# Lovecraft Films



## ShadyDavey (Sep 8, 2010)

The Music of Erich Zann - 17 minutes runtime, shot in 16mm in 1980 by John Strysik at Columbia College

The Colour out of Space was "adapted" (read: very loosely) as "Die Monster Die" starring Boris Karloff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die,_Monster,_Die!

And also "The Curse":

The Curse (1987)

"Lurker in the Lobby - A Guide to the Cinema of HP Lovecraft"

Lurker in the Lobby: The Guide to the Cinema of H. P. Lovecraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pretty good book - worth picking up


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## technomancer (Sep 9, 2010)

ShadyDavey said:


> /offtopic
> 
> The Colour out of Space was "adapted" (read: very loosely) as "Die Monster Die" starring Boris Karloff:
> 
> ...



I've seen this, though it was a while ago, and honestly I'd say it was more inspired by The Colour out of Space than adapted from it... saw it ages ago though, need to get a copy and watch it again.


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## ShadyDavey (Sep 10, 2010)

bostjan said:


> more info please.
> 
> I saw an animated version of Erich Zanna couple years ago. It was well animated, but just didn't translate well to video.



Well, I could reel off the contents of that book I use as my Bible but I suspect you're probably familiar with most of it 

Here's the first few entries (and remember - not only are more than a few of these "inspired by" rather than "adapted from" but the quality is best described as variable. I also won't bother mentioning the classics such as Re-animator/From Beyond/The Thing/The Evil Dead etc)
_
The Haunted Palace_

85 Minutes - Colour - American International Pictures 1963

_Dark Intruder_

59 minutes - B&W - Universal 1965

_The Shuttered Room_

82 minutes - Colour - Warner Brothers 1967
_
The Crimson Cult_

87 minutes - Colour - Tigon/AIP 1968
_
The Dunwich Horror_

90 minutes - Colour - American International Pictures 1970

_The Beyond_

87 minutes - Colour - Fulvia Films - 1981


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## technomancer (Sep 21, 2010)

I have the HP Lovecraft Historical Society Call of Cthulhu on DVD... as well as the Lurker Films stuff which have some gems in there as well. Great stuff.

Oh kick ass, the HP Lovecraft Historical Society has a film of The Whisperer in Darkness in post production


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## ShadyDavey (Sep 21, 2010)

Yes, yes they do! Trailers up on YouTube


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## technomancer (Oct 1, 2010)

Figured since we got a bunch of stuff in the Del Toro Mountains of Madness thread related to other films and since I just ordered this:







based on The Haunter of the Dark I'd start a thread on Lovecraft films 

I've also moved over some of the offtopic posts from the Del Toro thread. Feel free to discuss the Mountains of Madness adaptation here as well, just didn't want to steal somebody else's thread.

Though this post isn't the first one as I'd intended due to chronological ordering


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 2, 2010)

No worries 

I just checked out the original Dunwich Horror (1970) back to back with the 2009 TV Adaptation......dear lord, the TV version is awful and although the 1970 feature isn't the best in any sense, it's far superior even whilst neither are particularly faithful. 

Dean Stockwell is actually in both - in 1970 he plays Wilbur Whately, in 2009 he's Doctor Henry Armitage, complete with frikkin' lasers! (no sadly, I'm not joking) and Jeffrey Combs (Reanimator) puts in a turn as Wilbur in the latter.

I'm guessing you've seen these guys?

http://unfilmable.blogspot.com/

Great resource.


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## technomancer (Oct 3, 2010)

I liked the 1970 Dunwich Horror... the new one was amusing but REALLY bad. Come on, you gotta love the Pyraminx ancient Sumerian sorcery device 

I watched Pickman's Muse last night. The acting could have been better in places, and it's far from a faithful adaptation, but overall I liked it. It got the feel right. Plot-wise it was more of a blending of Pickman's Model and Haunter of the Dark (as the title would lead you to expect).


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 3, 2010)

The fikkin' lasers!! 

It was ok, I think Mr Combs was pretty much worth the price of admission


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## technomancer (Oct 3, 2010)

ShadyDavey said:


> The fikkin' lasers!!
> 
> It was ok, I think Mr Combs was pretty much worth the price of admission



 yeah true, Combs is always good


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## ittoa666 (Oct 3, 2010)

I'd love a lurking fear movie.


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## technomancer (Oct 3, 2010)

ittoa666 said:


> I'd love a lurking fear movie.



Full Moon did one... it was bad but I still liked it. It's on one of the Full Moon Collection DVD sets

Amazon.com: Full Moon Classics, Vol. 2: Full Moon Classics: Movies & TV



review on Amazon said:


> Lurking Fear (1994) starring Jeffery Combs, Ashley Laurence, and Blake Bailey is a fun action-filled horror movie. This is definitely the best movie in the set. This movie takes place in a town that's overran by evil beings, only the doctor (Combs), a distraught sister (Laurence), and a pregnant woman remain. Then a man (Bailey), looking for his family fortune, shows up with criminals on his tail. This movie is actually really good, it's full of gore and it has Jeffery Combs!



