtrack overwhelms the system and obviously goes far beyond the red line during mixing. The film quality is iffy, at best, and lighting seems to be a problem in numerous scenes. Of course, we've all seen bad, low-budget Lovecraft films before.
The next problem with the film is the cast. Cardboard like at best, just plain awful at their worst, the cast seems wholly unbelievable. The flat delivery of dialog casts one more horrible shadow on this film.
Still, there are some bright points. First, the locations. The plantation home used for the Dansen manor was wonderful. It evoked an almost "Blair Witch" feel, the cracked plaster, and vacant halls. Of course, someplace that has been abandoned for 150 years shouldn't have light switches by the door, and a fairly well-manicured lawn, but I was actually willing to overlook that.
Secondly, bad as this film is (and make no mistake, it is pretty awful), Dark Heritage does manage to create a bit of atmospheric tension during a few of the more eerie moments of the movie. In fact, had this been done as a silent film, it would have most likely enhanced the overall production by not allowing bad acting to spoil the few solid atmospheric shots.
Still, this adaptation is weak, leaving a few unanswered questions, but perhaps they are best left unanswered. Interestingly enough though, the only actor from this movie who has gone on to continue his career to any note, Eddie Moore (Mr. Daniels), went on to play bit parts in two Brendan Fraser movies ("Blast from the Past" and "Dudley Do-Right"). Nice to see that he managed to overcome that little problem of being incapable of acting his way out of a wet paper sack.
Overall the film comes off like someone's college project and, viewed in that light, it isn't too terribly bad. Of the three Lurking Fear adaptations available (Bleeders/Hemoglobin, the Lurking Fear, and Dark Heritage) this is by far the most faithful adaptation. Certainly, the setting has been moved to Louisiana and the name Martense has been changed to Dansen, but much of the film is actually quite faithful to the original story. This alone makes it an interesting find." - Captain_Roberts
4/10 - DirectorMartin CampbellStarsFred WardDavid WarnerJulianne MooreIn a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.I simply can not believe the rating this gem has. Everything below 8 is blasphemy. It's sad that this movie never had theatrical release and was never released on DVD or BR either. It was distributed only as VHS for video stores and because of that it didn't have a chance to reach wider audience and rise to popularity it deserves.
Everything in it is between very good and perfect. Considering relatively low budget of about 6 million, HBO did fantastic job with production. Movie is directed by Martin Campbell, man responsible for Golden Eye, Mask of Zorro and Casino Royale, and Joseph Dougherty (Pretty Little Liars) wrote one of the most original scripts I ever had luck to see.
Movie combines 40's Film Noir with supernatural horror of 80's and well-measured humour. It is based on Lovecraft mythos, but unlike most of movies based of Lovecraft that rape his stories, this one is not adaptation, but an original story inspired by Lovecraft, which skillfully includes parts of Lovecraft's mythos into noir crime mystery.
!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
Fred Ward, in style of Bogart, plays former cop, now private detective, who is, in LA at the end of 40's, hired to find stolen Necronomicon, book that possess power to unlock interdimensional gate and let Great Old Ones back on Earth. Great Old Ones are very powerful demonic beings who once ruled the Earth. Most known are Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth and, of course, Cthulhu. It is interesting that, unlike most movies with supernatural plot, magic here is not secret skill reserved for few and kept in secret from public, but the most common everyday tool used by all. Same applies for supernatural beings, so we have zombies as bodyguards, and in jail we can see some vampires and werewolves. But non of that is shown in usual glamorous and mystical way full of stunning special effects. It's all incorporated in film noir style and shown as common and normal, so you won't have a feeling that you watch fantasy movie, but just usual 40's crime noir.
Directing is great, there are some beautiful shots you should not miss, and lines are true masterpiece. Script is so well written that I am sure it would be great literature for reading even without seeing the movie.
"My name is Lovecraft and I'm the guy who knows. Just about the only guy who knows it all and is still breathing. It started that night and it started with a woman. It always starts with a woman." And the woman is Julianne Moore, charming as always and one more good reason to see this film.
9/10 - DirectorDan O'BannonStarsJohn TerryJane SibbettChris SarandonCharles Dexter Ward's wife enlists the help of a private detective to find out what her husband is up to in a remote cabin owned by his family for centuries.Completely lame...
15 July 2017
Perhaps the script is more true to the original story than is the case with most adaptations of Lovecraft, but that doesn't make this movie any less pathetic.
