The Complete H.P.

Lovecraft Filmography
Charles P. Mitchell

Bibliographies and Indexes in the Performing Arts,

Number 26

GREENWOOD PRESS

Westport, Connecticut London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Mitchell, Charles P., 1942-
The Complete H. P. Lovecraft Filmography/Charles P. Mitchell.

p. cm.—(Bibliographies and indexes in the performing arts, ISSN 0742–6933;

no. 26)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-313-31641-4 (alk. paper)

1. Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips), 1890–1937—Film and video adaptations.

2. Horror tales, American—Film and video adaptations. 3. Horror films—
History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series.
PS3523.O833 Z77 2001

791.43’6164—dc21 2001040437

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

2001 by Charles P.Mitchell
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001040437

ISBN: 0-313-31641-4
ISSN: 0742–6933

First published in 2001

Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard
issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Copyright Acknowledgments
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission
for use of the following material:

Frontispiece illustration by Roberta D.Mitchell.

Principal photographs courtesy of Robert Brosch Archival

Photography.

Additional photographs from the collections of Christian

Matzke and Paul Parla.
This volume is dedicated to three superb performers who
helped bring Lovecraft films to life:

Jeffrey Combs
Christopher Heyerdahl
David Warner
 Contents

Preface

Overview - Lovecraft and Cthulhu Cinema

Thirty-three Films in Depth

Appendices:

A - Rare Foreign Lovecraft Films

B - Amateur Lovecraft Films

C - Lovecraft on Television

D- Future Possibilities

About the Author

Photos
 Preface

I was observing a phenomenon unparalleled by anything

I’d seen or heard of in the natural world. I stared up at it,
fully as intently as Lovecraft did beside me, and the more I
watched of its unfoldments, the more my terrified awe turned
unexpectedly into a kind of reverence.

—From HPL, a Cthulhu Mythos story by

Gahan Wilson

My deep interest in H. P. Lovecraft and his works

developed in my youth, after obtaining and reading through a
slim paperback collection of stories entitled The Dunwich
Horror and Others. My fascination only increased after I
obtained my first professional position, in 1972, as Music and
Fine Arts Librarian at the Paterson (N.J.) Public Library,
giving me ample opportunity to explore the adjacent Paterson
Museum, which had once planned to hire Lovecraft as
assistant curator. HPL (Lovecraft, like FDR and JFK, is
among those individuals who are frequently identified by their
initials alone) used the setting of the Paterson Museum in one
of his greatest stories, The Call of Cthulhu. At the museum, I
also had the thrill of examining a number of HPL’s
handwritten letters to James F. Morton, his friend who
worked for many years as curator of the museum. At that
time, I pledged to make my own contribution to the Cthulhu
Mythos, a pledge that I now redeem with this volume,
intended to serve as a comprehensive guide to the films
inspired by Lovecraft and his writings. The works are also
sometimes called Cthulhu cinema, since most of them are
based on what is known as the “Cthulhu Mythos,” the
invented mythology that Lovecraft created as the background
for his work, including novels, short stories and poetry, and
which was later adopted by other writers as well.
Although it is difficult to come up with an absolute
number of films that encompass Cthulhu cinema, this book
identifies sixty-eight titles that fall within its parameters. The
Complete H. P. Lovecraft Filmography is divided into three
parts. The overview which comprises the first part will briefly
examine Love-craft’s life, his writings and his influence, as
well as the difficulty in adapting his work to the screen. In
addition, it will evaluate in minute detail the elements that
characterize these motion pictures. Finally, it will provide a
primary and secondary list of feature motion pictures that
may be categorized as Lovecraft films, the difference in the
two lists reflecting the degree of overall influence.
The middle section is an in-depth study of the thirty-
three films from the primary list that are full-fledged
examples of Cthulhu cinema. The entries themselves are
arranged alphabetically by title, as well as any notable
alternate titles. This is followed by a subjective rating by the
author, which should be interpreted in the following manner:

* Poor to Fair
** Fair to Good
*** Good to Very Good
**** Very Good to Excellent
***** Top of the Line

No half stars are used in these ratings, which are meant

to apply exclusively to Lovecraft films and should not be used
in comparison to films in general. One could say that because
the number of truly outstanding Lovecraft films is relatively
small, these films are graded on a curve to reflect this. After
the rating, the key Lovecraft ingredients of the entry are
listed. The ensuing section provides standardized production
information including studio, screenwriters, story source,
cinematographers, editors, composers, producers and
directors. The notation “B & W” is included if the film is in
black and white; otherwise it may be assumed that the film is
in color. This section ends with the running length of the
film, rounded off to the nearest full minute. If an alternate
version of the film exists, then the running time of that
version is also included.
The next segment is an annotated cast list, noting each
performer’s name, the character played and, when possible, a
brief description of the character. This list is arranged to
make the notations more fluid and logical, and therefore they
may not be in the same order as the studio’s end credits.
The central section of each entry is a detailed synopsis
and critical analysis. This is followed by a performance
critique of the major actors and actresses. The next division is
called “Fidelity to Lovecraft,” in which Lovecraft’s original
story text is compared with the screen adaptation, including
the use of Lovecraft character names and place names. If the
film is only inspired by HPL, then its faithfulness to the
actual tone and spirit of Lovecraft is evaluated. If the film is
not openly credited to Lovecraft, the justification why the
picture should be classified as influenced by Lovecraft is
presented. When appropriate, actual Lovecraft text will be
cited in support of the classification. Finally, each entry
concludes with three to six representative quotes that help to
provide the character and flavor of the production. These
selections are identified by the character who speaks the lines
as well as the person to whom they are spoken. These quotes
are organized in the chronological order in which they appear
in the script. A photo essay is also included that helps to
further convey the atmosphere of these films.
The third section of the book contains the four
appendices, which are somewhat more significant than in
typical film books. Appendix A contains a study of three rare
foreign films that definitely can be classified as Lovecraft
films, but which are basically unobtainable for viewing at the
present time. For example, one is the Japanese telefilm
version of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, a film which
neither appeared on video, nor included any English subtitles.
Appendix B contains a representative sampling of amateur
efforts based on Lovecraft. These are generally short subjects
that convey a passionate devotion to HPL and his work.
Appendix C explores illustrations of the influence of
Lovecraft on television (largely episodes from anthology
programs such as The Night Gallery or programs that are
constructed on a Lovecraftian basis such as Babylon 5).
Appendix D discusses additional works that are in production
as of 2001 and concludes with a recommended sampling and
analysis of Cthulhu Mythos literature that would be highly
suitable for screen adaptation.
I wish to thank the following individuals and
organizations for their assistance and encouragement in the
preparation of this volume: the Bangor Public Library, John
Berrien, Turhan Bey, Robert Brosch, Paul Buhle, William
Chadwick, James E. Ciccolilli, Christopher Conlon, Ned Cox,
L.M. Garnett, Mike and Virginia Greene, Jack Hill, Joe
“Phantom of the Movies” Kane, Eric Levy, Christian Matzke,
Jean and Dick Norris, Paul and Donna Parla, the Paterson
Museum, Bill and Cheryl Pitz, Robert Rotter, Robert
Schmidt, Karl Schanzer, Vincent Schiavelli, Dr. Ronald and
Amelia Schwartz, Paul Sclafani, Aizo and Seiko Shingo, James
and Janet Smyth, Pamela St. Clair and John Stanley of the
Hay Library at Brown University. Most important of all, this
book would not exist without the full cooperation of
Roberta, my wife. She watched and commented upon each
film with me, read and helped prepare each entry in both style
and content, assisted in the laborious process of creating the
index and researched esoteric pieces of Lovecraftian lore. Her
knowledge of Cthulhu Mythos literature is voluminous, and
she is astonishingly familiar with non-Euclidian angles,
eldritch ruins and even obscure jingles from The Ethics of
Ygor.
Overview
 Lovecraft and Cthulhu Cinema

As you surmise, I am a devotee of the motion picture,

since I can attend shows at any time…Some modern films are
really worth seeing, though when I first knew moving pictures
their only value was to destroy time.

—Lovecraft in a letter to Reinhart Kleiner

H. P. Lovecraft was an enthusiastic film lover, who

greatly admired Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin
(about whom he published a delightful poem). His letters
contained his appreciation of many films from Trilby (1915)
to Strange Interlude (1932) and Anthony Adverse (1936), and
he even tried his hand at film criticism, winning a cash prize
for his rather unfavorable review of The Image-Maker of
Thebes (1917), an awkward melodrama about reincarnation.
HPL was unimpressed, however, by many of the horror films
he had seen, dismissing them at one point as “flat infantile
twaddle” when he wrote Richard Ely Morse in 1932, at which
time he expressed the desire that his stories never be
banalised on radio or film. One wonders what he would say if
he could foresee the motion pictures contained in this
volume. A few would undoubtedly shock and dismay him,
but others might surprise or even intrigue him, bringing a
quiet sense of satisfaction.
 HPL: THE MAN, HIS WORK AND INFLUENCE

The extent of Lovecraft’s success becomes all the more

amazing the deeper you look into it.