Honestly if it was available by itself on DVD for a reasonable price (or if the set had anything else I want) I'd own a copy. But I love bad horror movies 

I also just ordered the director's cut of From Beyond on DVD


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## technomancer (Oct 3, 2010)

ShadyDavey said:


> _The Beyond_
> 
> 87 minutes - Colour - Fulvia Films - 1981



Is that the Lucio Fulci film? There's a newer DVD release of that out that I stumbled across on Amazon

Amazon.com: The Beyond: Al Cliver, Laura de Marchi, Sarah Keller, Veronica Lazar, Katherine MacColl, Tony St. John, David Warbeck, Michele Mirabella, Lucio Fulci: Movies & TV


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## Thaeon (Oct 3, 2010)

I'm still at a loss for why we have 32.5 Stephen King movies all with real budgets and we still have no 'A' Lovecraft when King is so obviously influenced by him. Hell, 'B' would even be a stretch for a lot of the Lovecraft movies we DO have. If we can make Spider-man 3, why can't there be a good Cthulhu movie... Or _The Shadow Out of Time_... Either of those would be epic with some modern special effects...


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## technomancer (Oct 3, 2010)

Thaeon said:


> I'm still at a loss for why we have 32.5 Stephen King movies all with real budgets and we still have no 'A' Lovecraft when King is so obviously influenced by him. Hell, 'B' would even be a stretch for a lot of the Lovecraft movies we DO have. If we can make Spider-man 3, why can't there be a good Cthulhu movie... Or _The Shadow Out of Time_... Either of those would be epic with some modern special effects...



Because Lovecraft isn't selling millions of books every year. It really is that simple.

I'm also a little afraid about what the potential A list Mountains of Madness is going to be like


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 4, 2010)

technomancer said:


> Is that the Lucio Fulci film? There's a newer DVD release of that out that I stumbled across on Amazon
> 
> Amazon.com: The Beyond: Al Cliver, Laura de Marchi, Sarah Keller, Veronica Lazar, Katherine MacColl, Tony St. John, David Warbeck, Michele Mirabella, Lucio Fulci: Movies & TV



Yeah, that's the one. Nice to see that and "From Beyond" (with the superior box artwork) out there to pick up. I'll add them to my wishlist 



> Because Lovecraft isn't selling millions of books every year. It really is that simple.





Mr King (as much as I enjoy his writing) always seems to have a frisson of commerciality in his books which many of his influences (Lovecraft specifically) lacked. Imagining or portraying a killer Clown isn't anything like as daunting as a Soggoth.....not to say that The Dark Tower won't stretch production values a little but if I see ATMOM descend into a A list circle jerk of actors who have no business being in the picture I'll probably have an embolism on the spot!


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## technomancer (Oct 4, 2010)

ShadyDavey said:


> Yeah, that's the one. Nice to see that and "From Beyond" (with the superior box artwork) out there to pick up. I'll add them to my wishlist



Actually if I were you I'd go look for a copy now. The DVD seems to have gone out of print already (at least Amazon lists it as no longer being available). Not sure about availability in the UK, but I got my copy new from ebay for something in the ballpark of $6 shipped.

I added The Beyond to my To Buy list 



ShadyDavey said:


> Mr King (as much as I enjoy his writing) always seems to have a frisson of commerciality in his books which many of his influences (Lovecraft specifically) lacked. Imagining or portraying a killer Clown isn't anything like as daunting as a Soggoth.....not to say that The Dark Tower won't stretch production values a little but if I see ATMOM descend into a A list circle jerk of actors who have no business being in the picture I'll probably have an embolism on the spot!



I feel your pain  I almost choked when I saw Tom Cruise as a rumored "star"


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## bostjan (Oct 4, 2010)

You know, I'll bet the guys on this board could easily write a screenplay and score for a Lovecraft movie that would trump any and all existing Lovecraft-based films.

It seems that most of the better-known ones are really only lightly inspired by the actual prose, and the more correlating ones are either poorly executed or poorly engineered.

And as much as I would love to see a literal interpretation of "The Colour out of Space" or "The Music of Erich Zann," I just don't think it is at all possible without losing something. The magic in a lot of these stories is that you really have to use your imagination to fill in the blanks. I'm sure everyone who has read Lovecraft pictures the colour completely different, hears the music completely different, and imagines places like R'lyeh in totally different ways.

I'm also a big fan of old time radio shows and I have to say that I feel the same way about those. Writers of books and radio shows often play off the fact that you cannot see a picture of what they are describing, whereas film makers and television producers use visual events as a tool that writers cannot.

