Films based on HP Lovecraft

[no mulier]

Been bitten by the Lovecraft bug. Written up a long wishlist from the arkham bazaar. (Can you believe they have CDs, too?)

Having only seen In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter) and Dunwich Horror (Daniel Haller), I'd be very interested to hear what other films based on HP Lovecraft you've seen, how faithful they are to the source material, and what you think of the film.

[The STE]

I heard Die Monster Die is based on The Colour Out of Space, but I haven't seen it so I can't say for sure on any of it.

[alkytrio666]

Dagon (2001)!
I thought it was pretty damned good- and Return loves it.
It really expands upon the already quite good tale by Mr. Lovecraft...my only problem with it was that it lost some of its mysterium. Not much, though.
Very creepy, very weird.

[missmacabre]

I agree completely with Alky there. Dagon was a great movie.

[Vodstok]

Ugh... I dont.. I thought Dagon was wretched... It is a bastardised rewrite of Shadow over Innsmouth (not dagon, it is nothing like dagon....)


Stuart Gordon has a lot of moxie, but i think his movies do more to hurt rather than help future lovecraft projects.

[novakru]

http://www.hplovecraft.com/popcult/moviestv/based.asp

[Elvis_Christ]

Can't go wrong with Re-Animator or From Beyond. I enjoyed the Masters of Horror episode Dreams in the Witch-House aswell.

[jenna26]

Dagon (2001)!
I thought it was pretty damned good- and Return loves it.
It really expands upon the already quite good tale by Mr. Lovecraft...my only problem with it was that it lost some of its mysterium. Not much, though.
Very creepy, very weird.

I really enjoyed Dagon, though it is not even close to being as creepy as the story Shadow over Innsmouth. But I think it is a fun movie and definitely worth the watch.
And Re-Animator is a must, really.

Just whatever you do, avoid, avoid, AVOID Beyond the Wall of Sleep unless you just can't help yourself...:p

[Kemal]

There is actually a Call of Cthulhu movie out there, it's not well-known.

[_____V_____]

There is actually a Call of Cthulhu movie out there, it's not well-known.

Made a couple years back and shot in black and white...with the feel of a 1920s movie. It is brilliantly shot and directed, with a lot of old-school techniques driving it instead of any modern cgi. Lovecraft would actually be proud of the way this one panned out to be.

And it looks great on DVD.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EyIRBANAL._SS500_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Call-Cthulhu-Celebrated-Story-Lovecraft/dp/B000BQTC98/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9378937-9370038?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1187059804&sr=8-1

[Demonique]

The Resurrected (1992). Has Chris Sarandon in it. It is based on Charles Dexter Ward. They updated the story a bit but for the most part it stays faithful to the original in plot and tone. The Resurrected is my favourite Lovecraft movie, I loved the effects as well. I only have it on VHS:mad: , I need to get it on DVD.

[The_Return]

Most of my usual recommendations have been mentioned (Dagon!), but I just want to chime in about STE's post.

I'm in the opposite boat: I've never read The Colour Out of Space, but I've seen the movie, Die Monster Die. I cant say if it has anything to do with the original story, but I'll be damned if it isnt one of the most fun movies I've seen in ages. HIGHLY recommend checking it out, especially if you liked Dunwich Horror.

Oh and for the record: I was really disappointed with that Call of Cthulhu movie. The concept is really cool and some of the stuff near the end is spot-on (R'leh was great), but overall it's even more tedious than the original story. I didn't dislike it per se, but even at a scant 47 minutes, it failed to hold my attention.

[Despare]

As everybody has already mentioned, Re-Animator is GREAT but be warned that it doesn't follow the source material as closely as a lot of other stories. I for one kind of liked the Masters of Horror offering from Stuart Gordon (I love Gordon's stuff) Dreams in the Witch-House and thought it stood well alongside the story. Don't forget to check out the upcoming From Beyond stop motion movie, it looks VERY good and there's a trailer here...

http://www.frombeyondmoviepage.blogspot.com/

[Bub the Zombie]

The Unnamable and Lurking Fear are some which are so bad theyre good to watch.

[zwoti]

the shuttered room was ok


and look here
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325913/








:cool:

[no mulier]

Everyone, thanks for the replies.

I think Dunwich Horror is a good film overall. Dean Stockwell was especially brilliant. Another underrated actor. His performance of the rituals was intense and powerful, very realistic. Scenes with Sandra Dee were especially sensual and charming, often edged with helpless humor.

Die Monster Die (1965 Daniel Haller)
Boris Karloff is always a pleasure to watch, whatever role he plays. If Dunwich Horror is any indication, I'm looking forward to this as well.

Re-Animator (1985 Stuart Gordon)
Saw this as a child of 7 or 8 years old. My parents never did mind their kids watching the likes of this, Gates of Hell, etc. The funny thing is that I don't remember ever being afraid or disgusted. But it's probably no surprise; kids are more resilient than grown ups give them credit for. This was very loosely based on the source material, but isn't most of Stuart's Lovecraft films?

From Beyond (1986 Stuart Gordon)
I was pretty much in tears, laughing my way through this one. Sure would watch it again. I don't remember ever reading about women in Lovecraft's stories. Nor love nor BDSM. What's the difference?