4,5/10
"I'm really confused by other users' comments. After reading them I ordered a copy from the states as fast as my fingers could click to Amazon. I'm a huge fan of Lovecraft and to be told that this is the best film adaption of his work and that I'd never even heard of it made me think I was about to get my slime-covered tentacles on a forgotten gem. Then it arrived and I must ask the other users, are you all completely bonkers? This is a terrible, terrible film. It's badly lit, shot, edited, acted and scripted. When the femme non-fatale first arrives at the PI's office it's this dreadful side shot which just sits there for about five minutes while the two of them fail to act in each other's general direction from the opposite sides of the screen. The rest of the film seems to consist of either seen it all before POV's or more of these overly lit side shots, I thought Dan O'Bannon could shoot films? Thank god the flashbacks break up the boredom. In a voice-over, Ward's wife says something like "He just left the party and said he had to do some work that couldn't wait", at which point Ward in the flashback says "I have to leave the party to do some work that cannot wait." Brilliant! It goes on like that for an hour and forty tedious minutes with a couple of goofy and gooey effects don't liven up the proceedings one bit, until it ends with Chris Sarandon hamming it up for all he's worthwhile I considered hanging myself from the tedium of it all. Come on guys, us Lovecraft fans have to be forgiving occasionally by the generally low quality and/or budgets of his related movies, but we shouldn't let this film off the hook just because it sticks fairly close to the original story. I mean, Dagon is rubbish but at least it's FUN rubbish, this is just plain dull." - James Parsons - DirectorJean-Paul OuelletteStarsMark Kinsey StephensonCharles KlausmeyerMaria FordA creature of demonic nature, too hideous to have a name, once again terrorizes the college kids that summoned it.Much better than first one, but still just for core fans of Lovecraft and B production horror movies.
6/10 - DirectorChristophe GansShûsuke KanekoBrian YuznaStarsJeffrey CombsTony AzitoJuan FernándezLovecraft visualizes 3 stories in Necronomicon: The Drowned, The Cold and Whispers, about bringing a dead wife and child back to life, extending life and aliens.I don't know how I managed to stay awake...
4,5/10 - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsSam NeillJürgen ProchnowJulie CarmenAn insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.Second best Lovecraft movie I saw (I watch them in chronological order), after Cast a Deadly Spell. I can not say I'm amazed, but it is a very pleasant surprise. It's not ordinary monster horror although some monsters appear. It's based more on mystery and suspense than on scary scenes. Effects are very good for 1994. and Sam Neill is perfect choice for leading role.
7,5/10 - DirectorC. Courtney JoynerStarsJon FinchBlake AdamsAshley LaurenceThe town of Leffert's Corners has been plagued by unearthly beings for decades, and now there is only a few people left... what everyone is not aware of are the humanoid creatures lurking underneath the holy grounds.Watchable crap... Lousy story, lousy acting, editing... everything is just lousy. And not too much connection with Lovecraft either...
4/10 - DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBarbara CramptonJonathan FullerA man travels to Italy with his family to live in the castle they have recently inherited. But he soon begins to suspect that they are not the only occupants.Horrors are in most cases complete failure, cause they are either to lousy or to ridiculous to be scary. And as their goal is exactly to scare the audience, authors most often neglect other aspects of the movie. This movie does not deserve rating I gave it. Although it is considered to be Lovecraft adaptation, most certainly it is not. It could maybe be loosely inspired by him. Story isn't original or too complex, it's linear and, with exception of monster's mask and acting, this movie doesn't have much to offer. But it has what is the most important for horror movie and what most of much higher rated horrors don't have - eerie and tense atmosphere. Horror movies are to me mostly either stupid and ridiculous or stupid and plain boring, but this one made me nervously jig on the edge of the chair. It may be mediocre or even bad in other aspects, but it achieves effect that is essence of the genre, and if only because of that I have to rate it above average.
7/10 - DirectorPeter SvatekStarsGillian FerrabeePascal GruselleRoy DupuisA man travels to an island with his girlfriend in search of his relatives, but he finds maybe more than what he wanted to know.Like Lurking Fear, Bleeders is also inspired by Lovecraft's short story The Lurking Fear. Basic premise is taken from Lovecraft, but plot is completely different than both previous movie and original story. Although, this time it's pretty solid. Screenplay I liked a lot, movie not so much. I have no specific objections, it's simply that overall impression is white-livered. Decent entertainment for genre fans.
5/10 - DirectorStuart GordonStarsEzra GoddenFrancisco RabalRaquel MeroñoA boating accident runs a young man and woman ashore in a decrepit Spanish fishing town which they discover is in the grips of an ancient sea god and its monstrous half human offspring.This is the best adaptation of Lovecraft made to date... for simple reason that it is the only adaptation of Lovecraft made to date. All predecessors are just inspired by some Lovecraft story or his mythos overall, while Dagon is, although modernized, pretty faithful adaptation of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". Finally! Although I have to admit that most of 18 Lovecraft inspired movies I saw so far were entertaining, I was being seriously annoyed by lack of real adaptation of this great master of horror. Considering really small budget that destroys any serious attempt of bringing supernatural to the screen, this movie is real masterpiece.