—Lin Carter in Lovecraft: A Look Behind the

Cthulhu Mythos

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born August 20, 1890 in

Providence, Rhode Island, son of Winfield Scott Lovecraft, a
traveling salesman, and Susie Phillips Lovecraft. Two and a
half years later, his father had a mental breakdown and was
placed in an asylum, dying five years later. Young Howard was
a prodigy, and his mother doted on him, yet she discouraged
any physical contact with her son, never even kissing him.
Suffice it to say he had a most unusual childhood. At the age
of five, he read a simplified version of The Arabian Nights,
after which he played an elaborate fantasy game for months,
dressing as an Arab, adopting the name Abdul Alhazred. This
became the first of a series of intricate, imaginary adventures
with which the child entertained himself, mixed with periods
of intense reading and research of topics from ancient
Greece and Rome to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes,
HPL was nervous and highly strung as a child, and withdrew
from school at the age of nine due to his health. He was
deeply affected by his dreams, which included recurrent
nightmares about a monstrous race of beings that he dubbed
“The Night Gaunts.” He started writing poetry and fiction at
the age of six or seven, and one of his earliest efforts was
entitled The Noble Eavesdropper, in which a young boy
overhears a mysterious conclave in a subterranean cave.
Another tale, written when he was eight, was The Mystery of
the Graveyard or a Dead Man’s Revenge. At fourteen, he
produced his first mature story, The Beast in the Cave, a
horror tale, and it is included by Arkham House in their
collection of his writings.
Lovecraft’s biographer, L. Sprague De Camp, wrote, “the
more I delved into Lovecraft’s life, the more fascinating I
found him.” It is very tempting to plunge into the almost
mesmerizing aspects of Lovecraft’s unique character,
particularly from his adolescent years onward, but in this
brief overview it is best to confine ourselves to merely
reporting some of the main principals that took hold of the
young man, who was both hypersensitive and subject to
nervous strain. He naturally developed a fear of madness, due
to the concerns of his heredity. Before his mother died in
1921, she too had begun to exhibit signs of madness. He
became a staunch Anglophile, developed an aversion to
foreigners and a hatred of change. This loathing became so
strong that HPL convinced himself that he was born two
hundred years too late, and he nurtured a deep identification
with the 18th century. HPL playfully began to sign letters to
his closest friends as “Grandpa Theobold.” Yet his interests
remained varied and wide-ranging, including science,
particularly astronomy, architecture and amateur journalism.
HPL is often described as a recluse, but that is not really true
since he developed a large network of friends through
correspondence, and he visited many of these friends
regularly throughout the years, from Florida to Louisiana and
Ohio.
 In 1924, Lovecraft married an attractive divorcee, Sonia
Greene, who was a Russian emigre of Jewish descent. She
was an executive at a fashionable ladies clothing store on
Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and they lived in an apartment in
Brooklyn. HPL attempted to settle into a more conventional
life. In some way, marriage agreed with him, and for a time he
even added considerable weight to his usually gaunt frame,
exceeding 200 pounds. He attempted to find work “suitable
for a gentleman.” It was at this time that James F. Morton
endeavored to have HPL hired as his assistant curator at the
Paterson Museum. Unfortunately, the Board of Trustees
would not be rushed, and the position never materialized.
HPL managed only to secure temporary work, such as
addressing and mailing out catalogs for the booksellers
Dauber and Pine. His efforts to obtain a position as an editor,
reviewer or correspondent, work for which he was suited,
failed to materialize. Disappointed, he returned to Providence
when Sonia accepted a new job in the mid-West. They
divorced quietly in 1929, their last years of marriage involving
long, daily correspondence, but few meetings. HPL blamed
the failure of the marriage on finances and his inability to
find work.
Lovecraft’s last years were spent in Providence, where he
was looked after by his aunts, Annie P. Gamwell and Lillian P.
Clark (who died in 1932). He eked out a living through his
writing and revision work. He lived through his daily letter
writing, with an ever increasing number of correspondents.
In early 1936, his health declined, largely due to a problem he
described as chronic indigestion. He rapidly lost weight, and
early the following year, he was diagnosed with intestinal
cancer. He passed away two weeks later, on March 15, 1937,
at the age of forty-six.
At the time of his death, Lovecraft could only be
regarded as a failure. He could be described as an obscure
writer with a limited following. Knowledge of his work was
limited to fans of several pulp magazines, Weird Tales and
Astounding Stories. No collection of his short stories
appeared in his lifetime. Yet within two or three decades, his
reputation grew to astonishing proportions, both in America
and abroad. His stature as a master of the macabre story is
equivilent to that of Edgar Allan Poe, but as one of the most
influential writers of the 20th century. The story of
Lovecraft’s posthumous success is an unequaled phenomenon
in the history of literature. Much of the credit for this
belongs to August Derleth, who founded the publishing firm
of Arkham House, which promoted the writings of HPL.
Lovecraft’s basic writing consists of three novels (At the
Mountains of Madness, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath), forty-nine
shorter fictional works (ranging from a few novellas to
vignettes only a few pages long) and a single critical
monograph (Supernatural Horror in Literature). Arkham
House, the publishing house dedicated to Lovecraft, contains
this body of work in three modestly sized volumes (one of
which is fleshed out with his juvenilia and incomplete
fragments). In addition, there are several volumes of poetry
(including the Mythos cycle Fungi from Yuggoth) and a
considerable number of non-fiction articles written for
magazines and newspapers from The United Amateur and
The Conservative to The Tryout and The Providence
Evening News. Next, there are collections of his letters, the
single most voluminous segment of his work. Arkham House
published five large volumes of Selected Letters (heavily
edited), and other individuals, such as Willis Conover, have
published separate books of their correspondence with HPL.
Many of his handwritten letters were of considerable length,
and it was not uncommon for him to write a dozen letters
each day. Finally, there is a gray area of semi-Lovecraft
literature. There is one collaborative effort, The Challenge
from Beyond, which was a round-table novella with four
other authors. Lovecraft wrote the third section. August
Derleth adapted various story ideas and utilized isolated
fragments of Lovecraft’s into a posthumous collaboration of
fourteen short stories and two novels (The Lurker at the
Threshold and the incomplete Watchers Out of Time).
Arkham House also published The Horror in the Museum
and Other Revisions, which featured Lovecraft’s rewrites of
stories by his wife, Sonia Greene, and other writers, including
Hazel Heald, Zealia Bishop, Elizabeth Berkeley, William
Lumley, and C.M. Eddy, Jr.
Basically, Lovecraft’s fiction falls into three different
groups, although there is considerable cross-pollination. All
three categories are heavily influenced by his dreams, which
inspired much of his writing. The first group could be called
“Graves and Ghouls,” a series of gruesome tales dealing with
cemeteries, tombs and the monsters that may be found there.
Representative titles would be In the Vault, The Lurking Fear
and The Statement of Randolph Carter. The second category
could be described as “Dunsanian Tales,” stories inspired by
the works of Lord Dunsany (1878–1957), the Irish fantasist
whose poetic and exquisitely worded fables impressed HPL
so deeply. Some of these are The White Ship, The Cats of
Ulthar and The Quest of Iranon. The third and most
important group had later been dubbed “the Cthulhu
Mythos.” Many Lovecraft scholars, however, quibble over
which tales belong firmly in this latter division. Three tales
about which there is no disagreement are The Call of
Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over
Innsmouth, cornerstone works of this designation. Lovecraft
never called these works the Cthulhu Mythos. That
terminology came about later, but the writer did use terms
such as “the myth cycle of Cthulhu” and “Yog-Sothothery”
in references to these stories. The essence of these writings is
that the earth was once ruled by a race of powerful,
loathsome beings known as the Old Ones, who through
misuse of magic somehow lost their domain and were
banished to another dimension, from which they continually
plan to return to earth “when the stars are right.” Some of
the Old Ones, like Cthulhu, sleep unseen on earth in the
hidden sunken cities like R’lyeh. Certain books, such as the
Necronomicon, provide rituals that can open the threshold
for the Old Ones to return and wipe out the human race.
Lovecraft’ s renown is based not so much on his actual
writing as on this ingenious cosmology which he invented as
the foundation for his fiction. It was this innovation that
attracted other talented writers (beginning with The Return
of the Sorcerer by Clark Ashton Smith in 1931) to adopt this
background. HPL returned the compliment by referring to
Klarkash-Ton, a high priest of ancient Atlantis, in his work.
Soon other literary friends of Lovecraft, individuals such as
Frank Belknap Long, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard
(whom HPL called “Two-gun Bob”), Fritz Leiber, Robert
Bloch and others began contributing to the Mythos. After
HPL’s death this trend continued, and by the mid-70s, even
accelerated. Novels, poems and volumes of short stories, all
based on the Cthulhu Mythos, began to appear. HPL was
translated into foreign languages, and Lovecraft became a
towering figure of great significance. Numerous literary
journals, such as The Crypt of Cthulhu, continue to regularly
print new Mythos stories. A series of large format
paperbacks, edited by Lovecraft scholar and writer Robert M.
Price and printed by Chaosium Press, are published regularly,
in addition to other hardcover anthologies such as Cthulhu
2000 and The Acolytes of Cthulhu. Literally hundreds of
writers, including many major figures such as Jorge Luis
Borges, Poppy Z. Brite, Ramsey Campbell, Fred Chappell,
Harlan Ellison, Alan Dean Foster, Ed German, Ron Goulart,
Stephen King, T.E.D. Klein, Henry Kuttner, Thomas Ligotti,
Brian Lumley, Graham Masterton, Gary Myers, Frederick
Pohl, Alan Rodgers, Joanna Russ, J. Vernon Shea, Robert
Silverberg, Peter Tremayne, Karl Edward Wagner, Manley
Wade Wellman, Colin Wilson, Gene Wolfe, Roger Zelazny
and others far too numerous to list, contributed to the
Mythos in works of astonishing variety, from satire and the
lightest comedy to the darkest tragedy. This influence has also
spread to other entertainment formats, including audio
recordings, stage productions, role-playing board games,
computer programs and musical groups. Major artists,
particularly in Latin America, have been inspired by
Lovecraft, including Roberto Matta and Jorge Comacho.
Then, of course, there are the motion pictures.
 THE HURDLE OF SCREEN ADAPTATION

He is very hard to adapt. Once you start reading it, you

realize it's in his language. He describes things that are
indescribable, the indescribable horror. Some of his best
stories are just impossible to visualize.

—John Carpenter in The Phantom of the

Movies Videoscope

HPL’s works are notoriously challenging to translate into

films, which is one reason why truly outstanding pictures have
been so rare in Lovecraft films. First, there is the problem of
finances. To create even a portion of some of Lovecraft’s
most impressive moments, the vast Cyclopean cities, the
massive temples and labyrinths, not to mention the loathsome
and completely alien presence of the Old Ones, would
require an enormous special effects budget that would make
it nearly impossible for the films to be profitable. In the past,
it would have been difficult for such effects to be convincing.
Now however, with sophisticated computer techniques, this is
no longer the case, yet the high price tag is still an obstacle.
There are far more difficulties, however, in the challenge
of creating a successful adaptation. Mythos stories are
complex, not easily perceived by the audience without any
prior knowledge of Lovecraft or his works. The Cthulhu
Mythos may be fascinating and captivating, but it is a difficult
concept to grasp in a short burst, and without the traditional
“suspension of disbelief,” any adaptation would fail. This
handicap has to be addressed early and effectively in the
script. Then there is the lack of female characters in the
stories. The typical protagonists in these stories are often
cerebral figures, professors, librarians, anthropologists, and
they are seldom married. It is often difficult for many
audience members to identify with these people, who may be
regarded as elitists or ivory tower intellectuals. So the
screenplay needs to develop audience sympathy, usually by
introducing average people, male and female, who seek advice
and help from the experts to meet some threat.
Lovecraft’s period settings are usually in the 20s and 30s,
and his dialogue is ornate and old-fashioned. The stories
work best in this time frame, but modern audiences are
believed to prefer modern settings, and this also works
against Mythos adaptations. The plots also frequently
concentrate on obscure and forbidden books, a difficult
device to incorporate into a modern screenplay, with the
possible exception of The Name of the Rose (1986).
Most of these impediments can be overcome by a
dedicated screenwriter, but there is a greater hurdle that is not
readily apparent. This is the understanding of the ultimate
philosophical thesis of the Cthulhu Mythos, in which
humankind must be regarded as not only insignificant, but
doomed. The human race is reduced to a mere bobbing cork
in the raging torrent of the cosmos, and there is no way for
humanity to defeat the Old Ones. The most they can do is
win a temporary stalemate, to postpone the eventual return
and triumph of these hostile, powerful, ruthless godlike
entities. This inescapable conclusion is at the bleak heart of
the Cthulhu Mythos, and this fatalistic vision cannot be sugar-
coated or overlooked. This, indeed, is the ultimate
significance of the most famous couplet from the
Necronomicon: “That is not dead which can eternal lie, And
with strange aeons even death may die.”
In a way, as popular entertainment and as an art form,
Lovecraft films can find a genuine parallel with film noir,
whose dark and pessimistic outlook has been brilliantly
captured in countless films. Only when this artistic challenge
is fully met, will Cthulhu cinema realize its full potential.
 ANALYSIS OF KEY LOVECRAFT INGREDIENTS

Assumed in this myth is that the unknown is unknown

for a pretty good reason: The feeble human mind is incapable
of processing it. If it tries, it blows its circuits irreparably.