It's like trying to take a really good curry dish that you ate and turn it into an eleven minute long prog metal song. (Which I'd love to see someone do, by the way.  )


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## technomancer (Oct 4, 2010)

And just scored a copy of The Lurking Fear off of ebay for way less than the Full Moon box set would have set me back 

Another Jeffrey Combs film added to the collection


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## signalgrey (Oct 4, 2010)

how about Del Toro doing the Cliffs of Madness (is that the right title?)


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## technomancer (Oct 4, 2010)

signalgrey said:


> how about Del Toro doing the Cliffs of Madness (is that the right title?)



Mountains of Madness... this thread was spun off from the one about that... The more that comes out about it the more it sounds like it's going to be awful


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## Thaeon (Oct 5, 2010)

technomancer said:


> Actually if I were you I'd go look for a copy now. The DVD seems to have gone out of print already (at least Amazon lists it as no longer being available). Not sure about availability in the UK, but I got my copy new from ebay for something in the ballpark of $6 shipped.
> 
> I added The Beyond to my To Buy list
> 
> ...



 I was about to make a joke about Tom Cruise, that is until I read this and got depressed...

I'm disgusted with consumerism... Lovecraft and Poe are essentially the forefathers of American Horror. I don't understand why they get the shittiest movies made of their classic works... We finally have the tech to at least do them justice. Instead, we get Saw 3D, and that dumb ass piranha movie...

I want something that either fucks with my head or exploits the normal human fear of the unknown/dark. The Game w/Michael Douglas was scarier than any of the Saw movies... If I want to be revolted, I can clean my cat's litter box... It's grosser than a gore fest... Besides... These movies could be done the way they're written... For Erik Zann you could use some freaky music, coupled with a black screen and screams. Use the Hitchcock tricks, and let the mind continue to fill in the blanks... Use special FX when the narrator is imagining things to the music he hears through the walls... There are cinematic tricks that can be used to hold true to the story. However... I DO want to see Cthulhu in all of his lurid evil glory on screen...

BTW: the only King movie I've ever liked was The Mist. Mostly because you barely saw any of the creatures, and the movie focused on the evil that men do when pushed beyond the limits of their sanity. Can you imagine if you had to live with yourself after that? THAT'S horror.


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## signalgrey (Oct 5, 2010)

technomancer said:


> Mountains of Madness... this thread was spun off from the one about that... The more that comes out about it the more it sounds like it's going to be awful



sounded good when i first got word. shame its apparently gone down hill.


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 5, 2010)

Thaeon said:


> I was about to make a joke about Tom Cruise, that is until I read this and got depressed...
> 
> I'm disgusted with consumerism... Lovecraft and Poe are essentially the forefathers of American Horror. I don't understand why they get the shittiest movies made of their classic works... We finally have the tech to at least do them justice. Instead, we get Saw 3D, and that dumb ass piranha movie...
> 
> ...





The Music of Erich Zann has been filmed about 4 or 5 times by various amateur groups ( Unfilmable.com: Filmus Mysteriis )and sadly I have yet to see one of them but there are a couple of composers out there working in a similar field:

AKLO - Music of the Lovecraft Mythos

Troy Sterling Nies, composer - music samples

Certainly amongst the most convincing efforts to date for my money. 

Cthulhu does appear in all his stop-frame majesty in the Lovecraft Historial Society's Cull of Cthulhu - it's certainly not a bad rendering of the story by any means. 

I agree The Mist was amongst the best "True-to-Lovecraft" films in that it revelaed man in the primordial ooze at the short end of the cosmic scale - same as "The Thing". Visceral moments aside, the atmosphere and nihilism were brilliantly realised.


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## Varcolac (Oct 5, 2010)

bostjan said:


> It's like trying to take a really good curry dish that you ate and turn it into an eleven minute long prog metal song. (Which I'd love to see someone do, by the way.  )



That sounds like a challenge. I accept your challenge.

Now, does Vindaloo taste better in Bb or in F...?


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## technomancer (Oct 6, 2010)

Ok, do not use alibris through ebay... this is three times in a row I've tried to buy something and got a refund because they didn't actually have the item. Fortunately I found another copy of the From Beyond director's cut from somebody else. So currently inbound on dvd:

1200 AM
Lurking Fear (1994 Full Moon)
From Beyond director's cut


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 6, 2010)

Result!

I bow to your superior collection of Lovecraftian movies - I really must get my ass in gear


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## technomancer (Oct 6, 2010)

I go through buying spurts  Last one was when H.P. Lovecraft Collection Vol. 5: Strange Aeons came out and I grabbed the series. I think I'm done for now again


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 7, 2010)

I have to buy all of those to be honest - once I've disposed of some unwanted DVD's and such at local car boot sales. Saying that last part actually made me feel cheap and dirty but needs must when the devil vomits on your eiderdown


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## ittoa666 (Oct 7, 2010)

technomancer said:


> Full Moon did one... it was bad but I still liked it. It's on one of the Full Moon Collection DVD sets
> 
> Amazon.com: Full Moon Classics, Vol. 2: Full Moon Classics: Movies & TV




You know, I found the preview for it, and it looks like utter crap. When did the lurking fear have anything to do with zombies and money in a corpse?