8/10 - DirectorBrian YuznaStarsJeffrey CombsTommy Dean MussetJason BarryAfter 13 years in prison, the mad scientist from Re-Animator (1985) gets a new chance to experiment with the arrival of a young prison doctor, who secretly hopes to learn to reanimate dead people. Good intentions turn to horror.Sometimes sequels are better than original. In my opinion, this one is the best in franchise. Story continues in same manner, but this movie is put together more seriously than it's two prequels. I really enjoyed this very much.
7/10 - DirectorAndrew LemanStarsMatt FoyerJohn BolenRalph LucasWhile sorting the affairs of his late Uncle, a man accidentally stumbles across a series of dark secrets connected to an ancient horror waiting to be freed.The Call of Cthulhu is adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, and probably the most faithful adaptation of Lovecraft overall. Story is placed in 20's and this 47 minutes film completely imitate movies from that era. It's made as black and white silent movie, with noise, low resolution, film damage, over-acting men with lipstick and eye make-up, and everything that goes with it. Fans of Cthulhu mythos will be glad to finally see adaptation worthy of this horror legend, but to others I must advise to skip it.
6/10 - DirectorStuart GordonStarsEzra GoddenCampbell LaneJay BrazeauA graduate student questions his sanity after he rents a room in an old boarding house which was the residence of a 17th-century witch, and he discovers that the evil forces still roam within the walls.This could possibly be the best horror series I've ever followed
"Dreams in the Witch-House" is movie based on the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft, published in "Weird Tales" magazine in 1933. Director Stuart Gordon already wrote and directed several Lovecraft adaptations: "Re-Animator" (1985), "From Beyond" (1986), "Castle Freak" (1995), "Dagon" (2001), but this time he has overcome all the previous adaptations and made a real little masterpiece of horror. Although it's placed in present time and modernized, this adaptation has preserved the spirit of the original story and even improved it in some aspects. I'm amazed.
9/10
For those interested in more thorough review, I recommend great text by Matthew Janovic:
"The Best Lovecraft Translation to date
Matthew Janovic
9 April 2006
Amazing is the only-word I can find to express how good this short film is. Mick Garris deserves thunderous applause for initiating what will probably be the most-important development in horror in over 20 years. While Stuart Gordon has done Lovecraft proud with "Re-Animator", "From Beyond" and "Dagon", this simply excels them in capturing the dread and cosmic horror. Insofar as horror goes, this is Gordon's finest addition so far. I read the short story 20 years ago, and this summarizes it well. Lovecraft purists are going to have their hackles up, but the omissions and changes still capture the spirit of the original and do not detract from the basic thrust its plot.
Yes, the cloven "Black Man", and a trip to the surface of another planet are not-present, which is fine. Do we really want to see Lovecraft's racism on display, especially when he rejected it at the end of his life? The answer is no. People also tend to forget that in some areas, Lovecraft gets tedious, often going on for too long with descriptions of things, or he just meanders. Yes, you can actually improve upon some of his work, I contend. Dennis Paoli and Stuart Gordon have achieved this feat, and where Lovecraft was bad at warm characters, the writer(s) and director compensate. I truly love and care about the characters in this story, especially the mother and her child. The fears of this story are so primal and basic - everyone fears for a baby in a movie, it's true.
What excites me so-much about this short film is how effectively it conveys many of Lovecraft's themes: the fear of losing one's mind, the fear of women, the fear of the unknown, the fear of a loss of control, the fear of mortality, and then some. Also very exciting is how well Gordon and Paoli realize the Witch - I would say this is the best depiction of what the Puritans, and Medieval Europeans thought witches were, and what they did. Usually, they try to steal-babies to sacrifice to some dark-power. But Lovecraft's true genius was taking physics theory to explain witchcraft, and a witch's powers.
To the uninitiated, H.P. Lovecraft's tomes seem to have appeared, fully formed, but he was an avid scholar of New England folklore. Much of the rule-book he uses for the witch and her powers and actions are from the writings of Cotton Mather, and other Puritanical leaders, thinkers and witch-hunters. It's likely he even consulted the witchfinder's manual, "Malleus Malificarum". Lovecraft didn't believe in the supernatural as a reality, but did accept the possibility that odd phenomena did exist, and could be explained by science at some point.