—Robert M. Price in The Ithaqua Cycle

In the central portion of this book, at the beginning of

each film entry, there is a listing of the key Lovecraft
ingredients present in each production. At this point, each of
these elements will be fully described and analyzed.

Arkham: This fictional city was invented by Lovecraft

to serve as the central location of his stories. Miskatonic
University is the distinguished college that serves as the
cultural hub of the city. Lovecraft based Arkham on Salem,
Massachusetts, in the identical geographical location. The
adjoining town to Arkham, known as Kingsport, is based on
Marblehead, Salem’s exclusive suburb.

Cthulhu: The most recognizable name of the Old

Ones. The entire cosmology has come to be characterized as
the Cthulhu Mythos, although a number of scholars prefer
the term Lovecraft Mythos. Films inspired by Lovecraft or
based upon his writings have similarly been designated as
Cthulhu cinema. In The Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft provides
a detailed description of the Old One, as a gelatinous green
immensity, with a squid-like head and a mad collection of
flapping, membraneous wings, feelers and tentacles. It most
resembles an enormous foul and quivering bladder. On
another occasion, Lovecraft sketched a rather different
Cthulhu, of modest size, a humanoid body with massive
claws and octopus head. It is unknown when Cthulhu can
assume this alternate shape, but this shape is more frequently
assumed by the spawn of Cthulhu.

Dream Imagery: HPL was an extraordinarily vivid

dreamer, and much of his writing was directly inspired by his
dreams. Many of his stories rely on dream imagery in terms
of atmosphere and tone. A number of the films highlight this
aspect of his work.

Dunwich: A fictional village invented by Lovecraft

principally based on Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in the south
central part of the state. Geographically, however, Lovecraft
positions this town in the north central region of the state
west of Arkham. Others have suggested that the name was
inspired by Greenwich, Massachusetts, which was deliberately
flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Dunwich is a town
largely avoided by the citizens of neighboring towns. The
most notorious residents are the Whateley family, whose
decadent branch are worshipers of the Old Ones.

Graves and Ghouls: Many of Lovecraft’s early non-

Cthulhu Mythos stories are set in graveyards and cemeteries,
frequently plagued by supernatural creatures who live off
decayed human flesh. It has been suggested that films such as
Night of the Living Dead (1968) were also inspired by this
aspect of Lovecraft’s work.
 Miskatonic University: One of the world’s leading
universities, located in Arkham, Massachusetts. The
Miskatonic Library is renowned for its collection of rare and
blasphemous books, including the Necronomicon and similar
documents. The Miskatonic Medical School and University
Hospital are also respected institutions.

Necronomicon: The Necronomicon is the key book,

the bible of the Cthulhu Mythos, which provides rituals and
formulas that can summon the Old Ones. Lovecraft first used
the Necronomicon in his story The Hound in 1922, although
he quoted a couplet from the book in The Nameless City a
year earlier without identifying its source. He later penned a
brief history of the Necronomicon. It was originally written
around the year 730 in Damascus by the mad Arab Abdul
Alhazred (HPL’s playful fantasy name for himself at age five).
It was originally knows as Al Azif, which roughly translates as
The Buzzing (or Howling) of Demons. Actually, the title is
supposed to approximate the buzzing sound. The book was
translated into Greek in 950, when the title became the
Necronomicon, into Latin in 1228 by Olaus Wormius and
into English by Dr. John Dee during Elizabethan times. All
of these editions were suppressed and many were destroyed.
Yet fragments and rare copies turn up frequently in films and
stories, but HPL notes that only five authentic copies exist in
reputable libraries: Miskatonic University, Harvard, the
University of Buenas Aires, the British Museum and the
Bibliotheque National in Paris. Lovecraft first conceived of
this name in a dream. He suggested The Image of the Law of
the Dead as a translation from the Greek. Since the actual
translation is subject to differing interpretations, other writers
have suggested alternatives such as Knower of the Names of
the Dead, The Book of Dead Names, The Book of the Law
of the Dead and, in an interesting variation, The Dead Book
of Names. Most film versions prefer the simplest rendition,
The Book of the Dead. There are a number of companion
volumes filled with forbidden knowledge, and Lovecraft
encouraged other writers to name these volumes, which he
later frequently mentioned in his own stories. Some of these
other books include: the Pnakotic Manuscript (HPL); the
R’lyeh Text (HPL); the Dhol Chants (HPL); the Book of
Dzyan (HPL); the Black Tome of Alsophocus (HPL); Cultes
des Goules by Comte d’Erlette (August Derleth); the Book of
Eibon (Clark Ashton Smith); Unaussprechlichen Kulten by
Von Junzt (Robert E.Howard); De Vermis Mysteriis by
Ludwig Prinn (Robert Bloch) and the Black Rites of Luveh-
Keraphf (Robert Bloch, a tongue-in-cheek reference to
Lovecraft). Other titles that appeared after Lovecraft’s death
include: the Revelations of Glaaki (Ramsey Campbell); the
Ethics of Ygor (Basil Copper); the Book of Karnak (Henry
Kuttner); Zanthu Tablets (Lin Carter); the Scripture of Klek
(Gary Myers); the Aegrisomnia (Nancy A. Collins); Legends
of the Olden Runes (Brian Lumley) and the G home
Fragments (Brian Lumley). This is just a representative
sampling of these esoteric and dangerous texts.

Nyarlathotep: One of the most active of the Old

Ones, he serves as their emissary, messenger and most far-
reaching traveler. Nyarlathotep is also known as the Crawling
Chaos and he is able to transform himself into over a
thousand forms, a talent he employs frequently. Since
Nyarlathotep has so many faces, different commentators have
concentrated on different aspects. Robert M.Price
concentrates on Nyarlathotep as the Hindu god Shiva, also
known as Vishnu, while others stress Lovecraft’s reference
that Nyarlathotep had an incarnation in ancient Egypt. In
fact, HPL originally conceived of Nyarlathotep in a dream,
which he transcribed in an early prose poem in 1921.
Nyarlathotep remains one of the most fascinating and
enigmatic of the Old Ones.

Old Ones: They are a race of powerful, almost god-

like beings, utterly loathsome and alien, who came down from
the stars to hold dominion over the earth and many other
planets millions of years ago. Some of these beings are
capable of assuming different shapes, but one recurring
physical feature seems most common: the presence of
tentacles. These creatures also known as the Ancient Ones or
the Great Old Ones. In At the Mountains of Madness, HPL
suggests that the Old Ones started the process of life on
Earth as a joke. They became deeply involved in the black
arts and were exiled to various places of confinement, such as
hidden cities, other dimensions and certain regions of outer
space. They are continually plotting their return to the earth
which will occur “when the stars are right” Like the cycle of
the four seasons, their return is deemed inevitable. The
pantheon of Old Ones contains such figures as Great
Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath,
Azathoth, Yig, Dagon and Hastur “the Unspeakable.” (When
Dennis Hasten became Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1999, his choice delighted Lovecraft fans
because of the resemblance of his name.) As with the books
of forbidden lore, HPL encouraged other members of his
circle to furnish their own additions to the roster. Clark
Ashton Smith added the spidery Atlach Nacha and
Tsathoggua, who often appears in the guise of great toad.
Others followed suit with additional candidates, such as
August Derleth (Lliogar, Ithaqua and Cthugha), Robert E.
Howard (Gol-Gorath), Frank Belknap Long (Chaugnar
Faugn), Henry Kuttner (Nygotha) and Robert Bloch (Byatis).
The later generation continued the tradition of identifying
additional Old Ones, including Ramsey Campbell (Glaaki),
Brian Lumley (Shudde-M’ell), Crispin Bumham (Othuyeg)
and numerous others. There have been differing
interpretations of the Old Ones after HPL’s passing. August
Derleth, who did so much to bring HPL’s work before the
public, had to a certain degree revised the order of the Old
Ones in his own stories and posthumous collaborations using
Lovecraft material. In his framework, he stresses the ancient
conflict between the Elder Gods, who are somewhat
benevolent and the Old Ones, who are evil. It was the Elder
Gods who banished the Old Ones. Some of this is
nevertheless based on Lovecraft, who wrote about one of the
Elder Gods, Nodens (whose name was derived from the
ancient British god of healing) was and other serene beings,
the Great Race portrayed in The Shadow Out of Time.
Derleth also attempted to classify the Old Ones according to
the elements: Cthulhu (water), Yog-Sothoth (earth), Hastur
(air) and Cthugha (fire). Other writers, after Derleth’s passing
in 1971, felt that his own Cthulhu Mythos work was
revisionism and weakened Lovecraft’s original concept of the
Old Ones. Still others proclaimed yet a different classification
of the Old Ones, removing Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-
Niggurath, Nyarlathotep and others from the group and
calling them the “Outer Gods” instead, since they represent
cosmic forces such as fertility and chaos. This repackaging
disturbs traditionalists who prefer the original concept. These
intellectual skirmishes can be seen as signs of the continuing
fascination of the Cthulhu Mythos.

R’lyeh: Vast, Cyclopean sunken city beneath the

Southern Pacific. Built by shoggoths, the megalopolis is
millions of years old. R’lyeh had been constructed according
to geometrical principles beyond the understanding of
humans, including angles that Lovecraft has described as
“Non-Euclidian.” In addition, the pillars and structures are
covered with bas-reliefs of hideous and grotesque images.
According to the Cthulhu Mythos, when “the stars are right,”
R’lyeh will rise to the surface and Cthulhu will awaken. One
of the most famous passages from the Necronomicon refers
to the city. In the original, it reads, “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh
Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn” or in English translation,
“In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”

Shoggoths: Frightening beings created to serve the

Old Ones, primarily in off-world locations such as Yuggoth
(the planet Pluto). However, they were later imported to earth
where they labored for the Old Ones, usually in cold climates
such as Antarctica. Shoggoths are portrayed as fifteen feet in
diameter, and equipped with only those organs deemed
necessary for their work. They usually travel in a self-
manufactured cloud and communicate by telepathy. It was
reported that these slaves once revolted against the Old Ones,
and killed their victims by devouring their brains. This revolt
was put down, and shoggoths have remained docile since.
The Cthulhu Mythos is filled with a number of other alien
species, generally vassals of the Old Ones, including the Mi-
Go (or Fungi from Yuggoth), the Tcho-Tcho (half-human
cannibals), the reptile people of fabled Valusia (based on
Robert E. Howard), the Shan (the insects from Shaggai), the
Hounds of Tindalos (vicious green, hairless, dog-like
creatures) and so on. Lovecraft also includes the Abominable
Snowmen of the Himalayas with these groups.