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## technomancer (Oct 7, 2010)

ittoa666 said:


> You know, I found the preview for it, and it looks like utter crap. When did the lurking fear have anything to do with zombies and money in a corpse?



There are no zombies in it... they're the devolved Martense family members who live underground... and honestly they fit the story pretty well. It's not a terribly faithful adaptation as far as the reporter etc etc etc, but if you like Full Moon's other movies you'd probably like it. Which is to say that it is, indeed, a bad B horror movie 

Honestly if you're looking for completely faithful adaptations of Lovecraft you won't be watching much... the only thing that comes to mind is the HPLHS Call of Cthulhu and potentially the forthcoming Whisperer in Darkness mentioned earlier.


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## Necris (Oct 8, 2010)

I watched "The Unnamable" a month or 2 ago after I found it on youtube. It had nearly nothing to do with Lovecrafts story, and if they hadn't shoehorned in a few lovecraftian places and the Necronomicon you'd never know it was based on a story he wrote at all. To make mattters worse the charachters were so irritating it bordered on the supernatural. 

I've had Dagon for a while now, but haven't actually taken the time to watch it.


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 8, 2010)

The Unnamable (and the even further removed from Lovecraft sequels) has essentially nothing to do with H.P.....sadly the pseudobibliographical "history" of the Necronomicon renders it fair (and easy) game for a variety of writers stuck for a hook


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## technomancer (Oct 8, 2010)

Necris said:


> I watched "The Unnamable" a month or 2 ago after I found it on youtube. It had nearly nothing to do with Lovecrafts story, and if they hadn't shoehorned in a few lovecraftian places and the Necronomicon you'd never know it was based on a story he wrote at all. To make mattters worse the charachters were so irritating it bordered on the supernatural.
> 
> I've had Dagon for a while now, but haven't actually taken the time to watch it.



Yeah The Unnamable really isn't based on the story. Lurking Fear at least keeps the Martense family with the mismatched eyes living underground and eating people 

Dagon is actually pretty good, though it's more Shadow Over Innsmouth in a European town than Dagon.

PS - From Beyond Director's Cut got here today. I should be watching it tonight, curious to see what the director's cut is like. I haven't seen the movie in ages, all I remember is it was pretty fucked up


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 8, 2010)

Humans are such easy prey - especially hot Professors in bondage gear


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## technomancer (Oct 8, 2010)

ShadyDavey said:


> Humans are such easy prey - especially hot Professors in bondage gear



Indeed 

Man that was even worse than I remembered


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 9, 2010)

I haven't seen it in about 20 years so I'll have to brave it's charms and re-remember what I was missing although checking out the complete list I linked a few posts earlier I am reminded that there are better films I could spend my time tracking down 

(I'm going through a British Horror Movie kick at the moment and although deserving of it's own thread there are some absolute treats in store from the early 70's/late 60's).


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## technomancer (Oct 9, 2010)

I agree there are better things to pick up... I literally only grabbed my copy because I saw the region 1 DVD went out of print, which means the price will shoot up soon.

Completely OT, but I was on a classic horror movie kick recently. There are box set collections out for each of the original hollywood movie monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc) that I've been slowly picking up so I know what you're talking about


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 10, 2010)

I don't know what I'm talking about 

Just checked out "The Devil Rides Out", "To the Devil a Daugter" and the 1967 Film version of "Quatermass and the Pit" - on a bit of a "Hammer" kick at the moment and although they released some dross the good movies stand the test of time.

Also check out "Witchfinder General" (not the band!) or "Twins of Evil" and so forth, there are some great hidden gems out there.


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## ittoa666 (Oct 10, 2010)

technomancer said:


> There are no zombies in it... they're the devolved Martense family members who live underground... and honestly they fit the story pretty well. It's not a terribly faithful adaptation as far as the reporter etc etc etc, but if you like Full Moon's other movies you'd probably like it. Which is to say that it is, indeed, a bad B horror movie
> 
> Honestly if you're looking for completely faithful adaptations of Lovecraft you won't be watching much... the only thing that comes to mind is the HPLHS Call of Cthulhu and potentially the forthcoming Whisperer in Darkness mentioned earlier.



That's right. I forgot about the family, but damn do they look like cheesy movie zombies.  Hopefully that whisperer in the darkness movie will make a less than laughable attraction.