Dagon (2001 Stuart Gordon)
Having only seen the bloody promo pictures on the DVD cover of this one, it's pretty much another Stuart Gordon Lovecraft "adaptation," but still worth a look anyway.

I think Vodstok has a point. Gordon's films on Lovecraft stories have never taken the source material seriously. He's merely taken the simplest form of its idea and run with it. On a sidenote, I think his best EVER work was his season 2 episode in Masters of Horror: the Black Cat. Though it might have effectively been to the credit of Jeffrey Combs. Yet another underrated actor. But it's comforting to find him staying on the B-side of the film industry.

MoH S1: Dreams in the Witch House (2006 Stuart Gordon)
There were some truly chilling scenes. Reminds me very vividly of a rat coming out of a woman's mouth in some forgotten cheap flick. Free association is a darned thing.

Thanks for the link novakru. I actually know this site but haven't explored its pages, other than the stories online. Now that my husband and I started buying the Arkham editions, it's the next page on my target list. In case you haven't been there, http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/dcommunications/films/thefilms02.htm is another site listing Lovecraft films.

Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2006 Barrett J. Leigh & Thom Maurer)
I just can't help myself, jenna26! It's often part of a film's allure when you read the reasons why most people trash a film in the forums: not for mainstream. Say no more.

Call of Cthulhu (2005 Andrew Leman)
This sounds really promising not just because of its style, but because it's been made (I read) by people who are passionate about Lovecraft and understand the spirit in his works. This is the next film on my list.

What did you find tedious about the story, The_Return?

the Resurrected (1992 Dan O'Bannon)
Chris Sarandon? I don't follow, Demonique. His funny Return of the Living Dead was the one film of his that I'd watch. Didn't get a good impression of him from the Alien extras, but I may have to bump the number of films up to two. Haunted Palace was an interesting loose adaptation of Charles Dexter Ward.

From Beyond (2006 Michael Granberry)
I like stop-motion animation films, but have a very short list: Alice, Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas. If anybody knows any similar theme animations I'd like to know about those, too.

the Unnamable (1988 Jean-Paul Ouellette)
the Unnamable Returns (1993 Jean-Paul Ouellette)
Lurking Fear (1994 C. Courtney Joyner)

The poster looks bad already. The demon looks like he belongs exclusively to the Buffy series. Uhm, I'll pass on these!

the Shuttered Room (1967 David Greene)
Why does this plot remind me of Unnamable?

Nyarlathotep (2001 Christian Matzke)
Have yet no idea of the story, but from the reviews read so far, it's very promising.

Wonderful to have things to look forward to!

Additional question...
Do you prefer to have read the story before seeing the film? Or the other way round?

I prefer the former. It seems I have yet a very long list of Lovecraft stories to read, when the leaves start to fall and the fireplace begins to warm up.

Tea?

[no mulier]

Watched Beyond the Wall of Sleep last night. Didn't finish it. It's doubtful there was anything to miss out on at the end. It was utter rubbish!

To say that people won't like this film because it's arthouse? A mere excuse. By taking only the basic premise in Lovecraft's story, they totally missed his point.

Okay, I was warned. :rolleyes:

Up next is Call of Cthulhu which promises to be a vast improvement. Would have watched it after the Wall of Sleep, but after a time lying under the sky watching for shooting stars in the smoke of tea leaves and then reading the Temple in bed, just got too tired.

More films based on Lovecraft...

I hear Guillermo del Toro's been trying to get a personal project At the Mountains of Madness green-lighted for production. If this actually gets made, this is gonna be the first ever big budget Lovecraft film ever made. (Or so I think.) Though having only seen his Mimic and not being all that impressed by it, I did try to get an idea of his sensibility. He seems to be a real Lovecraft fan. This should be very promising, indeed.

Has anyone seen any of Lurker Films' H.P. Lovecraft Collections?
Volume 1 - Cool Air
Volume 2 - Rough Magik
Volume 3 - Out of Mind
Volume 4 - Pickman's Model

Still waiting for the first volume in the mail.

[Doc Faustus]

I read about those. They sound cool.

[Vodstok]

I hear Guillermo del Toro's been trying to get a personal project At the Mountains of Madness green-lighted for production. If this actually gets made, this is gonna be the first ever big budget Lovecraft film ever made. (Or so I think.) Though having only seen his Mimic and not being all that impressed by it, I did try to get an idea of his sensibility. He seems to be a real Lovecraft fan. This should be very promising, indeed.


Dont judge him on mimic, it is a poor representationof his skills.

I have seen his movie sin this order:

Mimic
Blade 2
HellBoy
The Devil's Backbone
Pan's Labyrinth


He gets consistently better with each movie, and starting with Hellboy they are pure gold in my book. If he makes a Lovecraft movie, it will be made with love, passion, and true talent.

[Elvis_Christ]

I prefer seeing the film before reading the book.... I'm usually disappointed otherwise.

[jenna26]

Watched Beyond the Wall of Sleep last night. Didn't finish it. It's doubtful there was anything to miss out on at the end. It was utter rubbish!

To say that people won't like this film because it's arthouse? A mere excuse. By taking only the basic premise in Lovecraft's story, they totally missed his point.

Okay, I was warned. :rolleyes:




I tried to tell you, I swear, everyone would be so much better off if they would listen to me.......:p Its awful. And believe me, it didn't get better. A complete mess.