So, while this tale and many others written by him seem fantastical, some elements are not entirely implausible based on his scientific philosophies! "Dreams in the Witch House" is not-unlike a rational mind trying to grasp how a witch could be possible. This little crumb of plausibility is a component of what makes the writings of H.P. Lovecraft so scary, and contemporary. Even educated adults can entertain their reality, and this film captures this reality in every respect. People tend to forget that modern- cience comes from alchemy, after all! The story concerns Walter Gilman, a Physics-major, who has found a room at 300 year old house in Providence. Yes, in the short story, Walter already knows the reputation of the house, but I think it was wise for film to omit this. Walter represents we, the audience, and this is a story of curiosity, discovery, and tragedy. Walter notices that his theories on multiple universes, and his mathematical maps resemble the shape of a corner of his room. In time, he begins to have-dreams of meeting a familiar - a rat with a human-face, perfectly in-keeping with witch-lore! Eventually, it becomes clear from an older tenant, and other dreams, that the witch is very-much alive within the house. She wants Walter (us) to fetch her a child, the infant-son his neighbor.
There is a sense of dread, sorrow and inevitability in Walter's situation that echoes the victims of witches in lore. It is a situation without much hope, the only exit being death or insanity, so very Lovecraftian. Anchor Bay/IDT have done a perfect DVD, no complaints here. The transfer is perfect, the audio is perfect, and the extras are incredibly generous and substantial for the most die-hard-fan of Stuart Gordon. Richard Band's score is wonderful, and makes this story all the more timeless in its sorrow, grimness and evocation of mystery. It has been 12 years since Band has done a score for Gordon with his excellent score for "Castle Freak" in 1994. It has been too long, and thank God it happened. The entire Masters of Horror series promises to be superb, a great-day for true fans of horror." - DirectorPeter RhodesA prophet who longed to look upon his deities. A daunting journey to a mountain peak. A confrontation with gods too powerful to name.3,5/10
- DirectorDan GildarkStarsJason CottleCasey CurranEthan AtkinsonA Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate, is reaquainted with his best friend from childhood, with whom he has a long-awaited tryst. Caught in an accelerating series of events, he discovers aspects of his father's New Age cult which take on a dangerous and apocalyptic significance."Total monster screen time for this picture clocked in at about 30 seconds, unless you count Tori Spelling."
Imagine that Stephen-King-wanna-be wrote the gay adaptation of Lovecraft and entrusted directing to David-Lynch-wanna-be. If this sounds to you like an interesting concept, make sure to check out "Cthulhu" from 2007. To me, this accomplishment has left the impression of a paranoid schizophrenic trying to meaningfully screen his hallucinations. On the one hand we have a boring, confusing and seemingly pointless story, mediocre acting and characters with whom I could not connect at any level, and when I saw Tori Spelling in one of the roles I was really on the verge of giving up. And yet, on the other hand, we have an interesting camera work and captivating mystical atmosphere that has kept me to finish it. How to evaluate a movie that I barely made to see through (2/10), which at the same time left a quite strong impression (8/10) ...
5/10 - DirectorDavid PriorStarsEric LangeJohn BillingsleyRay WiseHaunted by recent events and on the run, a man finds himself the unwitting pawn of a possessed evangelical radio station and like his unfortunate predecessor must ask himself whether it is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.Nice homage to H.P. Lovecraft
"Cocky investment analyst Sam Larson has a lot on his mind. After a financial scam goes horribly wrong, he hits the road in a desperate bid to outrun his guilt. A fragment of a radio broadcast that may or may not be a distress call lures him to an isolated transmitting station and into a terrifying mystery of murder, madness and the insatiable hunger of a power beyond his comprehension." - David Prior (author)
"AM1200" is the perfect example of a movie that adjusts its length to the extent of the story it wants to tell. This short horror in its 40 minutes achieves more than the vast majority of feature-length horrors I have ever seen. The story is developed just enough to make sense without revealing too much. Characters and situations are realistic and convincing. The use of light and darkness, simple and striking effects and excellent directing and editing successfully attain the creepy and tense atmosphere that will keep you on the edge of the chair with occasional scared jumps. And at the end, not a twist, because the story is quite linear, but surprise, that will especially delight fans of Lovecraft's mythos. I can not say I'm thrilled, but I certainly recommend it. And be sure to watch it in the dark and silence, otherwise the film loses much of its strength.