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## technomancer (Oct 17, 2010)

Still waiting for AM 1200 dvd to arrive. I emailed the company, there was apparently some snafu with email so my dvd I ordered on the 5th didn't ship until the 13th. Hopefully it'll be here tomorrow. Obviously it's not based on a Lovecraft story, but from all accounts it's Lovecraftian in feel. Here's the trailer



I'm still waiting for the Lurking Fear dvd as well, but since that one is coming form Australia it's to be expected 

Also, a second trailer is up for HPLHS The Whisperer In Darkness. According to the blog for the film looks like sometime next year. They still need to finish the score and some minor editing and work out distribution.


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 17, 2010)

Can't wait - if it's to the same standard as their Call of Cthulhu it will be floopin' great


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## bostjan (Oct 17, 2010)

Just saw "The Ressirected" last night. Not a great movie but it surpassed my expectations.


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## technomancer (Oct 19, 2010)

Lurking Fear got here yesterday from Australia. Still no sign of AM 1200 which was ordered on the same day from the company that made the movie in the US 

Watched the Lurking Fear today... it's every bit as bad as I remembered, but you have to love Jeffrey Combs as an alcoholic doctor in a town that's been mostly eaten by underground subhuman Martenses  Also for some reason my Blu-ray player doesn't like this region 0 disc, while my laptop and dvd player in my office play it fine (but the Blu-ray had no problem with the region 0 Pickman's Muse)


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 20, 2010)

There's no accounting for the wiles and foibles of technology - glad to see it's still as enjoyable as ever


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## Herb Dorklift (Oct 20, 2010)

I'd like a Shadow Over Innsmouth film.


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## bostjan (Oct 20, 2010)

Herb Dorklift said:


> I'd like a Shadow Over Innsmouth film.





technomancer said:


> Dagon is actually pretty good, though it's more Shadow Over Innsmouth in a European town than Dagon.



IIRC there is an animated Shadow over Innsmouth somewhere on the internet.


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## technomancer (Oct 20, 2010)

AM1200 finally got here today. While it's not directly based on Lovecraft and is only 40 minutes long, I've got to say it's freaking awesome. Very well done film that definitely has the man vs. an overwhelming force going on that so much of Lovecraft's work has.


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 21, 2010)

Need a job....all these purchases are making me LAS......ok it doesn't have the same ring as GAS but I need to acquire them!


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## Joseph Goodman (Nov 17, 2010)

The episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon from the 80's entitled "The Collect Call of Cthulhu" gets the mythos vibe so right in ways that numerous films have failed utterly to do so... and I'm not being sarcastic in the slightest!


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## Explorer (Nov 17, 2010)

bostjan said:


> The magic in a lot of these stories is that you really have to use your imagination to fill in the blanks. I'm sure everyone who has read Lovecraft pictures the colour completely different, hears the music completely different, and imagines places like R'lyeh in totally different ways.
> 
> I'm also a big fan of old time radio shows and I have to say that I feel the same way about those. Writers of books and radio shows often play off the fact that you cannot see a picture of what they are describing, whereas film makers and television producers use visual events as a tool that writers cannot.



This is a hugely accurate assessment of why Lovecraft films fail. (+1 to your rep, friend!) 

Hitchcock said, "To suggest is to create, to define is to destroy." The problem is that no modern audience would appreciate a movie with no revealing shots of a creature. Going further, how the hell would one adequately demonstrate the impossible angles of an architecture based on a non-Euclidian geometry?

I did like "Dagon" quite a bit, but I haven't seen it in years. If I had any odd hidden fetishistic tendencies towards squids or octopi, I'm sure that chick Uxía would have found them. *laugh*

----

Regarding UK horror films, the best example (to me) is the original "Wicker Man." If you've not seen it, do not read any descriptions. See if you can rent/borrow the extended UK release, and prepare to see true horror.

I also fondly remember "The Abominable Dr. Phibes," with Vincent Price. It's one thing to see someone who is wearing a mask because they were disfigured. It's quite another for this silent character to hold up his wineglass for a toast, and then to drain the cup into something on the side/back of his neck. Moments like this are horribly effective.

+1 to Thaeon's rep as well, for bringing up "The Game" as a great example of a good movie. 

Since a few people have brought up Hitchcock, I wholeheartedly recommend the film "What Lies Beneath." As with the "Wicker Man," I suggest not reading the description, but just putting it into the DVD player. And then I suggest watching it with the director's commentary. 

----

I've considered doing a non-animated chalk-drawing version of "The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath." Just enough drawn detail to suggest, not enough to bog things down, full narration of the content. Even just doing it as overhead slides, with live music and a narrator, would be a powerful theater experience IMO....


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## Revan132 (Nov 17, 2010)

I know it's off topic but has anyone ever played Eternal Darkness? That game is pretty much Lovecraft infused into a video game.