I typically read the book or story first. That disappointment can be there, for sure, but I think I am usually pretty good about separating the two. Movies are a lot different from books, and they have to take a different approach for them to work. And I don't mind a whole lot if a filmmaker makes the story his own. I would rather judge the movie on its merits as a film, rather than as an adaptation of a story I love. Of course, I have exceptions to this.....Stephen King's The Shining for instance, a fine movie, but I have my problems with the direction Kubrick took.
I'm actually fairly new to Lovecraft though, so I have seen several movie adaptions of, or movies loosely based upon stories I haven't gotten to yet.

[Zero]

wasn't pee wee's big adventure based on lovecraft?

[no mulier]

Dont judge him on mimic, it is a poor representationof his skills. I have seen his movie sin this order:
Mimic
Blade 2
HellBoy
The Devil's Backbone
Pan's Labyrinth


Thanks, Vodstok. I'll pass on Blade and Hellboy (for some reason I dislike the idea behind them), but will be sure to watch the last two.

---

I prefer seeing the film before reading the book.... I'm usually disappointed otherwise.

I typically read the book or story first. That disappointment can be there, for sure, but I think I am usually pretty good about separating the two...I don't mind a whole lot if a filmmaker makes the story his own. I would rather judge the movie on its merits as a film, rather than as an adaptation of a story I love.

You both have a good point. Knowing that a film came to be, ideally because of a book or story, I'd naturally be inclined to read what it's about before seeing the film. It creates a context for it. And while chances are high that one gets disappointed with the adaptation, there is always the rare surprise of finding that eventhough it may not be wholly faithful to the material, it has a unique quality from its maker's vision, expression or interpretation that does justice to the book or story. In my opinion, Dunwich Horror, In the Mouth of Madness and Stuart Gordon's the Black Cat are such examples. On the flipside, I've never seen a film that compelled me to read the book or story.

I'm fairly new to Lovecraft, too, jenna26 and so few adaptation films seen! :)

---

wasn't pee wee's big adventure based on lovecraft?

Ehrm. There doesn't seem to be anything even remotely Lovecraftian about this tale.

[neverending]

You mean you never saw the copy of the Necronomicon in Pee Wee's library?

[Kemal]

Holy shit.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6714/resizeofpeeweeoa0.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6834/hplportraitru2.jpg

[neverending]

You see what we're saying?

[no mulier]

You mean you never saw the copy of the Necronomicon in Pee Wee's library?

It could have been placed there by an enemy. :rolleyes:

---

Holy shit.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6714/resizeofpeeweeoa0.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6834/hplportraitru2.jpg

Now now, let's not be vulgar. :cool:

[no mulier]

Made a couple years back and shot in black and white...with the feel of a 1920s movie. It is brilliantly shot and directed, with a lot of old-school techniques driving it instead of any modern cgi. Lovecraft would actually be proud of the way this one panned out to be.



Oh and for the record: I was really disappointed with that Call of Cthulhu movie. The concept is really cool and some of the stuff near the end is spot-on (R'leh was great), but overall it's even more tedious than the original story. I didn't dislike it per se, but even at a scant 47 minutes, it failed to hold my attention.

Finally saw Call of Cthulhu yesterday.

Having seen so few silent films, it took me a moment to get used to the obvious lack of audible dialogue. That aside, the film is just lovely. A labour of love, and you can see and feel the great care with which they made this adaptation from the set pieces and props, lighting, makeup and costumes down to its actors. While in the beginning, it did seem tedious to me (most likely due to my initial awkwardness with the film's style), the pace picked up steadily until its exciting climax.

Here here, _____V_____: Lovecraft would be pleased.

Side note. This film being something of a direct visualization of the story, I couldn't help feeling that it was superfluous at first, since we all do that in our heads. After seeing the film, it's actually interesting to see how similar and different someone else's visualization is.

Up next... Lovecraft DVD Collection - Volume 1: Cool Air

[no mulier]

H.P. Lovecraft Collection Volume 1: Cool Air

I've always had a thing for black and white films. The way the absence of colour temporarily dislodges one's routine way of watching films and makes one focus on the sound, motion and characters throughout the story. The soundtrack and effects blended very nicely to the scenes. Only at the beginning of the film was I distracted by some uneven cutting, which smoothed out as the story progressed. Randolph Carter wasn't quite the personality I expected. Dr. Muñoz was the light at the end of this film's tunnel. The actor is sensitive and open, with the sensibilities that Lovecraft would've appreciated. All this comes out in his character which was absolutely brilliant. On the down-side, the human tragedy demonstrated with the romance angle being the only passion (and subsequently the human tragedy) in Dr. Muñoz's life, to me was simply anti-Lovecraft. All that aside, this was an enjoyable adaptation.

Short Films Included:

Nyarlathotep - effectively surreal and apocalyptic, better than average adaptation, the first "Lovecraft" main character I've seen.

Imperfect Solution - at first I could not help feeling annoyed at this one. Kept comparing this Herbert West to Jeffrey Combs' and just found this one to be absolutely absurd. Somebody hit me. If it was truly intended this way, bravo. As later pointed out to me by a benevolent soul, this adaptation was faithful to the material and perfectly duplicated the spirit in which the story was written. Another lesson to learn.

the Hound - some chilling moments, the erratic narration is quite effective. Decent special effects, very imaginative lighting and cinematography. A faithful adaptation with big heart.

the Hapless Antiquarian - a filler in jest. I don't get why this is here at all.