Spawn of Cthulhu: A large flock of minions who

attend to Great Cthulhu in R’lyeh. Most are now believed to
be sleeping, but will awaken when Cthulhu does. Some are
literal descendants of Cthulhu, and resemble him to a great
degree. Since the authentic Cthulhu is of vast proportions,
whenever a smaller version appears in a film, it is usually one
of the Spawn of Cthulhu instead.

Whateley family: The Old New England family that is

concentrated in the vicinity of Dunwich, Massachusetts. In
his fiction, Lovecraft divides the family into two branches, the
normal and the decadent, whose ancestors worshipped the
Old Ones. During a ritual, Lavinia Whateley was mated to
Yog-Sothoth, and their offspring were twins. Wilbur Whateley
appeared largely human, but his brother, later designated the
“Dunwich Horror,” more closely resembled his monstrous
father. In films, the normal branch of the family is not
portrayed, and all attention is concentrated on the decayed
side of the family.

Yog-Sothoth: One of the most important of the Old

Ones, Yog-Sothoth is described in the Necronomicon as “the
key and guardian of the gate. Past, present and future, all are
one in Yog-Sothoth.” When the Old Ones return, it will be
through his efforts, since he will break down the gate and
prepare the way. Yog-Sothoth also has the ability to assume
different forms and mate with human beings. Yog-Sothoth
has the ability, but he is usually invisible in our dimension.
Lovecraft portrayed Shub-Niggurath, one of the few Old
Ones considered to be female, as the wife of Yog-Sothoth,
with Nug and Yeb as their offspring.
THE COMPLETE ROSTER OF LOVECRAFT FILMS

The contributions of other writers did not diminish the

genius inspired originality of the Cthulhu Mythos; in its
major aspects, it remains entirely Lovecraftian.

—Frank Belknap Long in Dreamer on the

Nightside

Although Long, in the same memoir, noted his

disappointment that film adaptations he had seen had failed
to do justice to the “cosmic sweep” of the Cthulhu Mythos,
yet his contention that Cthulhu Mythos literature is entirely
Lovecraftian might also extend to Cthulhu cinema. In this
section, I have categorized my findings concerning Lovecraft
films in two lists. The first is primary Lovecraft cinema which
will be examined in depth in the central portion of the book
and the first appendix. The criteria used to classify a motion
picture on the primary list has to be be clearly defined. Any
direct adaptation of HPL, such as The Dunwich Horror, is
automatically placed on the primary list, even in cases of poor
adaptations. Other types that are intrinsically included are
pictures openly inspired by Lovecraft or the Cthulhu Mythos,
such as Cast a Deadly Spell. The remaining category, more
selective, requires a clear winnowing process. These are
productions that do not openly acknowledge Lovecraft as the
source, but are so strongly indebted to him that they can
clearly be labeled as examples of Cthulhu cinema. The
influence has to be significant and relevant to the plot. Caltiki,
the Immortal Monster would serve as a representative
example. A casual allusion or use of a Mythos name, by itself,
is not enough to consider a film as a primary example of
Cthulhu cinema. If the Lovecraft material is only of modest
import or less, then that film may only qualify for the
secondary roster. The list is presented in alphabetical order.
The filming or release date and some of the alternate titles
are also included. Three titles indicated with an asterisk are
foreign titles that are largely unavailable at the present time,
such as Insumasu o oou Kage, the Japanese version of The
Shadow Over Innsmouth. Coverage of these three
productions are reserved for Appendix A.
 THE PRIMARY LIST OF LOVECRAFT FILMS

L’Altrove* (1998/2000) AKA The Beyond

Army of Darkness (1991/93) AKA Evil Dead III
Bleeders (1997)
Bride of Re-Animator (1990) AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s
Bride of Re-Animator
Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959) AKA II Monstro
Immortale
Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Castle Freak (1995)
Chilean Gothic* (1997/99)
The Crawling Eye (1958) AKA The Trollenberg Terror
The Crimson Cult (1968) AKA Curse of the Crimson
Altar and Witch House
Cthulhu Mansion (1990) AKA Black Magic Mansion
and La Maison de los Cthulhu
Dark Intruder (1964)
Die, Monster, Die! (1965) AKA House at the End of
the World and Monster of Terror
The Dunwich Horror (1969)
Enemy from Space (1957) AKA Quatermass 2
Equinox (1967/71) AKA The Beast
The Evil Dead (1981) AKA Book of the Dead
Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987)
The Farm (1987) AKA The Curse
Forever Evil (1987)
From Beyond (1986) AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s From
Beyond
The Haunted Palace (1963) AKA The Curse of
Arkham
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
Insumasu o oou Kage* (1992) AKA The Shadow Over
Innsmouth
Lurking Fear (1994)
The Manitou (1978)
Necronomicon (1994) AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s
Necronomicon: Book of the Dead
Out of Mind (1998)
Phantoms (1998)
Re-Animator (1985) AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s Re-
Animator
The Resurrected (1992)
The Shuttered Room (1967)
The Spider Labyrinth (1988) AKA II Nido del Ragno
The Unnamable (1988) AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s The
Unnamable
The Unnamable II: The Testament of Randolph Carter
(1992)
Witch Hunt (1994)
 THE SECONDARY LIST OF LOVECRAFT FILMS

Thirty-two titles are contained in the secondary list. In

different cases, the relevance of Lovecraft or the Cthulhu
Mythos in the overall film may range from moderate to
simply minimal. Annotations are provided for these titles
since they have not merited the exhaustive treatment
accorded the primary films.
Alien (1979) John Carpenter considers this film and its
sequels to be heavily influenced by Lovecraft, which he states
would be obvious if the setting were switched to New
England. H.R. Giger, the visionary artist who conceived the
mutating alien creature, is best known for his series of art
books based on the Necronomicon and inspired by HPL. In
addition, some of these drawings became actual prototypes
for the design of the creatures. That fact alone qualifies these
four films for Cthulhu cinema recognition.