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## technomancer (Dec 8, 2010)

Ok this may well be a typo, but if not I'm going to be VERY happy

The Whisperer in Darkness - The "Making of" Blog



HPLHS The Whisperer in Darkness - The "Making of" Blog said:


> The other arm of the operation has been our plannig for how you'll see the film. We've been submitting it to film festivals worldwide and talking with distributors. For a little indie picture like ours, distribution is a challenge. We've got offers on the table and we're looking at them carefully to see who is the right partner to help us reach as broad an audience as we can through theatrical, broadcast, DVD/Blu-Ray and Video On Demand channels. It's unlikely you'll see it at your neighborhood multi-plex, but maybe it'll screen in some art houses, maybe it'll screen on television and *it's an excellent bet that at some point this year you'll be able to get your own DVD right here at the HPLHS website*. Right now Whisperer has been submitted to more than a dozen film festivals and we're waiting to find out where it will have its premiere.



I'm assuming that should read NEXT year but...


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## technomancer (May 25, 2011)

Just watched The Resurrected. It's an adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward... not very good, a lot of changes that didn't need to be made and that the movie would have been better without 

It also looks like HPLHS The Whisperer in Darkness is done and screening at festivals with a DVD release due before the end of the year


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## ShadyDavey (May 26, 2011)

technomancer said:


> Just watched The Resurrected. It's an adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward... not very good, a lot of changes that didn't need to be made and that the movie would have been better without
> 
> It also looks like HPLHS The Whisperer in Darkness is done and screening at festivals with a DVD release due before the end of the year



This pleases me 

On the same subject I heard some news today that _dis_pleased me greatly - Universal haven't green lit Del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" based on their string of financial duds.

He's touting the idea to other studios but even with Cameron + Avatar CGI tech on board he's also pushing for an "R" rating and as yet no-one seems interested.


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## Scar Symmetry (May 26, 2011)

The monster in Cloverfield was based on Lovecraft beasts. Cloverfield was the ironic cute nickname that the CGI team gave the monster.


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## BigBaldIan (May 26, 2011)

For those who like their mythos with a dash of humour I heartily recommend The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu.

Reviews: THE LAST LOVECRAFT: RELIC OF CTHULU Review



Spoiler



Gratuitous use of a Triceratops skull and comic KT impact are just some of gags.


 
Useless bit of information regarding The Wicker Man for any fans out there. The pub used in the film is called the Ellangowan Hotel and is located in Creetown (just off the A75 in Scotland). Only reason I know this is because I have family there. I think it still looks pretty much the same as it did in the film.

Bed & Breakfast hotel accommodation in Creetown. Ellangowan Hotel by Newton Stewart in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland.


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## toiletstand (May 26, 2011)

Supernatural Video - Let It Bleed | Watch Online Free

Lovecraft was referenced it last weeks season final episode of supernatural. doesnt play too big a part but thought id share. you see 'him' in the beginning after the previously on segment.


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## technomancer (May 26, 2011)

ShadyDavey said:


> This pleases me



REALLY looking forward to seeing that



ShadyDavey said:


> On the same subject I heard some news today that _dis_pleased me greatly - Universal haven't green lit Del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" based on their string of financial duds.
> 
> He's touting the idea to other studios but even with Cameron + Avatar CGI tech on board he's also pushing for an "R" rating and as yet no-one seems interested.



It's pretty sad when those two want to do a project and can't convince a studio.... not cool



tltstand said:


> Supernatural Video - Let It Bleed | Watch Online Free
> 
> Lovecraft was referenced it last weeks season final episode of supernatural. doesnt play too big a part but thought id share. you see 'him' in the beginning after the previously on segment.



That was a pretty cool homage. Actually I wish they'd get into more terrors from outside in Supernatural as this whole Angel/Demon/God plot line is pretty much played out...


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## toiletstand (May 26, 2011)

I hear ya. they always talk about getting away from the story but it seems like they cant write themselves out of that plotline.


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## thedonal (Aug 18, 2011)

Just found this thread. It's getting to Autumn- my favourite time for reading Lovecraft!

I'm disappointed that Mountains of Madness keeps getting canned. I think Del Toro could really get it right. He's clearly got the love for the original story (my favourite Lovecraft story by far). Though as long as he doesn't stick to his design for the Elder Thing from Hellboy II, I'll be happy. I don't even care if Cruise is in it, as long as it's done right. 


Hell- I might just sit with a synth this week and see if I can get some unearthly piping music going on!

I love the HPLHS version of Cthulhu. I'll look for a copy of Whisper in the Darkness. They really get the tone right with these movies.

I think that to really do it justice, these stories need to be kept in their original period setting. I'd love to see a version of Charles Dexter Ward done really well as it is in the book.

From Beyond and Re-Animator were fun, but lets have them back in the early 20th Century or before, please!