[bloodrayne]

Stuart Gordon has a lot of moxie, but i think his movies do more to hurt rather than help future lovecraft projects.Haha...How is it that you and I are almost always at opposite ends about movies?

It's true that Stuart Gordon takes quite a bit of liberty with Lovecraft's stuff...But, I absolutely LOVE what he does, and the addition of Jeffrey Combs makes it even better...Stuart Gordon has never let me down...It took me forever to find From Beyond to purchase, but I was so happy when I finally got it...I have all of the others, as well, and they are some of my favorites in this vast collection

In The Mouth Of Madness is awesome, too...Kudos to Carpenter on that one

I recommend ALL of the Lovecraft projects that Stuart Gordon has undertaken...As well as everything else that Stuart Gordon has done (Yes, even Dolls ;))

[Doc Faustus]

The Wicker Man is pretty Lovecraftian, too. Just without the monsters.

[Vodstok]

Haha...How is it that you and I are almost always at opposite ends about movies?

It's true that Stuart Gordon takes quite a bit of liberty with Lovecraft's stuff...But, I absolutely LOVE what he does, and the addition of Jeffrey Combs makes it even better...Stuart Gordon has never let me down...It took me forever to find From Beyond to purchase, but I was so happy when I finally got it...I have all of the others, as well, and they are some of my favorites in this vast collection

In The Mouth Of Madness is awesome, too...Kudos to Carpenter on that one

I recommend ALL of the Lovecraft projects that Stuart Gordon has undertaken...As well as everything else that Stuart Gordon has done (Yes, even Dolls ;))

You are an evil, evil woman. Take that how you want too :) (I assume you are flattered)



Go watch some Spawn :p

[bloodrayne]

Go watch some Spawn :p:D...I love you, Vod....And ya know, it might actually be just about time to watch Spawn again

[no mulier]

Dont judge him on mimic, it is a poor representation of his skills.

That's a relief. Just saw Mimic and didn't find anything extraordinary about it, besides the two kids getting killed.

I'm looking forward to Pan's Labyrinth.

[missmacabre]

That's a relief. Just saw Mimic and didn't find anything extraordinary about it, besides the two kids getting killed.

I'm looking forward to Pan's Labyrinth.

Pan's Labyrinth is sooo good.

On the note of Lovecraft though, I watched Dreams in Witch House last night. It was alright, nothing special but I wasn't expecting much.

[Ferox13]

Lovecraft is a difficult author to translate to celluloid - when he describes his great ones/outer gods etc as undescribable and then showing them kinda defeats the purpose but from the amount of pretty poor adaptations my faves are:

With out doubt the best is The Call of Cthulhu (the recent Silent film) is by far the best adaptation of his work ever. Very close to the story in both plot and mood. An amazing piece of work..The HPLS have made some other good filsm too, there's a good From Beyond but unfortunally most of them despite being true to spirit fial in the budget department.

Stuart Gordon's Dargon is a pretty decent adaptation of The Shadow over Innsmouth (despite the title) - pity Combs wasn't in the lead though. Gordon also did a decent job of Dreams in the Witch-House in the 1st series of Masters of Horror. The Crimson Cult was another poor though all star cast version of Witch House too..

As much as i love Re-Animator i bet it would have Lovecraft spinning in his grave - there were woman and Boobs in it ofr godsake...

Despite everything I kinda like the 70's version of THE DUNWICH HORROR with Dean Stockwell...The more recent one with him was a chaotic mess...

The Haunted Palace is another fave of mine starring the always fantastic Vincient Price - it's a version of The case of Charles Dexter Ward with a title change so it would fit in with the rest of the other AIP Poe films. The Resurrected is another (closer) version of the same story..

[p1zl3]

I happen to love H.P. Lovecraft's works (I've read everything) and I doubt anything will ever match the brilliance of his stories, but I thought Dagon, The Resurrected, Re-Animator were very enjoyable fims...

I however was completely bummed by the silent-film adaption of Call of Cthulhu. It was boring and ugly...

I'm sure there's more Lovecractian films floating around... I'll dig up some more titles.

Here's a good link:
http://supernatural-films.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_movies_and_hp_lovecraft

[The_Return]

Die, Monster, Die! is a favourite of mine...super loose adaption of Colour Out of Space. Not very faithful to ol' HPL but still a damn cool 60's horror flick.

Love Dagon too. Shame about the deceptive title, but it does manage to stay surprisingly close to Shadow Over Innsmouth. Still, I'd love to see someone take on the actual Dagon short story - really think someone like David Lynch could do some great stuff with it.

I'm gonna agree with Piz on Call of Cthulhu though...even though it was pretty faithful, that doesn't make it well done.

Guillermo Del Toro has been trying to adapt At the Mountains of Madness for ages now, but it keeps getting pushed back. Hope he gets around to it, because he's the absolute ideal choice for Lovecraft. Can't wait to see what he does with it.

[neverending]

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30914

[Elvis_Christ]

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30914

Yeh but its fun to talk about things from scratch.

...not to mention everytime I dig up an old thread everyone has a spazz out :p

[Ferox13]

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30914

Coool stuff...can some one join em...

I'm shocked at the dislike for CAll of Cthuhlu - i loved it - Ryleh looked great and i loved the Cultists too...