8/10
"They say it's better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. What about serving in Hell? What if the only option is to serve in Hell? There's a kind of freedom when you don't have a choice." - DirectorFrank H. WoodwardStarsRobin Atkin DownesNeil GaimanPeter StraubA chronicle of the life, work and mind that created the Cthulhu mythos."The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." - H.P. Lovecraft
I'm not a fan of documentaries, but this one I just had to see. A documentary about Lovecraft, the father of modern horror, from the corner of the great names of the genre, such as Nile Gaiman, one of my favorite writers, then Peter Straub, who collaborated with Stephen King on the "Talisman" novel, directors by Guillermo del Toro, Stuart Gordon and John Carpenter, and others. Technically, the film is well-made, combining a narrative about the life and work of H.P. Lovecraft, with interviews with the aforementioned giants, as well as with movies, music and paintings inspired by Lovecraft. The film has a good pace and at no time is it boring, but it is essentially quite basic and made primarily for the people who know little or nothing about this legend. Although I only got some new information about Lovecraft's biography, while I did not find out anything new about his work, I enjoyed listening to my favorite writers and directors talking about Lovecraft with love. Recommendation.
7/10 - DirectorLeigh ScottStarsSarah LievingGriff FurstDean StockwellA single mother delivers a monstrous baby boy, somehow connected to a dark prophecy involving the Black Brotherhood, a book called the Necronomicon, and a demonic portal."That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange eons even death may die."
Considering IMDb rating (3/10) and terrible reviews, I expected to withdraw from the film after about ten minutes, but the film really is not so bad. The story is more faithful to the source material than most adaptations of Lovecraft and pretty well captures the atmosphere for which this horror giant is recognizable. The acting certainly isn't an Oscar material, but it's quite decent, and for a low-budget B movie, technical aspects are not that bad either. The only serious flaw of the film are the effects, because of which I had the impression of watching a movie from the '80s, or maybe the early '90s. If the film was not from 2009, even the effects would be ok, but for 2009 they are absolutely unacceptable. This disadvantage has affected my rating, which would have been a bit higher with the contemporary effects, but it does not necessarily have to affect your film experience. Simply imagine you're watching a movie from the eighties and the effects will not bother you anymore. They did not bother me too much when I was watching, but I have to take them into account when evaluating because they are really extremely outdated, while not being necessary at all. If the budget did not allow for the effects to be in accordance with current technology, they could simply completely avoid them with simple directorial tricks. If you are expecting a horror that will scare you and hold you on the edge of the seat, this definitely isn't a film for you, but if you're a fan of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos, and if you're not overly demanding and meticulous, you will enjoy the good atmosphere of this adaptation.
5/10 - DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneMona MarshallA new superhero named "Captain Hindsight" emerges to help with a new BP oil spill, and The Coon tries to make sure that he joins his union of superheroes.
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneMona MarshallMysterion assumes control of South Park's superhero alliance after The Coon is kicked out. Meanwhile, The Coon plots his plan for revenge by conspiring with the enemy, and where is Captain Hindsight when the world needs him?
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneMona MarshallCartman and Cthulhu get their revenge on Coon and Friends, while Mysterion continues to try and discover the secret behind his superpower of never being able to die.
- DirectorHuân VuStarsPaul DorschJürgen HeimüllerIngo HeiseA boy, looking for his missing father, travels to Germany and uncovers a haunting legacy that a meteorite left behind in the area. Based on H.P. Lovecraft's short novel "The Color Out of Space."Perhaps the best adaptation of Lovecraft up to date
The black and white German movie "Die Farbe (The Color)" from 2010 is made after the short story "The Color Out of Space" from 1927 by Howard Phillips Lovecraft and it is one of the best adaptations of this author. The story itself has an interesting premise, but it doesn't leave a particularly strong impression as almost nothing is happening. However, in terms of the story, I did not even have high expectations, because I read Lovecraft's original and there is also an emphasis almost solely on the atmosphere. Excellent black and white cinematography, directing, and peculiarly striking sound quite well convey Lovecraft's dark atmosphere from the very beginning. The idea to adapt this story in black and white is a very effective solution, because in the color film it is impossible to show nonexistent color, and virtually any color inserted in the movie after an hour of building colorless environment can be perceived as "the color out of space." I recommend that you watch the movie in complete silence, preferably with the headphones, because the sound is convincingly the most powerful element of this movie. Sounds that logically should be in the background, like ticking of the clock, the wind, the drumming of the rain on the window, creaking floorboards underfoot and the like, here are clearly highlighted and cause discomfort to the viewer, who may not even realize what disturbs him. I only realized it when I put the headphones, after twenty minutes of the movie. In my case, the strongest effect has been achieved by the omnipresent buzzing of insects, which varies from the background noise to the feeling that some pterodactyl just passed through my brain, and without which the film would be significantly less eerie. This film contains elements of science fiction, horror, drama, and mystery, but none of these genres describe it properly. I think it would be best to describe it only as a quality adaptation of Lovecraft, because in the literature he is also a genre for itself.