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## technomancer (Jun 21, 2012)

Time to wake this thread up... just finished watching The Whisperer in Darkness. The movie takes a MAJOR turn from the story towards the end and some ridiculousness with a biplane ensues. Very unfortunate. However the end is very good once they got the Hollywood action sequence out of the way. Overall an enjoyable adaptation.


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## Azathoth43 (Jul 2, 2012)

Who is this Lovecraft you speak of? 

Anyone listen to "A Shoggoth on the Roof"?


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 2, 2012)

technomancer said:


> Time to wake this thread up... just finished watching The Whisperer in Darkness. The movie takes a MAJOR turn from the story towards the end and some ridiculousness with a biplane ensues. Very unfortunate. However the end is very good once they got the Hollywood action sequence out of the way. Overall an enjoyable adaptation.



Agreed. I find myself constantly admiring their productions made, as they are, on a shoestring budget. 





> Anyone listen to "A Shoggoth on the Roof"?



Also "An unbearably scary solstice"


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## The Grief Hole (Jul 2, 2012)

Would love Peter Jackson to do a version of 'The Dream Quest Of unknown Kadath'.


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## celticelk (Jul 2, 2012)

ShadyDavey said:


> On the same subject I heard some news today that _dis_pleased me greatly - Universal haven't green lit Del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" based on their string of financial duds.
> 
> He's touting the idea to other studios but even with Cameron + Avatar CGI tech on board he's also pushing for an "R" rating and as yet no-one seems interested.



I'd really hoped that when GdT left *The Hobbit* that we would get his version of *AtMoM* soon. From what I'm hearing, though, he thinks the plot line is too close to *Prometheus* (WTF? admittedly, haven't seen it yet) for anyone to take a risk on the Lovecraft story.


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 27, 2012)

celticelk said:


> I'd really hoped that when GdT left *The Hobbit* that we would get his version of *AtMoM* soon. From what I'm hearing, though, he thinks the plot line is too close to *Prometheus* (WTF? admittedly, haven't seen it yet) for anyone to take a risk on the Lovecraft story.



I think he's tripping balls tbh. He needs to man the fuck up and make our film!


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## technomancer (Jul 21, 2013)

Time to reanimate this thread again 

Just finished watching an amazing German adaptation of The Colour out of Space titled The Color Out Of Space. It's free on Amazon Prime listed as 2012 and directed by Huan Vu.

Black and white (mostly) and mostly in German with english subtitles. With a few minor divergences (that actually worked really well) a faithful adaptation of the original story. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of Lovecraft films.


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## DSilence (Jul 21, 2013)

I only got introduced to lovecraft through a game I was playing a few years back, I havent even read his books, any recommendations on where to start? Might have to check out Dagon when I get a chance.


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## technomancer (Jul 22, 2013)

For films Dagon is one of the better ones out there. The Whisperer in Darkness is good as well, though they really did screw up the very end of the movie


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## Explorer (Jul 28, 2013)

technomancer said:


> Time to reanimate this thread again
> 
> Just finished watching an amazing German adaptation of The Colour out of Space titled The Color Out Of Space. It's free on Amazon Prime listed as 2012 and directed by Huan Vu.
> 
> Black and white (mostly) and mostly in German with english subtitles. With a few minor divergences (that actually worked really well) a faithful adaptation of the original story. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of Lovecraft films.



I agree with "Die Farbe" ("The Color," German title) being amazing. I meant to post about it, and only remembered today... only to discover that I was "sniped" about a movie I saw about 4 months ago....


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## technomancer (Jul 28, 2013)

Explorer said:


> I agree with "Die Farbe" ("The Color," German title) being amazing. I meant to post about it, and only remembered today... only to discover that I was "sniped" about a movie I saw about 4 months ago....



 

I'll be honest I was expecting it to be terrible and was very pleasantly surprised. One of the better adaptations to screen of a Lovecraft piece.


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## Idontpersonally (Jul 28, 2013)

I absolutely love these narrated versions. Ive only seen a few films, i like the narrations more than anything *shrug*.


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## Explorer (Sep 28, 2014)

To take a page out of Dr. Herbert West's notebook, and to bring this topic back...

We had a little film festival.

The Call of Cthulhu
The Dunwich Horror
Die Farbe (The Color)
The Whisperer in Darkness
Dagon

Some of the folks watching were horror fans, but, you know, a little jaded and prone to criticize movies because they're not CGI-fests, regardless of when they were made.

I was extremely and pleasantly surprised that there were a few involuntary vocalizations from the gang.

I also got an unexpectedly strong punch in the arm for daring to introduce some strange sexual ideas to one friend, thanks to Dagon. That sickening mix of attraction and repulsion is apparently a bit much for some. 

This last offering from the HPLHS isn't quite my thing, as I much prefer the "period" music of their other two films, but here's No Turning Back, the video from Dreams in the Witch House, a Lovecraftian Rock Opera.