Anyone see CTHULHU (actually based on Shawdow over Innsmouth) - its highpoint is Tori Spelling raping a gay fella. I expected it to be complete drek but it was ok...

[_____V_____]

With out doubt the best is The Call of Cthulhu (the recent Silent film) is by far the best adaptation of his work ever. Very close to the story in both plot and mood. An amazing piece of work..The HPLS have made some other good filsm too, there's a good From Beyond but unfortunally most of them despite being true to spirit fial in the budget department.

Cool. My favorite Lovecraft adaptation..

Apart from all the other ones which have been discussed (a lot), I have a lot of fondness for this one...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107664/

One of my guilty pleasures. Not exactly a Lovecraftian adaptation, but its close enough..

Some die-hard fans of Lovecraft bash this movie to no end. I like it quite a bit. Pretty sure opinions are divided for it.

[Ferox13]

Necronomicon is kinda silly but I do admit to enjoying it too...

Here's a list (from another board) that I made:

The Call of Cthulhu (the recent Silent filmby the HPLS) is by far the best adaptation of his work ever. Very close to the story in both plot and mood. An amazing piece of work..Also there is all the short films the HPLS made - there is a great From Beyond and a decent (modern era) Strange Aeons: The Thing on the Doorstep but most of them suffer from a complete lack of budget..

I already mentioned the amazing Haunted Palace , The Resurrected is another excellent and more faithfull adaptation of the Charles Dexter ward.

Though Re-Animator and (too a much lesser degree) From Beyond are enjoyavle and fun movies they would have Lovecraft spinning in his grave...Nudity and girls for gods sake..LOL

The forementioned Beyond the Wall of Sleep was to see the great William Sanderson once again but that was about it..

Stuart Gordon's Dargon is a pretty decent adaptation of The Shadow over Innsmouth (despite the title) - Its weird how the lead looks like COmbs. Gordon version of Dreams in the Witch-House in the 1st series of Masters of Horror is excellent but the creature Brown Jenkin doesn't really translate well from paper to video. . The Crimson Cult was another poor but enjoyable all star cast version of Witch House too..CTHULHU (the 2007 film): IS another version of SHADOW OVER....its not as bad as i expected and the atmosphere is pretty good.

I enjoyed the DUNWICH HORROR - it did capture a little of the original story but not having Wilbur Whatley as the offspring of the Goat of 1000 young was dissapointing..Another version was made in 2009 which weirdly enough also stars Dean Stockwell.Its a complete mess but slightly closed to the story than the other 70's version..Jeffrey Combs plays Wilbur.

The Curse and Die Monster Die are both versions of The Color out of space and both are pretty lame despite the latter having the great boris Karloff in it.

Dark Heritage, The Lurking Fear and Hemoglobin are also sorta adaptions of Lovecraft's LURKING FEAR. The last film mentioned (with Rutger Hauer) is prolly the closet in my opinion despite never seeing a reference to it as such.

The Night gallery series has done a few good adaptations - Pickman's Model, Professor Peabody's Last Lecture and Cool air. There is another feature length version of Cool Air called 'Chill' though I've not seen it.

The Shuttered Room has mention of the Whatleys/Dunwich as well as been titled to the Lovecraft collaborator August Derleth.

Lemora, A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural, though not an adaptation has a lot of Lovecraft aspects including the Busride scene straight out of Innsmouth..Good film too..


Alot of other films have Lovecrafts influence:

Castle Freak - Similaritys to the Outsider

Necronomicon - Has Lovecraft as a character in it and The Evil Dead also has the Necronomicon as the cause of all the problems..

Cast a Deadly Spell - Also has Lovecraft as a character but this time he's a hardboiled detective in a fantasy world. It was folled with a sequal, Witch Hunt.

The Maze is another influenced with a man trying hide his family secret of tainted genes..

In the Mouth of Madness always seems to come up too..

Island of Fishmen - Vague Shadow influence.

Collect Call of Cthuhu - Excellent Real Ghost busters episode

The Unnamable is full of Lovecraft name dropping - Randolph Carter/Miskatonic University etc etc...and is crap..As was the sequal.

Sorry if i repeated my self a little.

[The_Return]

No love for Die Monster Die? Love that one myself, just a really fun flick.

[Elvis_Christ]

I enjoyed Necronomicon. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read fuck all of this guy.

[Ferox13]

No love for Die Monster Die? Love that one myself, just a really fun flick.

Karloff was good in it but over all it was a dissapointing film - I feel a bit the same about Curse of the Crimson Altar (though I like it more as a film).

[p1zl3]

Anyone see CTHULHU (actually based on Shawdow over Innsmouth) - its highpoint is Tori Spelling raping a gay fella. I expected it to be complete drek but it was ok...

I did... and I choose not to recognize it as a legitimate film. It failed in every aspect imaginable; shitty lead character, poor setting, terrible special effects, awful acting... etc etc etc! H.P. is rolling over in his grave about that one...
http://blog.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_tvfilm/2008/09/large_ae.cthulhu1.jpg
But there was enough gay love to satisfy any flag-waving parade goer...

[p1zl3]

http://img38.imagefra.me/img/img38/1/11/19/p1zl3/f_gi5dgy6b56m_53ad274.jpg



...and that pretty much sums up the whole film.