Alien3 (1992) See Alien

Alien Resurrection (1997) See Alien
Aliens (1986) See Alien

Artemis 81 (1981) Danish-British co-production

starring Hywell Bennett, Dan O’Herlihy, Ingrid Pitt and Sting
(Gordon Sumner). Telefilm in which evil and destruction
follow in the wake of a hideous ancient statue (similar to that
of Chaugnar Faugn) which is stolen from a museum. A
primordial battle is waged between two alien forces over the
future of humankind.
 Asylum (1972) This British film is an Amicus
production based on four stories by Robert Bloch. A doctor
applying for a position at an exclusive asylum is issued a
challenge: the position is his if he can identify which of the
inmates is actually the institution’s former director. The first
story is a variant of Clark Ashton Smith’s tale The Return of
the Sorcerer. The second story, starring Peter Cushing and
Barry Morse, is a shortened version of The Weird Tailor,
previously adapted by Bloch for the television show Thriller.
See Appendix C for a fuller analysis.
The Beast Within (1982) Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch,
Luke Askew, R.G. Armstrong and Paul Clemens star in this
offbeat but amusing horror film. Clemens learns that he is
descended from a cicada monster that had raped his mother.
The script is loaded with Lovecraftian references. The
Mississippi town is populated by the decaying Curwen family,
and Luke Askew’s character is named Dexter Ward. The story
has elements of The Lurking Fear.
Beyond Dream’s Door (1989) Written and directed
by Jay Woelfel in Columbus, Ohio, this independent, college-
funded film is influenced by Lovecraftian dream imagery. A
student is plagued by a series of terrifying nightmares, and
eventually learns through therapy about a twenty year dream
cycle of frightening proportions.
Creepshow (1982) This George Romero/Stephen
King anthology film has Lovecraftian overtones in several
tales. In the second tale, King himself stars in a variation of
The Colour Out of Space. In the fourth episode, a
mysterious crate is discovered under a stairwell in an old
University building. It is an unopened shipment from an old
Arctic expedition, and when it is opened, the monstrous beast
within awakens from hibernation and goes on a bloody
rampage. The creature seems like one of the horrid fellow
travelers of the Old Ones. Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau
and Fritz Weaver (as Professor Dexter) star in this episode.
Deep Rising (1998) This film has a terrific climax, in
which a terrifying, Cthulhu-inspired squid monster is fully
revealed. Unfortunately, the first half of the picture is
awkwardly directed and deafeningly noisy as the soundtrack is
filled with never-ending rapid gunfire. But the special effects
of the slithering tentacles are priceless. Featuring Treat
Williams, Anthony Heald and Famke Janssen. Written and
directed by Stephen Sommers.
Five Million Years to Earth (1968) AKA Quatermass
and the Pit Third and finest of the Quatermass series. A
subway excavation in London uncovers the most bizarre
creatures since Ramsey Campbell’s The Insects from Shaggai.
Plot has significant Cthulhu Mythos overtones. Andrew Kier
plays Quatermass. See the in-depth entry on Enemy From
Space.
Frostbiter, Wrath of the Wendigo (1996). This
independent feature, directed, edited, written and filmed by
Tom Cheney, was shot in Michigan. The Wendigo, a demon
who thrives in the northern winds, is an Indian legend that
was used by Algernon Blackwood in his short story The
Wendigo (1910), a tale which HPL greatly admired. August
Derleth incorporated the Wendigo into the Cthulhu Mythos
with the alternate name of Ithaqua. The creature in Frostbiter
leans heavily toward the Derleth interpretation. The film is an
imaginative one, and entertaining if, and only if, you can
stomach the terrible rock soundtrack that drowns out most
of the dialogue.
 Gates of Hell (1980) AKA City of the Living Dead
This is an Italian-made gory zombie film directed by Lucio
Fulci and starring Christopher George, Fabrizio Jovine and
Catriona MacColl. The suicide of a clergyman in Dunwich,
Massachusetts leads to the opening of a passageway from
hell, and the town dead arise as zombies. The spell must be
broken before it spreads worldwide. The principal Lovecraft
connection is the Dunwich setting. The film was shot in
Savannah, Georgia.
Horror Hotel (1958) AKA The City of the Dead An
atmospheric and extraordinarily creepy British horror film set
in a remote Dunwich-style village in Massachusetts ruled by a
coven of 17th century witches. Christopher Lee stars in this
picture which is far more impressive than the later actual
adaptation of Dreams in the Witch-House, entitled The
Crimson Cult.
The Intruder Within (1981) Atmospheric telefilm set
on an isolated oil rig off the coast of Antarctica. Undersea
monsters are released by the drilling. The picture has a fine
first half, but the second half is poorly developed, becoming
hackneyed and tedious. Featuring Chad Everett, Joseph
Bottoms and Jennifer Warren. See Appendix D for
comparison with the similar Brian Lumley Mythos story, The
Night SEA-MAID Went Down.
The Keep (1983) F.Paul Wilson’s original novel was
heavily influenced by Lovecraft, a World War II story that
pitted the Nazis against an awakening Old One in a remote
keep in the Balkans that overlooked an important pass. The
film script, by director Michael Mann, drained away much of
the Mythos elements, as well as the misidentification of this
being as a vampire, rendering the film incoherent as well. This
is great candidate for a remake. If done correctly, it could be
a classic.
The Last Wave (1977) Writer Fritz Leiber, HPL’s
friend, considered this Australian film by Peter Weir to have
been deeply influenced by Lovecraft. The aboriginal people,
in their dream world, are receiving indications of “the end of
a cycle,” an apocalypse. Lawyer Richard Chamberlain,
handling a case, is drawn in by their visions. For an in-depth
analysis, see my book A Guide to Apocalyptic Cinema
(Greenwood, 2001).
The Maze (1954) Writer and film historian Bill Warren
noted the Lovecraftian affinity of this bizarre gothic, set in a
remote castle in the Scottish highlands, the estate of Sir
Gerald McTeam (Richard Carlson). Sir Gerald, however, is
only a “front man” for the true master, a centuries old frog-
like creature with a human brain. One of the oddest horror
films of the 50s, shot in 3D by William Cameron Menzies.
Octaman (1971) The grotesque title character, a
mutated half-human, half octopus, is undoubtedly inspired by
numerous Cthulhu drawings and sketches that have appeared
over the years. Your mouth will hang open in disbelief when
the creature appears, but the rest of the film is tedious.
Featuring Jeff Morrow, Kerwin Matthews and Pier Angeli,
who died of an overdose while making the film.
Octopus (2000) Most giant octopus films, such as
Tentacles (1977), Peter Benchley’s The Beast (1996) or It
Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) really have no
Lovecraftian significance, but Octopus is the exception,
Featuring an impressive giant mutated creature who
dominates a hidden underwater domain. The special effects
were done in Russia, and are largely mechanical but fairly
spectacular. Directed by John Eyers. A sequel is in the works.
Quatermass Conclusion (1980) Fourth and final
Quatermass film, it genuinely reflects the cosmic sweep of
the finest Mythos works. Large groups of people are being
summoned to sacred sites from which they mysteriously
vanish. Professor Quatermass comes out of retirement to
solve the puzzle before the population of earth is raptured
away by a sinister force. Sir John Mills plays Quatermass. See
the in-depth entry on Enemy from Space.
Quatermass Xperiment (1956) AKA The Creeping
Unknown, first film in the Quatermass series, developed from
a British TV mini-series. A astronaut returning from space
mutates into a large, hideous creature reminiscent of the Old
Ones. Brian Donlevy plays Quatermass. See the in-depth
entry on Enemy From Space.
The Relic (1997) A rare plant is used by a South
American tribe to recreate their legendary avenging god,
Kathoga (inspired in part by August Derleth’s Old One,
Cthugha.) In revenge for plunder, the natives ensure that
Kathoga is sent to the Chicago Natural History Museum,
where it grows, mutates and unleashes a killing spree.
Directed by Peter Hyams. Featuring James Whitmore,
Penelope Ann Miller and Tom Sizemore.
La Setta (1990) AKA The Devil’s Daughter A school
teacher in Frankfurt makes the acquaintance of a strange old
man, eventually leading to the discovery of the now cliched
doorway to hell in her basement. Although dealing with
witchcraft and Satanism, the film has an unusual cosmic
finale. Yog-Sothoth in invoked during a ritual. Written by
Dario Argento, directed by Michele Soavi and featuring
Herbert Lorn and Kelly Curtis.
 Seven Doors to Death (1981) AKA The Beyond
Another Italian-made Lucio Fulci film, similar in plot and
tone to The Gates of Hell, in which another of the seven
gates to hell is opened, this time in New Orleans, through
which zombies and gruesome spiders emerge. The Mythos
linkage is through the appearance of the Book of Eibon, a
companion volume of the Necronomicon, invented by Clark
Ashton Smith. Filmed in Louisiana.
The Slime People (1962) A race of subterranean scaly
monsters, the slime people emerge from the underground
and conquer Los Angeles. They alter the climate by means of
a special cloud machine, which is located and destroyed by a
scientist and a handful of survivors. The slime people are
highly reminiscent of the non-human races that serve the Old
Ones. Written and produced by Joseph F. Robinson, who
credited his wife Blair for the script. Directed by and starring
Robert Hutton.
Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997) Utterly brilliant film
that baffled most critics, it is the finest production on the
secondary list. In the 19th century, a meteor containing
extraterrestrial life crashes on a remote frozen island off the
coast of Greenland. In modern times, a scientist and
corporate leader wants to exploit this discovery, but it is
found that close contact with the water around the meteorite
causes fatal results. Because of the killing of a child in
Copenhagen, a troubled young woman of Greenlandic
descent determines to discover the reason behind the murder,
which leads her to an expedition to the meteorite. Plot is like
a cross between The Colour Out of Space, James Bond,
Alfred Hitchcock and an Eskimo Nancy Drew. Highly
recommended. Featuring Julia Ormond, Gabriel Byrne,
Richard Harris and Robert Loggia. Filmed in Denmark,
Sweden and Greenland.
The Sound of Horror (1964) AKA The Sound from
a Million Years Ago. A most unusual Spanish film set in the
mountains of Greece. Thieves hid their plunder in a remote
cave. Years later, treasure hunters try to locate it, and an
excavation blast unleashes an invisible demon of local legend,
who then kills off the intruders. Their manner of death is
very similar to the one described by HPL in his History of
the Necronomicon, in which Abdul Alhazred meets his
ultimate fate when he is torn to pieces by an invisible demon.
This similarity and the expedition/cave setting invites a
Lovecraftian interpretation. Some critics consider the
monster to be an invisible dinosaur, which simply doesn’t
make sense. James Philbrook, Ingrid Pitt and Soledad
Miranda are featured in the film.
The Thing (1982) Although John Carpenter’s
controversial film is based on the John W. Campbell story
Who Goes There?, he acknowledges that Lovecraft also
inspired the effort A team of scientists in the Antarctic
release an alien creature who came to Earth in prehistoric
times. The entity is a killer, a shape shifter that can assume
the appearance of any living being.
The Tomb (1985) This film was initially contracted “as
inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s The Tomb” This was merely a
ploy by filmmaker Fred Olen Ray to use the title, since HPL’s
story is in the public domain. Ray was hoping to get a buyout
offer by a major studio which was planning to make F. Paul
Wilson’s The Tomb. When that didn’t happen, Ray made the
film anyway, HPL’s original story was completely abandoned,
and the plot was changed to that of an ancient Egyptian
vampire who is set free and comes to L.A. It features
Michelle Bauer, David Pearson, Kitten Natividad, John
Carradine, Sybil Danning and Cameron Mitchell as “Howard
Phillips,” the only Lovecraftian reference in the film.
War-Gods of the Deep (1965) AKA City Under the
Sea This film almost follows poem by Poe, story by
Lovecraft, starring Vincent Price model of The Haunted
Palace. Very loosely inspired by The Shadow Over Innsmouth
with an added dash of Jules Verne and James Hilton. A group
of 17th century pirates, led by Price, live in a sunken,
underwater city where the aging process has been suspended.
The remnants of the “great race” that built the city are gill-
men, who conduct raids on the nearby coastal villages for
their needs. Because of the significance of The Shadow Over
Innsmouth, some Mythos scholars consider any film in which
a humanoid amphibian appears, such as The Creature From
the Black Lagoon (1954) or The Monster of Pie-dras Blancas
(1958) to be a Lovecraft film. War-Gods of the Deep,
however, with its Victorian period setting and archaic
language, is the only one of these efforts that seems to
qualify. Another possible reference comes from the dialogue.
Tab Hunter asks Vincent Price, “Is this Lyonesse?” (a
reference to a noted mythological sunken city with Arthurian
connotations), and he receives the response that one name is
as good as another. Could this be an allusion to another
British town that sunk into the sea, largely in the 14th
century, and also famous in legend—Dunwich, a name with
considerable Lovecraftian overtones?
Witchouse (1999) Seven college friends party at a
haunted house, where they meet the vengeance of Lilith, a
witch burned three hundred years earlier. The setting is
Dunwich, and the basic concept seems to have been initially
inspired by Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch-House, although
HPL’s overall influence is minor.
Dozens of other titles were considered for the
secondary list. A few, such as Fiend Without a Face (1958),
The Blob (1958), The Atomic Submarine (1959), Tremors
(1990), Stargate (1994) and The Whole Wide World (1996)
came fairly close to meeting the criteria for inclusion. The last
film is a straightforward screen portrait of HPL’s friend,
writer Robert E. Howard. Most, however, simply miss the
boat, such as The Beast in the Cellar (1971) or Godzilla vs.
The Smog Monster (1972). In spite of C.L. Werner’s
entertaining recent story Godzilla vs. Cthulhu, the Godzilla
series and the Cthulhu Mythos simply do not mix. Other
rejects included Jesse (Jesus) Franco’s Necronomicon (1967)
AKA Succubus, an S & M flick without the slightest
Lovecraft connection. Neither did I consider any of the
hardcore examples of Cthulhu cinema, including Twin Tarts
(1979) AKA Teenage Twins, in which sex scenes alternate
with a dissertation about the Necronomicon, and Blue Ice
(1985), the last film featuring Reggie Nalder, the Albert Hall
assassin from Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1956). Nalder plays a sex-obsessed Nazi general seeking a
forbidden book, Der Bogengeider, a kind of erotic
Necronomicon.
Another picture that failed to make the list is The
Sinister Invasion (1968) AKA Alien Terror, one of the four
Boris Karloff Mexican films, originally conceived by Jack Hill
who shot all of Karloff s scenes at a studio in Los Angeles.
Several Lovecraft sources include the later film, but director
Hill and screenwriter Karl Schanzer have both assured me in
interviews that there is no HPL association. The same is true
for The Fear Chamber (1968) AKA The Torture Zone,
another of these four films.
No doubt, like the Old Ones, other examples of
Lovecraft films may exist out there, hidden and unseen, in
between the spaces we know. Now, however, it is time to
examine the primary titles in depth.
 Thirty-three Films in Depth

Army of Darkness (1991/93)

AKA Evil Dead III
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Necronomicon
Spawn of the Old Ones

Universal/Renaissance Pictures. Written by Sam Raimi

& Ivan Raimi; Photographed by Bill Pope; Edited by Bob
Murawski & Bruce Campbell; Music by Danny Elfman &
Joseph Lo Duca; Produced by Robert G. Tapert, Bruce
Campbell & Dino De Laurentiis (executive); Directed by Sam
Raimi. Original U.S. version, ending II, 81 minutes; Foreign
version, ending I, 87 minutes; Foreign version, ending II, 86
minutes; Director’s cut, 96 minutes; Extended complete cut,
109 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Bruce Campbell...........Ash (man thrown back in time), Tiny