Spoiler



I don't think I've ever seen a child sacrifice portrayed quite that clearly in any visual medium. Kudos for crossing that line for the Elder Gods.


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## thedonal (Oct 12, 2014)

I must get the HPLHS DVDs.

I saw Cthulhu and loved it.

A shame Mountains of Madness was killed by Prometheus, but I really feel that Del Toro would have made it more Hollywood than HP Lovecraft.

An expansive PC/Console RPG (GTA style, maybe, but set in period New England) would be fantastic.


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## technomancer (Oct 27, 2014)

Oh some things I picked up but forgot to post...

The Haunted Palace - Vincent Price in an adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Die Monster Die - Boris Karloff in a very loose adaptation of The Colour Out of Space


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## Explorer (Nov 19, 2014)

A friend recommended "Absentia" to me as being like the Lovecraft stuff I've recommended. 

I've now watched it on Netflix streaming, and have to agree. Catch it if you have the time.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Nov 19, 2014)

I just watched _Re-Animator_ a week or so ago.

Great flick is its own campy sort of way. It's a Lovecraft tale.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Nov 23, 2014)

Just watched the 1970 version of _The Dunwich Horror_.

It had literally nothing to do with the actual Lovecraft story. One of the most boring and lifeless films I've ever sat through. F**king terrible.


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## technomancer (Nov 23, 2014)

I've finally got a copy of The Resurrected inbound to add to the collection.



Emperor Guillotine said:


> Just watched the 1970 version of _The Dunwich Horror_.
> 
> It had literally nothing to do with the actual Lovecraft story. One of the most boring and lifeless films I've ever sat through. F**king terrible.



You are going to be seriously disappointed with most of the Lovecraft adaptations if you think that had nothing to do with the actual story  It's also definitely a slow-moving more suspenseful horror film.

You might want to check out Dagon as while not a direct adaptation of any story, it's similar to The Shadow over Inmsmouth and is a pretty good Lovecraft-inspired film.


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## technomancer (Nov 25, 2014)

A few more things are incoming for the collection:
Absentia
Castle Freak
The Festival
HP Lovecraft's The Dark Sleep 
The Thing on the Doorstep


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## technomancer (Nov 28, 2014)

0 for 2 so far... The Festival and The Dark Sleep have both been absolutely terrible.... and I don't mean fun terrible like From Beyond, I mean barely watchable terrible


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## technomancer (Nov 30, 2014)

Absentia - as was pointed out previously not really Lovecraft but sort of had the feel, I enjoyed this one quite a bit

Castle Freak - not really Lovecraft either, typical Full Moon film with Jeffrey Combs

The Thing on the Doorstep - I want to rewatch this one as I was doing other stuff while watching it... overall seemed like a reasonably good adaptation of the Lovecraft story


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## Explorer (Nov 30, 2014)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found Absentia to give that Lovecraftian vibe.

I'll have to check out the Thing on the Doorstep, since it's not likely to be just another flaming bag of poo. "Hey, you kids... keep offa my lawn!"


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## technomancer (Dec 1, 2014)

Explorer said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only one who found Absentia to give that Lovecraftian vibe.
> 
> I'll have to check out the Thing on the Doorstep, since it's not likely to be just another flaming bag of poo. "Hey, you kids... keep offa my lawn!"



I found the whole concept of Absentia just disturbing in general 



Spoiler



A monster that kills you is bad... a monster that abducts you and keeps you prisoner for years is just horrifying 



Be prepared, there is a lot of exposition in The Thing on the Doorstep, but it was at least in line with the original story


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## lelandbowman3 (Jan 6, 2015)

I just found this thread and I love all of you.
That being said: maybe I overlooked it, but I can't believe anyone hasn't brought up In the Mouth of Madness by John Carpenter. That was probably the best Lovecraftian movie I've seen. I run a CoC rpg campaign a few times a month. I like to bring in Lovecraftian elements into other American horror and folklore.


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## Explorer (Jan 15, 2015)

lelandbowman3 said:


> I just found this thread and I love all of you.
> That being said: maybe I overlooked it, but I can't believe anyone hasn't brought up In the Mouth of Madness by John Carpenter. That was probably the best Lovecraftian movie I've seen. I run a CoC rpg campaign a few times a month. I like to bring in Lovecraftian elements into other American horror and folklore.



I have a bunch of horror movies I think of as Americana. I might start a topic about them. 



technomancer said:


> I've finally got a copy of The Resurrected inbound to add to the collection.



I've agreed with your opinions so far, so what did you think of The Resurrected?


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## bostjan (Jan 23, 2015)

technomancer said:


> The Thing on the Doorstep - I want to rewatch this one as I was doing other stuff while watching it... overall seemed like a reasonably good adaptation of the Lovecraft story



Did you get a chance to rewatch this? It was one of my favourite stories from him, and I would love to see it done some justice on screen.


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