(saved you $4 and a trip to the video store)

[Ferox13]

I thought it better than the recent Dunwich Horror and Beyond the Wall of sleep.

oh and my Cthulhu picL

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/ferox-13/fishfuckers.jpg

[Posher778]

I did... and I choose not to recognize it as a legitimate film. It failed in every aspect imaginable; shitty lead character, poor setting, terrible special effects, awful acting... etc etc etc! H.P. is rolling over in his grave about that one...
http://blog.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_tvfilm/2008/09/large_ae.cthulhu1.jpg
But there was enough gay love to satisfy any flag-waving parade goer...

Wrong.



It sucked.

[Ferox13]

Wrong.



It sucked.

LOL@posher.

[p1zl3]

LOL@posher.

LoL@Ferox for LoL'ing@posher...

[roshiq]

haven't seen much of films based on Lovecraft stories. Only Re-Animator, In the mouth of madness, Dagon, the recent gay-Cthulhu and that MOH episode.

Here's a youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/Lovecraftsuniverse) of some Lovecraft films but I don't get the idea why it added John Carpenter's The Thing & The Fog??!!?!

[Ferox13]

Here's a youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/Lovecraftsuniverse) of some Lovecraft films but I don't get the idea why it added John Carpenter's The Thing & The Fog??!!?!

Well - I think most ppl mention The Thing as the both feature Scientists in the Antarctics facing an 'Alien' terror. The shoggoths in ATMOM are to some degree shapeshifters but not really in the same way as The Thing.

The Fog is only mentioned because of some Lovcraft name dropping like Arkham Reef etc...There loads of films that do this that I wouldn't consider Lovecraft inspired like the Evil Dead with the Necronomican and The Beyond with the Book of Ebon (though the atmosphere is a little Lovecraftian) - also isn't City of the Living Dead Set in Arkham?

[Ferox13]

http://www.joblo.com/images_arrownews/cfd43.jpg

Interesting dreamlike, hallucination filled version of the HP Love Craft story "The Colour Out of Space" ...

Set during wartime Italy, Lucia and her Husband (along with her sister, Alice) live a rural farm. Their well water gets infected by the 'Colour' (an alien and/or spiritual force) - the apparrent good effects on the farm are soon replaced by madness and demonic possession...Unlike the original story the force here has some Satanic/Evil agenda rather than just a presence from the cosmos..

Lovecraft stories by their very nature are hard to adapt to film because as soon as that unspeakable indescribable monster is show in all its glory it loses alot of its impact..So compared to most this is a decent adaption and overall an atmospheric and enjoyable film...Acting from the 3 main characters isn't bad but fair city drop out Gerry Shanahan is just dire as the irish accented Italian Neighbour.....

[novakru]

queued on Netflix
thx for the review

[Ferox13]

Getting a buzz outta this at the moment...I'm re-reading the stories and then listen to the appropiate podcast:

H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast (http://www.hppodcraft.com/)

[Elvis_Christ]

Is there any decent audio books of Lovecraft stuff? Been enjoying listening to books/poetry on my mp3 player before I go to sleep. Will have to hunt some out.

[Ferox13]

Is there any decent audio books of Lovecraft stuff? Been enjoying listening to books/poetry on my mp3 player before I go to sleep. Will have to hunt some out.

Yeah theres loads of both Audio Books and Dramatizations (and I do listen to them going to sleep too - it does make for weird dreamscapes too as the stories often get incorporated)...

http://www.zombieastronaut.net/MP3s/R/RoddyMcDowallReadsTheStoriesOfHPLovecraft/roddy-mcdowall-reads-hpl-front-cover-sm.jpg

Heres The Shadow Over Innsmouth (http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=1588)(by Atlanta Radio Theater Company) - its a great Dramatization of one of my fave stories...

The Shadow Out Of Time (http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=1885) (again a Dramatization of Lovecrafts probably most accomplished story/nova)

The Colour Out of Space (http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=1180) - not heard this one...

[Ferox13]

XHpuAAnHdEc

[Ferox13]

WOW - just found this:

7jQtkGJMtH0

Interesting his opinions on films...

Boy - I loved to see his reaction to Re-Animator..

[neverending]

I'm not sure that's real. I've read a LOT of material on Lovecraft, including two full length biographies, and I've never heard of any film being made of Lovecraft.

Checked around a bit- it's definitely a fake.

[Ferox13]

I'm not sure that's real. I've read a LOT of material on Lovecraft, including two full length biographies, and I've never heard of any film being made of Lovecraft.

Checked around a bit- it's definitely a fake.

Damn - 'Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again' ..

I did take that as real...

Which bio would you recommend? I've read most of his stories but read little about his person life..

[neverending]

The first published bio of Lovecraft was by L. Sprague de Camp, and reinforces his image of a strange and lonely oddball out of touch with the world and people around him.

A second biography, which is quite lengthy, and I can't remember the author of, gave a far different picture- an oddball, certainly, but a somewhat well adjusted one who had many friends, and was reasonably well socialized.

There was also a small volume that I checked out from the rare books room of the Eugene, Oregon Public Library, which was comprised of the correspondence Lovecraft carried on with one young fan over the course of many years. I wish I could remember the name of the young author, because it gave a really intimate, uniquely personal view of Lovecraft. The end of the book is very touching and sad, as it details the correspondence between the fellow and Lovecraft's aunt, once Lovecraft had become ill. The letters exchanged after Lovecraft died are so full of sorrow and loss- both on his aunt's side and from the young man's side. A real testament to what he meant to the people he knew during his lifetime.