Ash #1 (his miniature counterpart), Evil Ash (his evil
dopplegänger)
Bridgit Fonda...............Linda (his 20th century girlfriend)
Embeth Davidtz...........Sheila (princess in Kandar)
Marcus Gilbert.............Arthur (ruler of Kandar)
Ian Abercrombie...........Wiseman Joe (Arthur’s wizard &
advisor)
Richard Grove..............Henry the Red (duke who revolts
against Arthur)
Timothy P. Quill.........Blacksmith
Michael Earl Reid.........Goldtooth (one of Arthur’s men)
Patricia Tallman...........Female demon who confronts Ash
Sam Raimi.................Knight in sweatshirt & sneakers
Ted Raimi...................Cowardly warrior, S-MART clerk (2nd
ending only)
Angela Featherstone......Girl in S-MART (2nd ending only)
Deke Anderson.............Tiny Ash #2
Bruce Thomas..............Tiny Ash #3
Bill Moseley...............Deadite leader, transformed from Evil
Ash
Sara Shearer................Old woman
Shiva Gordon..............Pit Deadite#1
Billy Bryan.................Pit Deadite #2
Nadine Grycan.............Winged Deadite
Michael Kenney...........Duke Henry’s henchman
Andy Bale...................Arthur’s lieutenant
Rad Milo....................Arthur’s 2nd lieutenant
Brad Bradbury..............Chief archer

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Army of Darkness, the conclusion of the Evil Dead

trilogy, encountered considerable difficulties en route to the
screen due both to funding problems and the figure of
Hannibal Lecter. Initially budgeted at $12 million, the scope
of the film proved to be too vast, and several key scenes were
eliminated, a defect which damaged the film’s continuity.
Universal came up with an additional $3 million to finish it,
but this arrangement forced the film to become the captive
of a legal wrangle between Universal and Dino De Laurentiis
over the rights to The Silence of the Lambs (1991). The
Italian producer helmed the first film in which Hannibal
Lecter appeared, Manhunter (1986) based on the novel Red
Dragon by Thomas Harris. The studio claimed that the
Italian producer ceded his rights to the next Lecter film when
Universal put up the additional funding for Army of
Darkness. It took a full year for this legal issue to be resolved,
delaying the Sam Raimi film which was originally scheduled
for a major release by Universal in May, 1992. Meanwhile, the
film debuted in the foreign market. By the time Universal
authorized the American release, they had edited the print
and included the new ending which they suggested that Raimi
add, but the distribution of the film was piecemeal, not given
the major push that Universal had originally planned. Because
of this labyrinthian process, different versions of the film
were released. The foreign version with the original ending
ran 87 minutes. The American version, with the new ending,
ran a skimpy 81 minutes. A second foreign version with the
new ending ran 86 minutes. Finally, Raimi produced a
director’s cut for video and DVD at 96 minutes, which uses
the original ending. Four additional scenes extend the length
to approximately 109 minutes for completists. The following
synopsis is based on this version, however the contrasting
second ending will be discussed for the sake of comparison.
It is best to first read the synopsis of Evil Dead II for the
sake of continuity.
Ash begins his narration in most film versions at his job
in S-MART, manning the housewares department, which he
holds down in addition to being an S.M.U. student. However,
there is also an alternate opening that connects directly to the
first ending. Here Ash begins his narration directly addressing
the camera. Only his eyes are visible (obviously to conceal the
long beard which he has in the first ending). In this version,
Ash quotes a line from The Dunwich Horror (in which Dr.
Armitage translates the Necronomicon), extending it with a
phrase from The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
This opening is darker, edgier, more sinister and far superior
to the more commonly seen version. Ash recounts how a visit
to a cabin in the woods eventually leads to his being cast
through time and space to the castle of Kandar in the year
1300. Here he has been taken prisoner by Arthur, the warrior
leader of Kandar, who has just put down a rebellion by Duke
Henry the Red and his men. Arthur assumes Ash is one of
Henry’s men, despite the fact that his wizard, Wiseman Joe,
proclaims that Ash is the mysterious visitor from the sky
foretold in prophecy. Ash is condemned to death and cast
into a pit, forced to battle two Deadites, supernatural
creatures who have been plaguing the people of Kandar.
When the wizard tosses down to Ash his chainsaw, which
Ash attaches it to his armin place of his severed right hand as
he fights. Vanquishing the strange creatures, Ash emerges
from the pit and overcomes Arthur, forcing him to release
Henry and his men. The people become fascinated with Ash,
particularly Princess Sheila who previously spat on him when
she thought he was one of the rebels. Ash demands that they
help him to return to his own time, but the wizard insists that
only the Necronomicon would have the power to do that.
Arthur’s people also have need of the Necronomicon to
overcome the Deadites. The quest for the book is filled with
great peril, principally from supernatural forces. Ash
romances Sheila, constructs a metallic right hand for himself,
and sets out on his mission. Wiseman Joe informs him that
when he locates the Necronomicon, stored in an accursed
cemetery, he must not take it until he speaks the magic spell,
“Klaatu berada nikto.” For film enthusiasts, this line is lifted
from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).
As Ash travels on horseback through the haunted
countryside, he senses the presence of evil, the same evil that
pursued him back at the cabin. A camera, recreating the
Point-of View effects from the earlier films, starts to pursue
Ash, and he gallops off, finally falling off his horse and taking
refuge in a dilapidated windmill. In the extended version, Ash
engages in a long, highly atmospheric search in and around
the windmill. This scene is unparalleled screen poetry,
creating a foreboding and moody ambience, which raises
more gooseflesh than anything else in the film. Unfortunately,
this dream-like passage was cut from the other versions to
speed up the plot.
The next scene is one of the most controversial in Army
of Darkness, a mad, surreal slapstick nightmare, combining
the influence of the Three Stooges, Gulliver’s Travels and an
obscure but amusing horror film The Manster (1959). Ash
catches a glimpse of his evil alter ego who taunted him in the
mirror in Evil Dead II. He smashes the mirror, and a platoon
of tiny six-inch Ash duplicates emerge from the fragments,
and an absurd battle ensues. The buffoonery continues when
Tiny Ash, the leader of the pack, jumps down Ash’s throat.
He then begins to emerge full size through Ash’s body,
resulting in a hilarious two-headed Ash sequence. After they
separate, the Evil Ash taunts his double until the real Ash
blows him away with his shotgun. Ash finally buries his evil
twin, and resumes his quest for the Necronomicon.
He arrives at the forbidden graveyard, only to discover
three duplicate Necronomicons resting on an elaborate
platform shaped like a dolman. At first, Ash is flabbergasted.
He tries to examine the first Necronomicon, and he is sucked
into it. When he emerges, his body is distorted and elongated
like a grotesque cartoon character. He then examines the
second book, which bites his hand and flaps away. With only
one book left, Ash starts to recite his ritual phrase, but he has
forgotten the last word. He finally says, “Klaatu berada ni-
hawmph” obscuring the last syllable with a cough. Looking
around slyly, he says, “Okay then. That’s it!” and takes the
Necronomicon. As he does, a nearby thunderfall rumbles and
a terrible trembling starts. “Hey, everything’s cool! I said the
words! I did!” Ash protests as the forces of evil are set free.
The skeletons in the graveyard emerge from their tombs and
attempt to seize Ash as he flees. Back in Kandar, the wizard
immediately realizes that something has gone terribly wrong.
A lightning bolt strikes the grave of Ash’s dopplegänger,
and he arises. Ash races back to Kandar, presenting the
Necronomicon to Wiseman Joe. When the wizard questions
him, he realizes Ash misspoke the words, and that they are all
doomed. The army of darkness will lay siege to the castle of
Kandar and destroy them all, reclaiming the Necronomicon.
Arthur dismisses Ash as a coward, and instructs the wizard to
send him back to his own time through the use of the book.
Sheila implores Ash to stay and fight. He hesitates, but when
a winged demon swoops down and kidnaps Sheila, Ash vows
to fight and set right the terrible wrong which he has caused.
He restores his car, which came with him through the
time portal, and turns it into a small tank. Using his chemistry
textbook from the truck of the car, Ash instructs the artisans
of Kandar to build bombs and other explosives. In a scene
from the extended version, he seeks out Duke Henry and his
men, obtaining their pledge to come and fight with Arthur.
Meanwhile, the army of darkness gathers, and Ash’s evil twin
takes over command of the troops. He takes Sheila as his
consort, transforming her into an evil witch. In a grotesque
scene, the skeleton army advances to the walls of Kandar.
Ash rallies the armed forces of the castle, paraphrasing a
John Wayne speech from a World War II film. The battle
becomes a wild parody of a fortress siege, involving
innumerable sight gags and puns. Finally, Ash engages in
single hand combat with his evil twin, vanquishing him. Sheila
is transformed back into a beautiful woman. With Duke
Henry’s aid, the forces of Arthur are successful, and they
celebrate their victory together.
At this point, the first ending has the wizard brew a
special potion using a recipe from the Necronomicon. He
instructs Ash to swallow six drops of the elixir after he and
his car are sealed up in a cave. He will then fall into a deep
sleep, awakening back in his own time. When the moment
comes for Ash to take the potion, he is distracted and winds
up taking seven drops by accident. He falls asleep and the
centuries pass. When he awakens, Ash resembles Rip Van
Winkle, having grown a long beard. He digs his way out of
the cave, only to find he has emerged into a world a hundred
years beyond his own time. It is the late 21th century,
civilization has been totally destroyed, and he emerges into a
post-apocalyptic wasteland of a ruined city. In despair, Ash
cries out, “No, No! I’ve slept too long!”
The alternative second ending also shows the wizard
preparing a special potion, but now in the soundtrack, his
instruction to Ash is to swallow the liquid after reciting the
magic phrase “Klaatu berada nikto.” He will then be returned
to his own time. After bidding farewell to Sheila, we next see
Ash resume his station in the housewares department next to
the rotating blue light. “I thought about staying,” Ash
explains to a co-worker, but he decided to return to the place
where he belongs. “Did you say the words right this time?”
his friend inquires. Again, Ash hems and haws, saying he
basically repeated the formula. At this point, an evil force
enters the store, transforming a female customer into a
Deadite hag. Grabbing a shotgun, Ash swings into battle
mode and blasts away at the creature. When it falls, Ash’s
voice closes the adventure with a narration. “Sure I could
have stayed in the past. I could have even been king, but in
my own way, I am king.”
Of the myriad competing versions, the extended version
with the first ending is undoubtedly superior. Of the three
Evil Dead pictures, Army of Darkness is clearly the comic
gem of the trilogy. It is an open, broad satire, lampooning a
considerable number of films. Besides the titles already
mentioned, other targets include The Student of Prague
(1927), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949),
Ivanhoe (1952), King Richard and the Crusaders (1954),
Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Unidentified Flying Oddball
(1979), Apocalypse Now (1979) and the Back to the Future
trilogy. The primary influence appears to be the Three
Stooges. On the other hand, the scattershot approach leaves
the linear story filled with large plot loopholes. For example,
exactly where does this medieval kingdom exist? The notes
on one of the video boxes state that the location is England,
but in that case where is King Edward I, the actual historical
king in the year 1300. Also, where in England is there the
rugged desert terrain which surrounds the castle? The first
two films position Kandar in Sumeria in the Middle East,
making it a leftover outpost from the Crusades, but then this
interpretation cannot account for Duke Henry the Red, with
his thick Scottish brogue and his people “from the north.”
Perhaps a possible explanation is that Kandar is in an
alternate dimension, but then this would not fit with the
archaeo-logical excavation of Kandar in the earlier films of
the trilogy. In any case, Army of Darkness is a unique, wacky
mixture of many genres that needs to be accepted on its own
terms to be fully enjoyed. The technical aspects of the film,
from make-up through special effects, are simply marvelous.
The cinematography is compelling. Danny Elfman’s
contribution to the soundtrack, the infectious and delightful
“March of the Dead,” is a minor classic, and the rest of the
score by Joseph Lo Duca is his finest effort. The quality of
the editing varies, but it is more than adequate in the
director’s cut. As a cult film, Army of Darkness is quirky,
outrageous and often aggravating, but it is never dull.