8/10 - DirectorSean BranneyStarsStephen BlackehartAutumn WendelP.J. KingBased on the H. P. Lovecraft story of the same name, a folklorist investigates reports of unusual creatures in Vermont only to uncover more than he bargained forTrue Lovecraft
This black and white SF mystery is in every aspect designed to conjure up the experience of reading Lovecraft. Lovecraft is respected both with the story and atmosphere, which makes the film one of the rare true adaptations of this great horror-fantasy author. Its style resembles Film Noir quite a lot, and only quality of the picture breaks down the illusion that you are watching a movie from the first half of the last century. Even the opening and the ending credits are archaic. This is an independent low-budget film, produced by "The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society". Despite the low budget and unknown actors, the film is very well shot and acted, and the lack of money for quality CGI is offset by excellent directorial tricks that are, at least for my taste, far more effective in intimidating than the technically costly, but essentially cheap CGI explicitness. Unfortunately, towards the end, they decided to break the tension, gradually built with quality hints, by an explicit depiction of extraterrestrial beings. But even that did not turn out to be so bad to completely spoil the experience, although I would personally prefer if they have abstained from this move. Overall, I am very pleased and I would like to see more of such adaptations of my favorite authors in the future. The only thing from this century with which I could compare it, on the basis of personal experience, is the video game "Undying" by Clive Barker from 2001. If you played it and liked it, you will probably like "The Whisperer in Darkness". If you did not, and you like this movie, you should try out the excellent interactive horror of my favorite video game.
7/10 - DirectorMark Philip LichtensteinStarsPippa Bennett-WarnerRichard David-CaineJoseph ElliottWhen a rich patron visits the studio of the depraved artist Pickman, he is horrified to discover the sinister source of her inspiration. Adapted from the H. P. Lovecraft story of the same title.I have no idea what I just saw
I suppose it is necessary to read the short story by Lovecraft first to be able to understand this short adaptation. But if that's the case it is not a good movie. A film should be able to stand alone, separately from the source material. Although just ten minutes long, it somehow succeeded to bore me. But, that's just me, maybe you'll like it.
3/10
P.S. You can watch the whole thing on IMDb page. - DirectorEthan MillerStarsConnor BehmAndrew HunsickerDean JonesIn the uncharted regions of the Antarctic, dark secrets slumber. An ancient horror lies hidden in the bowels of an alien city, and two unlucky explorers race unwittingly towards it.Faithful waste of time
Why the hell, when I'm interested in some author, I have to see absolutely everything I can find... In my obsessive search for Lovecraft adaptations, I ran into this short animated film. The animation is good, the story is faithful to the source material, but the movie observed separately is lousy and redundant. It can be interesting only to true fans of H.P. Lovecraft.
5/10 - DirectorPaul SchraderStarsDennis HopperPenelope Ann MillerEric BogosianIn a twisted 1950's where everyone does magic, a private detective investigates a murder case without it."If God doesn't strike down Hollywood, then he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology!"
In a world where magic is a part of everyday life, a private detective who refuses to use magic tries to solve a murder, while a corrupt senator organizes a witch hunt, including public burnings.
An unusual fantasy-noir, with a dose of humor that seriously flirts with comedy, comes from the pen of Joseph Dougherty, as a sequel to "Cast a Deadly Spell" (1991), but apart from the basic premise, two films have nothing in common and, although the author is the same, the story is much weaker, and the whole film is worse in every aspect. Dennis Hopper replaces Fred Ward in the lead role, but although I appreciate him as an actor, he did not suit me as a detective Harry Phillip Lovecraft. Penelope Ann Miller is just a pale shadow of Julianne Moore, and the only actor who made some impression in this movie is Julian Sands, although it's not one of his better ones either.
Still, the interesting use of magic and acceptable effects, pleasant music, and a light relaxed atmosphere (which should not fit with mystery, noir, and thriller as genre determinants) make "Witch Hunt" a decent pastime for one viewing.