[Ferox13]

Cool thanks for the info..



There was also a small volume that I checked out from the rare books room of the Eugene, Oregon Public Library,

Damn I thought this story would end with you summoning some nameless horror :-)

[Ferox13]

Any one seen/heard of a film called Pulse Pounders (1988) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293905/) with Jeffrey Combs.

Its an antology film and one segment is meant to be based on The Evil Clergyman...Its said to be shelved in WIkipedia..

[Elvis_Christ]

Heard of it but yeh I it hasn't seen the light of day as far as I know.

[Ferox13]

I just finished a Dreamweaver course - I've not much web design experience and what I have done I did with tables etc.

I was going to do a site for practice/portfolio so i think I'm going to do it on Lovecraft adaptations for film and TV...Started my research yesterday. Theres a fair few films/shorts I need to track down..

I might even start my 20,000 word desertation on The Real Ghostbusters Lovecraftian episode The Collect Call of Cathulhu...

e24tkBx4mNQ

Then again I might go for option 2 and drink beer/talk about it and do nothing :-)

[Ferox13]

Doing some more research for the site and I can across Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. A new series made last year. The animation is great and is funny as hell without being to disrespectful to the original show.

The episode I checked was The Shrieking Madness - about at author called HP Hatecraft that rights about unspeakable horror and one of his creations Char Gar Gothakon (a dead ringer for Cthulhu himself)...Harlan Ellison also makes an appearance.

This show unlike previous reincarnations of the Scooby Doo seems to have an ungoing storylike from episode to episode..

One of Hatecraft's Unspeakable Tomes:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/ferox-13/Arkham%20Drive-in%20Stuff/Scooby-Doo-Tome.jpg

The Author Himself:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/ferox-13/Arkham%20Drive-in%20Stuff/Scooby-Doo-Hatecraft.jpg

Arrgggghhhh MY SANITY!!!:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/ferox-13/Arkham%20Drive-in%20Stuff/Scooby-Doo-ChargarGothakon.jpg

[Ferox13]

Cthulhu (2000)

Mega-low budget Ozzie version of The Thing on the Doorstep. Despite poor production values, dark and grainy cinematography and subpar acting, I still kinda liked it. Nice how they throw in the plot to The Dunwich Horror half way through.

[Fearonsarms]

To whoever asked-City Of The Living Dead was about Dunwich.There's no mention of Arkham in the film.

I loved In The Mouth Of Madness, The Call Of Cthulhu, Cool Air, Dagon, gay Cthulhu, From Beyond and Castle Freak.
I didn't think much of the recent Dunwich Horror or The Lurking Fear or The Haunted Palace. But the film to truly avoid is "The Last Lovecraft:Relic From Cthulhu" absolutely diabolically awful. avoid avoid avoid

[Ferox13]

I actually kinda enjoyed The Last Lovecraft - I didn't have much expectations and it exceeded those. They could have improved the shitty Star Spawn outfit though..

Still working up the courage to watch In Search of Lovecraft...

[Ferox13]

From Beyond (1999)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/ferox-13/Arkham%20Drive-in%20Stuff/FromBeyond3.png

This is definitely one of the better low budget 'Fan' made films that are available through from Lurker Films (this on Volume 2) and follows the story to a tee. The acting isn't bad and though the effects are limited they work very well in this context. Its shot in black and white while the creatures and machine effects are done in colour. As good as shoestring budget Lovecraft can get.

The director, Bob Fugger, played bass for excellent Canadian Lovecraftian inspired rock band, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Jordan Pratt who plays who plays the Narrator is the bands drummer.

*A sticker for Miskatonic University can be seen on the window of the car at the start.

*The narration and dialogue is straight out of the original story.

*Fugger also shot a version of 'The Terrible Old Man'.

[Fearonsarms]

In Search Of Lovecraft? Dare I ask?

I'm also on the lookout for last year's Pickman's Muse which is another low budget film but is supposed to be pretty decent.

[Ferox13]

In Search Of Lovecraft? Dare I ask?

I'm also on the lookout for last year's Pickman's Muse which is another low budget film but is supposed to be pretty decent.

I have In Search Of Lovecraft but I'm a bit scared to watch it. I'll wait til I have a few beers or a mate over looks bad..

Pickman's Muse looks a bit more interesting. A kinda art version of Haunter in the Dark. I'm meant to be getting a promo copy so hopfully that comes thru.

[Fearonsarms]

Let us know by the way have you heard of chilean Gothic or is that the same film as Pickman's Model?

[Ferox13]

Let us know by the way have you heard of chilean Gothic or is that the same film as Pickman's Model?

Yeah - Its another version of Pickmans Model (one of at least 4 that I know)

I'm going to make a list of Lovecraft related films I hope to cover on my website..

Heres my (so far) definitive LIST (http://horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57313&page=2) of films/shorts/animation/Tv SHows that were influenced by Hp Lovecraft.