PERFORMANCES

This film is another tour de force for actor Bruce

Campbell as Ash. The cleverest aspect of his performance is
its dichotomy. Not only is there a good Ash and a bad Ash,
but the real Ash is simultaneously a hero and a loser, a well-
meaning innocent and an arrogant know-it-all, an inspiring
leader and a self-centered ingrate. This also carries over to the
alternate endings: in the original, Ash has blown it again
beyond repair, but in the second, he manages to achieve a
mock heroic standoff. Campbell keeps Ash constantly
interesting, even in the script’s most asinine moments. For
example, as he prepares to fight Arthur, he tells him his
shoelaces are untied. This anachronistic line makes no sense,
as the term “shoelaces” would probably be unknown to
Arthur. It’s very audaciousness and illogic make the comment
one uniquely suited to Ash. (Foolishly and inexplicably,
Arthur does look down at his feet.) Ash becomes bigger than
life, and his many clichés such as “Give me some sugar, baby”
or “Let’s give them what for,” take on their own endearing
charm. Embeth Davidtz also has a meaty part, largely due to
her transformation into an evil sidekick for Bad Ash, but she
does endow the part with considerable zest. Marcus Gilbert,
lan Abercrombie and Richard Grove are fine, although they
inevitably wind up playing straight men to Campbell, but they
perform their roles competently and with style.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Since much of this story strays wildly afield, the reliance

on Lovecraft is somewhat diluted compared to the earlier
films in the trilogy. The main ingredient of Army of
Darkness is still the Necronomicon, and it propels the entire
plot. If the Deadites are perceived as spawn of the Old Ones,
then they too are essential to the picture’s design. However,
the atmosphere and flavor of the film have little of HPL in it.
The wildest concoction is the attribution of the expression
“Klaatu berada nikto” as originating in the Necronomicon.
This alien catchphrase first appeared in The Day the Earth
Stood Still, meaning “Klaatu has to be revived.” Klaatu
(Michael Rennie) instructed his earthly friend Helen Benson
(Patricia Neal) to memorize this phrase. In case anything
happened to Klaatu, she had to deliver this message to Gort,
Klaatu’s giant robot companion. So having this phrase
reappear in the Necronomicon is a real hoot. Fans of the
earlier film are no doubt glad that Helen Benson had a better
memory than Ash.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I know now that there is such a thing as a living evil, a

dark and shapeless thing that lives not in the spaces that we
know but between them, in the dark, in the night. Now listen
carefully because there isn’t much time. Listen and believe,
because it is all true.” (Ash’s opening narration, quoting H. P.
Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson)
“All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up. See this.
This is my boom-stick! It is a 12 gauge double-barreled
Remington. S-MART’s top of the line. You’ll find this in the
sporting goods department. That’s right, this sweet baby was
made in Grand Rapids, Michigan, retails for about $109.95.
It’s got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel and a hair trigger.
Shop smart, shop S-MART. You got that?” (Ash, trying to
impress the medieval crowd with his shotgun)
“Why are you doing this?” (Ash to his dopplegänger)
“Oh, you want to know, cause the answer is easy. I’m bad
Ash, and you’re good Ash. You’re goody little two shoes.
You’re goody little two shoes. You’re goody little two shoes!”
(The double replies, breaking into a jig) “I ain’t that good”
(Ash replies, shooting his rival with a shotgun)
“When you removed the Necronomicon from its cradle,
did you speak the words?” (The wizard to Ash) “Yeah,
basically…. Look, maybe I didn’t say every tiny syllable, but
basically I said them, yeah.” (Ash’s hesitant, defensive
response)
“Lady, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave
the store.” (Ash to the female demon who invades the S-
MART in the second ending)
 Bleeders (1997)
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Graves and Ghouls

A-Pix Entertainment. Written by Charles Adair, Dan

O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett based on the short story The
Lurking Fear by H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by Barry
Gravelle; Edited by Heidi Haines; Music by Alan Reeves;
Produced by Pieter Kroonenburg & Julie Allan; Directed by
Peter Svatek. 89 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Rutger Hauer...............Dr. Marlowe (island physician)

Roy Dupuis................John Strauss (sickly island visitor)
Kristin Lehman............Kathleen (his wife & nurse)
Jackie Burroughs..........Lexie Krongold (elderly nurse)
Joanna Noyes..............Byrde Gordon (mortician & hotel
owner)
John Dunn-Hill............Hank Gordon (handyman husband of
Byrdie)
Janine Theriault...........Alice Gordon (their hard working
daughter)
John Harold Cail..........Ferry boat operator
Michelle Brunet...........Ramona (young island girl)
David Devean..............Ben (chubby island boy)
Spencer Evans.............Squeakie (island boy)
Carmen Ferland............Mrs. Shea (woman who collapses at
the cemetery)
Lisa Bronwyn Moore....Toot (island woman)
Leni Parker.................Baby Laura (retarded island woman)
Felicia Schulman.........Yolanda (island dock worker)
Robert Baril................Van Daam ghoul
Andre Dandurand..........Van Daam ghoul
Denis Lapalme.............Van Daam ghoul
Matthieu Parent...........Van Daam ghoul
Hary Jewell.................Van Daam ghoul
Gillian Ferrabee...........Eva Van Daam (decadent 17th century
noblewoman) John’s twin sister
Pascal Gruselle............Jan Vermeer (17th century Dutch
painter)
Christopher Heyerdahl...Narrator

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Three years earlier, Full Moon released Lurking Fear, an

adaptation of the Lovecraft story which was largely dismissed
by both critics and film fans. Bleeders appeared three years
later, a far closer version of the original story, but the HPL
derivation of the production was not stressed, largely to avoid
comparison with its lackluster predecessor.
The film opens in 17th century Holland, as the
illustrious Dutch master Jan Vermeer is completing his
portrait of the wealthy Eva Van Daam, a narcisstic young
beauty. In love with her own twin brother, Eva and her family
decide to emigrate to America after the King of Holland
passes a law forbidding intermarriage in aristocratic families.
The Van Daams build a large mansion on an unnamed island
off the coast of Maine and disappear from public view. After
this introduction, the credits appear against an animated
background representing human blood corpuscles as seen
under a microscope.
The setting switches to modern times as the main
section of the film begins. A pasty-faced, sickly young man,
John Strauss, accompanied by Kathleen, his wife and nurse,
are traveling by ferry to the same Maine island. As the boat
nears the shore, the passengers observe that the island
graveyard is being excavated, with all the coffins being
transferred to the mainland for reburial. The ferryman
explains that it was a political brouhaha because the island
funeral director violated state rules at the cemetery. John has
a seizure while the boat docks, and his vial of medicine falls
overboard while his wife is preparing an injection. When he
collapses, one of the nearby boat owners is recruited to take
him to the far side of the island to the house of Dr. Marlowe,
a reclusive physician who recently settled there. Marlowe is
listening to a recording of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto,
which he reluctantly leaves to treat the emergency patient.
Fortunately, he has a supply of the drug which John requires.
Kathleen explains that her husband has a rare, degenerative
blood disorder that is apparently a unique case. She tells the
doctor that they are trying to locate John’s family, to learn if
there is a congenital reason for his illness. The young man
was raised in Paris on the proceeds of a blind trust fund set
up in a bank in Bangor, Maine. The only information the
bank would release to them was that John was born on this
island, which is the reason for their journey.
At the cemetery, the workers are shocked to discover
that many of the coffins have been broken into from below,
and many of the bodies are missing. The widow of the
minister collapses after his coffin is discovered empty. When
John recovers, Dr. Marlowe drives them to the Gordon Hotel,
which doubles as a funeral parlor. Alice, the gentle Gordon
daughter, is forced by her mother to prepare and embalm the
body of Mrs. Shea. When Bryde discovers that the widow is
to be buried with an expensive heirloom necklace, she plans
on stealing it.
Kathleen can find no trace of the name Strauss on the
island, and finally turns to Marlowe for help. He consults the
records of the late Dr. Peterson, the last physician to live on
the island. He discovers that the Van Daam family, whose line
is now supposedly extinct, was known to have the same
mismatched eye coloring as John. This trait is considered a
symptom of inbreeding. Marlowe suggests that John may be a
descendant of the Van Daams, and suggests that Kathleen
consult Lexie Krongold, the elderly nurse who had worked
for Dr. Petersen.
Alice decides to steal Mrs. Shea’s necklace herself, and
use the money to escape her tyrannical mother. When she
attempts to carry out this theft in the middle of the night, she
is surprised by a ghoul who has broken into the mortuary
from a tunnel beneath the floorboards. A second ghoul
carries Alice off, as she screams furiously. The following day,
another ghoul attempts to abduct a woman on the pier, but
falls in the water when blinded by the sun, and is killed by the
propeller of Hank Gordon’s boat. The mutilated body is
brought to Marlowe, who is stunned to discover that the
blood of the creature matches the same diseased condition of
John’s blood. The creature is a genuine hermaphrodite and a
mutant with three stomachs and claws to facilitate digging.
Kathleen and John travel to see Lexie, learning that she
lives at the Van Daam estate. The islanders attacked and
burned the main structure 75 years earlier, reportedly killing
off the last of the Van Daams. As they enter the Van Daam
grounds, the feisty old woman in a wheelchair greets them
with a shotgun. Then, she seems to recognize John. The
doddering old nurse admits that John is actually a Van Daam.
She rescued him, she says, from the fire when he was a baby.
With Dr. Petersen, they set up his trust fund, sent him to
Europe and listed his name as Strauss, Lexie’s favorite
composer. John doesn’t believe that her story holds water,
since the fire she mentioned occurred 75 years earlier. He
suspects that the Van Daams have survived, and she is
protecting them and watching over them. The old woman
becomes hostile when he asks about his blood disease, and
chases them off at gunpoint.
Several island children are playing hide and seek in a
field. Ramona, the girl who is the seeker, is suddenly dragged
off by ghouls who claw up from beneath the ground.
Meanwhile, John returns to confront Lexie, demanding to
know the truth. She takes them into the ruined mansion,
explaining that the Van Daams had escaped the fire through
tunnels which they had constructed. In fact, the entire island
is honeycombed with tunnels. Two of the ghouls appear, and
drag Lexie off. The sight of them provokes strange images in
John’s mind. As he and Kathleen return to the hotel, John has
another seizure.
Dr. Marlowe explores the tunnels in search of Ramona.
He locates the bones of the many corpses devoured over the
years by the ghouls. Returning to the surface, he issues an
order for all island residents to take refuge in the lighthouse
until help can arrive. A terrible storm is brewing, and help
won’t be able to come until the next day. He explains to
everyone the source of the threat. The remnants of the Van
Damn family have degenerated into a mutated species,
sensitive to light and living in dark tunnels which they have
dug. For decades, they have fed off the corpses from the
graveyard. When the state removed their source of
nourishment, it drove them mad with hunger, and they
sought living victims.
A terrible storm breaks out shortly after the islanders
gather at the lighthouse. Marlowe talks to the stricken John,
telling him the secret that would ensure his survival. He is a
ghoul and the disease that is killing him can be remedied by
consuming human flesh. At the height of the storm, lightning
strikes the lighthouse, extinguishing the power. The Van
Daam ghouls attack en masse, and havoc reigns as the
villagers fight off the attack. Many of the humans fall prey
before the light of day forces the creatures to retreat When
help arrives from the mainland, the survivors are evacuated
off the island. John, however, elects to remain with the
ghouls, telling his wife, “I am home.” On the boat trip,
Marlowe attempts to console Kathleen, and then learns that
her distress is double because she is pregnant The Van Daams
accept John into their underground domain, and John learns
he has a twin sister. The narrator concludes, “she welcomed
her long lost brother and loved him too.”
After studying this film, it seems that Breeders might
have been a more accurate title than Bleeders, considering the
ghouls hermaphroditic nature. On the whole, Bleeders evokes
contradictory feelings in the audience. It genuinely makes
viewers uncomfortable and uneasy. There are various reasons
for these mixed feelings. Some aspects of the story simply
don’t work, such as the dissimilarity of John and his twin
sister to the rest of the Van Daams. Of course, since they
also resemble Eva Van Daam, they can be considered
throwbacks. The end of the film is also faulty. The Van
Daams appear to be surviving remarkably well, but if all
graves are removed in addition to the human residents who
have been evacuated, then there is no way for them to
continue their grizzly existence. Again, one must assume that
they took so many victims from their lighthouse assault, they
now have an ample supply stored up. In many ways, Bleeders
is an art film, filled with elegant touches. There is very little
gore on screen, and the various technical aspects of the
picture, the evocative music, the moody, deliberately hazy
cinematography (undoubtedly lensed through a silk stocking),
the brilliant editing, the masterful makeup and special effects
are all very impressive. Shot in Canada, the film made
excellent use of the rugged coastline of Nova Scotia,
conveying a breathtaking sense of desolation. Yet the subject
matter is so repulsive that it is extremely difficult to enjoy the
film. Ghouls have none of the romantic allure or empathy
that audiences may feel for vampires or werewolves. They are
repellent and abhorrent, and even when presented in a
relatively sophisticated manner, they are still repugnant. When
couched in black humor, a ghoul movie may be more
palatable, but a serious ghoul picture may be one category
that could never find wide audience acceptance or
enthusiasm, even with refined touches such as the inclusion
of the Dutch Master Vermeer or the music of Beethoven
into the story.
 PERFORMANCES