6/10 - DirectorLars HenriksStarsHubertus BrandtUlrich BähnkNika KushnirHans Wagner lives in a small apartment, taking pills and drinking whiskey to fight his anxiety disorders. When he runs out of both his drugs one day, he has no choice but travel to the supermarket sober. An unexpected adventure begins .Why Hans Wagner hates the starry sky
At the time 22-year-old, Lars Henriks made his first feature film in his own production, for only 1,500 euros. The young man wrote a screenplay inspired by Lovecraft and directed, and he also wrote and produced the score and original songs for the movie himself. All three aspects are at a fairly high level. The story is great, although a bit rushed towards the end, and combined with the interesting directing and sound that perfectly evokes the atmosphere, it held my undivided attention for all 75 minutes. The main role is played by Hubertus Brandt, who convincingly portrayed an anxious young man sinking into madness, and I find it hard to believe that this is his first and only role. I would be lying if I said that I have no objections, but I don't think this film deserves that I mention them. This is by far the best amateur film (if I can use the word amateur at all) that I have seen so far, and the idea, courage, and effort deserve all the praise.
7,5/10 (10/10 within the non-budget amateur movie frame) - DirectorLars HenriksStarsElena MeißnerDavid AdamsAnna BergA look into the lives of a dysfunctional family after the father dies.Imagination over budget
After the excellent romantic horror comedy "Warum Hans Wagner den Sternenhimmel hasst" (Why Hans Wagner hates the starry sky) from the previous year, Lars Henriks returns with the surreal thriller "Cordelias Kinder" (Cordelia's children).
Cordelia is the mother of two teenagers and since recently a widow, who runs a successful "intermediation" agency. We observe Cordelia trying to run a business and normal daily life, while the ghost of her late husband hangs around the house and interferes in everything. Meanwhile, the older daughter, who works for her, suspects the mother of killing the father, while the younger son starts a relationship with one of the mother's employees. There is also a secret door that leads to a surreal dimension, whose role in the story remains unclear to me.
The film looks pretty cheap, because it is, but for its budget, it was surprisingly well shot. What he lacks in production, Henriks makes up for with his versatile talent. He wrote the script himself, directed and wrote the original music for the film, and he did well in all those fields.
"Cordelias Kinder" is a family drama that develops into a thriller, with a touch of horror. But it's not the drama, thriller, and horror we're used to. The film is full of surreal moments, both in the plot and visually, and the most surreal is the atmosphere, which flirts with Lynch and Lovecraft. The story is not overly complex or complicated, but it is unusual, unexpected, and quite morbid.
The psychology of the characters is very interesting and quite successfully presented by the cast. Cordelia, played by Elena Meißner, is a seemingly strong, determined, unwavering woman, more focused on work and herself than family. Inside, she breaks down, and I think the husband's spirit is actually a reflection of her conscience. The daughter, played by Anna Berg, is cold to mother because she suspects her of killing the father. This seemingly typical capricious teenager will later show her true face, which is one of the strongest assets of the film. The son is, in my opinion, the weakest written role, and also the weakest played. There are also several supporting characters, and they are all written and played at least decently.
Until the end, I failed to grasp the significance of Lovecraftian elements. Honestly, those scenes seem to me to have strayed from some other movie and in no way contribute to the development of the story. However, I have to admit that they significantly contribute to the overall atmosphere, so even if that is their only purpose, I take my hat off to the original director's trick.
Although the film is very low-budget, the technical aspects of "Cordelias Kinder" are good enough not to spoil the enjoyment of a well-written story and an even better atmosphere. Recommendation.
7/10 - DirectorRichard StanleyStarsNicolas CageJoely RichardsonMadeleine ArthurA secluded farm is struck by a strange meteorite which has apocalyptic consequences for the family living there and possibly the world.“A messenger from realms whose existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the gulfs that it throws open before our frenzied eyes.”
On IMDb, I came across a superbly written review that almost perfectly coincides with my view of the film, and I am transcribing it in its entirety, because it makes no sense to write the same, and probably worse, in my own words.
"Written and directed by Richard Stanley (his first film in 25 years, after he was infamously fired three days into production on his long-gestating dream project, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)), Colour Out of Space is a modernised adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's 1927 short story "The Colour Out of Space", and takes a good stab at depicting one of Lovecraft's most oblique entities. Mixing humour and body horror (perhaps weighed a little too much towards humour), the film gives Nicolas Cage another opportunity to go full-Cage, and boy does he lean into it - this is the most ludicrous, histrionic, and borderline farcical performance he's given since Vampire's Kiss (1988), and how much latitude you give him may well determine your opinion of the movie.