[Fearonsarms]

Thanks I didnt realise you had done that list when I made those posts great job compliling it :)

[blood and guts]

Stuart Gordon currently writes a blog for the Full Moon website (dealing with his films, celebs he's dealt with, etc.). Here's the link:

http://fullmoonhorror.com/lab_report/

[Robert W]

The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, the people who brought you the silent version of Call of Cthulhu, has just finished their first "talkie", The Whisperer in Darkness. The trailer for which can be seen here,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_ee9K9hXtw

It also highly recommend Out of Mind from Vol. 3 of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Collection. Christopher Heyerdahl does an amazing job of playing HPL. See for yourselves,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2xpFj1CH3k

And while not outright adaptions, Lucio Fulci made some very Lovecraftian films, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, and House By The Cemetery.

Bava also "adapted" the Case of Charles Dexter Ward both in Black Sunday and Baron Blood.

Interestingly, Bava was all set to direct an adaption of the Dunwich Horror, which was going to star Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee. Unfortunately, Bava chose to drop the project after it became apparent that the budget just wasn't there. The project limped off to England to become Curse of the Crimson Altar.

The fourth Blind Dead film, Night of the Seagulls, was based on the Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Also, there's the very Lovecraftian Quartermass and the Pit, probably the best de facto HPL flick made yet.

[Ferox13]

Bava also "adapted" the Case of Charles Dexter Ward both in Black Sunday and Baron Blood.

Interestingly, Bava was all set to direct an adaption of the Dunwich Horror, which was going to star Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee. Unfortunately, Bava chose to drop the project after it became apparent that the budget just wasn't there. The project limped off to England to become Curse of the Crimson Altar.



Never considered Black Sunday or Baron Blood to be adaptions of CDW but I guess there are some elements.

The Bava story is new to me thats pretty cool - would have been interesting to see what he could do with it.

Heres a new version of the SHunned House (not seen it yet):

CGhyO31D-m8

[Robert W]

Never considered Black Sunday or Baron Blood to be adaptions of CDW but I guess there are some elements.

In Black Sunday Babs essentially plays the Ward/Curwnen roles.

While not an outright adaption of CDW, Black Sunday nevertheless does "borrow" a little from CDW though. In Black Sunday you have Asa being put to death for practicing black magic. Before she's killed she curses all those responsible and vows to return again to fulfill that curse. The curse is the fulfilled by an ancestor of Asa who is also her physical double.

In the CDW, Curwen's death is caused by meddlesome townsfolk, but like Asa, he waits outside of time to be summoned back to this world through the unwitting help of a descendant.

Baron Blood utilizes the same premise, an "evil" Baron is put to death for his sadistic crimes only to be brought back to life through the aid of black magic.

Again, neither story is really an adaption, but both films do utilize the same basic story elements found in CDW.


Bava not directing an adaption of the Dunwich Horror is, for me, one of the greatest missed opportunities in the history of horror cinema. One can only imagine what Bava would have been capable of if he had a decent budget with which to work from. The cast, which would have included Karloff and Lee, would have been amazing to have seen in a Lovecrftain setting.

So far the only two full fledged adaptions of CDW have been the Haunted Palace, which I love, and The Resurrected, which the director's cut of is supposed to be much better than the film's current incarnation.

Lovecraft was fascinated with the idea of traveling back and forth through time, as anyone familiar with his work would no doubt have noticed. HPL said his favorite film was the 1933 film Berkely Square.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023794/

[Fearonsarms]

Looking forward to finally seeing The Whisperer In Darkness!-The Shunned House looks great. I would love to see a director's cut of The Resurrected if it ever becomes available.

[Robert W]

Dan O'Bannaon interview

Pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2JRNVji-8

Pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrR_9l4HUHw

In pt. 2, O'Bannaon talks about his cut of the Resurrected and how it differed substantially from the version that got released.

[Ferox13]

Lovecraft was fascinated with the idea of traveling back and forth through time, as anyone familiar with his work would no doubt have noticed. HPL said his favorite film was the 1933 film Berkely Square.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023794/

He said this was a huge influence on Shadow out of time..

Have you an links/reference to the Bava DUnwich horror plan - I'd love to read more about it.

[Robert W]

He said this was a huge influence on Shadow out of time..

Have you an links/reference to the Bava DUnwich horror plan - I'd love to read more about it.

The Bava/Dunwich Horror story came to me via Troy Howarth. I'm sure either he or Tim Lucas could give you more details.

[Ferox13]

I'll have a look about...

Which Whisper in the darkness would hit DVD soon?

Have you seen the 2007 version of it? Can't seem to track it down..

RohD4jXsQWI

[Robert W]

The version that's coming out very soon is the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's black and white version.

Here's a link to their site,
http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/whisperer-dvd.html


I have not seen the 2007 version, but here's a link to where it can be purchased,
http://www.gravehill.com/buydvd.html


There are also some very Lovecraftian flavored episodes of the original Outer Limits series as well,

It Crawled Out Of The Woodwork
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23tfAkly0LM

Tourist Attraction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy5AcjDjQyY

Production And Decay Of Strange Particles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONjPkgHLFvY

Don't Open Until Doomsday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8PEZpeMHuc

[Ferox13]

The version that's coming out very soon is the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's black and white version.



DAmn I meant to type - ' I wish Whisperer in the Darkness would come out soon'..

Stupid me..

[Robert W]

DAmn I meant to type - ' I wish Whisperer in the Darkness would come out soon'..

Stupid me..

Pre-ordered copies should, according to the HPLHS, be received before Xmas in the US.