Just outside the city of Arkham, MA (the fictitious setting of many Lovecraftian stories), Nathan Gardner (Cage), his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson), and their children Benny (Brendan Meyer), Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur), and Jack (Julian Hilliard) have moved into Nathan's deceased father's property, with Nathan embracing rural life by raising alpacas on the property's farm. On an otherwise normal night, the sky fills with pulsating light and a meteorite crashes onto the Gardners' land, and as time passes, the Gardners start to experience ever-more bizarre events - unnaturally localised lightning storms that seem to come from nowhere; huge fuchsia-like plants that seem to grow overnight; a horrific odour that only Nathan can smell; a gigantic purple mantis flying around; radios and the internet cutting out more than normal; the water turning strange colours; the family's dog, Lavinia's horse, and Nathan's alpacas starting to act strangely; even time itself appears to be corrupted. And soon enough, the family members themselves begin to show signs of unnatural change.
After some basic narrative preamble and a contemplative sub-Terrence Malick-style voiceover, the film features one of the most inorganic expositionary scenes I've ever seen, as Nathan and Theresa stand on the porch, and spend a good five minutes telling each other things that they both already know. Thankfully though, the clunkiness of this opening isn't a sign of things to come, and one of the film's most consistent elements is the subtlety with which Stanley depicts the entity, or rather, doesn't depict it. Lovecraft felt that if humanity were ever to encounter real cosmic beings, they could be so unlike anything in our experience as to be impossible to describe, or even process in our minds, and one of his aims with "Colour" was to create an entity that doesn't conform to human understanding - hence the only description is by analogy, and even then, only in relation to colour beyond the visual spectrum. With this in mind, Stanley wisely keeps everything as vague as possible - vibrant, modulating pulses of light that seem to be emanating from somewhere just outside the frame, vaguely-defined spatial distortions, colour manipulations with no obvious source, etc.
Important here is the colour itself, and instead of attempting to create the indescribable colour featured in the story, director of photography Steve Annis chooses to go the route of not settling for any one stable colour - every time we see the effects of the meteorite, the hue appears to be in a state of flux - so although we can say the colours are recognisable, they're never identifiable as any one specific colour, which, is probably the best choice the filmmakers could have made.
As we get into the third act, the film abandons all sense of restraint and goes completely insane, with the body horror which has threatened to break through from the earliest moments finally unleashed, foregrounding the exceptional work of special effects supervisor/creature designer Dan Martin. These scenes are heavily indebted to David Cronenberg, especially his earlier work such as Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977), and The Brood (1979), although the most obvious touchstone is Chris Walas's work on Cronenberg's masterpiece, The Fly (1986). A lot of Martin's creature design also seems inspired by the legendary work of Rob Bottin, and there's a direct visual quote of one of the best moments in John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).
It's also in the last act where Cage is turned loose, signalled by an epic meltdown when he discovers Benny hasn't closed the barn door and the alpacas have gotten out. From there, it's Nicolas Cage unrestrained. There is a problem with this, however. Full-Cage has been seen in films such as Vampire's Kiss, Face/Off (1997), The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009), Mom and Dad (2017), and Mandy (2018), but each performance has felt fairly organic, never becoming self-conscious. In Colour, however, to an even greater extent than in the virtually unwatchable The Wicker Man (2006), Cage crosses into self-parody, with his performance having as much to do with people's preconceived notions of a Nicholas Cage performance as it does with finding the character. There are a couple of scenes here that seem to have little to do with legitimate character beats and more to do with Cage winking at the audience.
Which might be entertaining and all, but which doesn't serve the film especially well. For all its insanity, this is a relatively serious movie, but Cage's performance is so manic, that it affects everything around it. For example, after the aforementioned meltdown ("Don't you know how expensive those alpacas were"), which just about fits with what we know of the character, as Nathan is walking away from Benny and Lavinia, he stops, turns, pauses, shouts "ALPACAS", pauses again, and then walks away. This got a huge laugh at the screening I attended, and it was undoubtedly funny. But does self-reflexive humour by the leading man help tell the story or even create the right tone? No, not in the slightest. In essence, this scene marks the point where the character ceases to be Nathan Gardner and becomes a version of Nicolas Cage.
The other characters all have a kind of internal logic to their crumbling sanity; the meteorite affects each of them differently, with their minds disintegrating in different, but consistent ways. With Nathan, however, Stanley seems unwilling, or unable, to establish the parameters by which his mind is breaking down, seemingly going for laughs rather than something more cogent.
This issue notwithstanding, I enjoyed Colour Out of Space a great deal. Stanley's return to the director's chair is to be admired for its restraint and how faithful it remains to the very tricky Lovecraftian original. The body-horror in the film's last act will appeal to fans of the grotesque, whilst others will take great pleasure from Cage's insanity, as narratively unjustified as it is. The film is ridiculous on many levels, but it's extremely well realised and well-made, and is to be applauded for not trying to attach an explicit meaning to a story that avoids any kind of thematic specificity." - Bertaut
7,5/10