Since Rutger Hauer is of Dutch origin, it is appropriate

for him to star in this film. Hauer has made a positive
contribution to almost every film in which he has appeared,
and Bleeders is no exception. He has also worked in all
genres, from the noir science fiction epic Blade Runner
(1982), to medieval fantasy, as in Ladyhawk (1985), from
horror films such as The Hitcher (1987) to romantic thrillers
like Past Midnight (1992). Some of his films from the early
90s on, however, have been of lesser quality. Roy Dupuis also
brings integrity to the role of John Strauss, a part that easily
could disintegrate into the ridiculous in lesser hands. Jackie
Burroughs is simply magnificent as the crusty old Lexie, and
Janine Theriault brings a fragile sensitivity to the part of Alice
Gordon. On the other hand, Joanna Noyes overplays the part
of Byrde a bit too broadly. The film's opening and closing
narrator, Christopher Heyerdahl, was to give a magnificent
portrayal of H. P. Lovecraft a year later in Out of Mind.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

H. P. Lovecraft's short story The Lurking Fear is set in

the Catskill Mountains at a mansion built in the 17th century
by the Martense family. Bleeders does not use any of the
names or places from the original Lovecraft story. It is
possible the name Van Daam was inspired by Van Damm,
one of the leading characters of The Great White Space by
Basil Copper, one of the finest Cthulhu Mythos novels.
Actually, not providing the island with a name is rather
awkward, because the dialogue is occasionally filled with a
pregnant pause whenever someone says “the island.” Most of
the details of the story, however, are drawn scrupulously
from HPL, down to the family's trait of possessing eyes of
different colors. The underground tunnels, the graverobbing
and the raid on human victims after their charnel house
supply becomes depleted are all derived from HPL. In fact,
his description of the ghouls is very closely followed in the
film, “a filthy whitish gorilla thing with sharp yellow
fangs…the frightful outcome of isolated spawning,
multiplication and cannibal nutrition above and below the
ground; the embodiment of all the snarling and chaos and
grinning fear that lurk behind life. It had looked at me as it
had died…One eye was blue, the other brown.” The
additional plotline, that of an escaped member of the clan
returning, is not in the story. This same element also appeared
in Lurking Fear, the alternate version of this story by Full
Moon Entertainment. It is a rather good addition to the plot,
and an element that succeeds in both films. In almost all
respects, however, Bleeders is closer to the Lovecraft original
and a superior film to its counterpart.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Look who is coming back from the dead.” (Marlowe to

John, as he awakens from his seizure) "So, which color do
you prefer?" (John, joking about his dissimilar eye colors)
“Quit yakking at the stiffs!.” (Byrdie to Alice, as she
prepares the body of Mrs. Shea)
“You said you saved me as a baby. Why won't you help
me now? I was born after the fire. Then all the Van Daams
did not die in the fire.” (John to Lexie)
“Go home. Leave it be. Death can be a sweet release.”
(Lexie, interrupting John as he speaks)
“John, I know what's wrong with you. I know how you
can survive. How badly do you want to live?” (Marlowe to
John, before revealing the secret that John is a ghoul)
 Bride of Re-Animator (1990)
AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s Bride of Re-Animator
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Miskatonic University & Medical School

Wild Street. Written by Woody Keith, Rick Fry & Brian

Yuzna based on the six-part novella Herbert West—
Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by Rick
Fichter; Edited by Peter Techner; Music composed and
adapted by Richard Band; Produced & directed by Brian
Yuzna. Original version, 98 minutes; Special edition, 102
minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Jeffrey Combs.............Dr. Herbert West (mad scientist)

Bruce Abbott...............Dr. Daniel Cain (West's collaborator)
Fabiana Udenio............Francesca Danelli (writer & friend of
Cain)
David Gale..................Dr. Carl Hill (reanimated head)
Claude Earl Jones.........Lt. Leslie Chapman (Arkham police
inspector)
Kathleen Kinmont........Gloria (dying hospital patient),
Woman created by West & Cain
Mel Stewart................Dr. Wilbur Graves (hospital pathologist)
Michael Strasser...........Ernest (janitor)
Irene Forrest................Shelley (nurse)
Marge Turner...............Elizabeth Chapman (Lt. Chapman's
zombie wife)
Johnny Legend.............Skinny zombie in Sefton Ward
David Bynum..............Black zombie in Sefton Ward
Noble Craig................Crypt creature
Charles Schneider.........Crypt creature
Kim Parker.................Crypt creature
Rebeca Recid...............Crypt creature
Jay Evans...................Crypt creature

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Taking inspiration from the greatest of all horror

sequels, The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), filmmaker Brian
Yuzna undertook a follow-up picture to the groundbreaking
Re-Animator in 1990. Unfortunately, the writer/director
Stuart Gordon was not involved in the project, nor were the
other writers of the original screenplay. The new team,
including Yuzna, could not duplicate the chemistry and magic
that made Re-Animator a unique thriller and black comedy. In
comparison, Bride of Re-Animator is rather clumsy in terms
of story development and humor that at times becomes
forced. Still, the three key members of the original cast instill
a degree of vitality, as do the superlative special effects and
the brilliant camera work.
The film opens with a black screen, as the floating,
disembodied head of Dr. Carl Hill briefly addresses the
audience, vowing revenge on Herbert West. The scene shifts
to Peru eight months after the events of Re-Animator. Now
full-fledged doctors, Herbert West and Dan Cain are working
as volunteer medics near the battle zone of a revolutionary
uprising. Laboring in a makeshift tent operating room, the
two also take time to pursue their scientific experiments on
reviving the dead. Using the embryonic fluid of the native
iguana, West has improved upon his regeneration formula,
and the focus of his studies has now shifted to creating new
life. Writer Francesca Danelli interrupts an experiment to
warn them that troops are advancing toward their position
and they must flee. Rebels enter their laboratory, stabbing
Cain, but West fights them off with a gun. He then examines
his friend’s wound, telling him he will recover but that his
current tour of duty is over. The credits appear, as does
Richard Band’s clever Re-Animator theme, which is inspired
by Bernard Herrmann’s music for Psycho (1960). The
background animation also resembles the earlier film, except
now female body parts are included in the grotesque sketches.
As the story continues, the scene has shifted to the
Miskatonic University Hospital in Arkham, Massachusetts,
from which West and Cain had earlier graduated. They are
now staff members. Cain’s favorite patient is Gloria, a
beautiful young woman whose prognosis for recovery is very
poor. Meanwhile, Lt. Leslie Chapman of the Arkham police
department delivers an unusual package wrapped in brown
paper to Dr. Wilbur Graves, the hospital’s new chief
pathologist. It is the head of Dr. Carl Hill, former head of
pathology, who had been a victim the previous year in a
bizarre event known as the Miskatonic massacre. Although
the department has closed the case, Chapman tells Graves
that he will not rest until he finds out what really happened
that night. Graves tells him that none of the remains from
that incident has shown any sign of decay, a most uncanny
happening. The other oddity is a mysterious vial of glowing
liquid found at the morgue. Graves plans to analyze the
compound as soon as possible.
West and Cain have leased the old caretaker’s house
adjacent to the Arkham cemetery. In their basement lab, West
demonstrates for his partner the amazing results of his new
concoction. Using stolen body parts, he takes an eyeball and
several fingers, coats them with his elixir, and creates a bizarre
tiny creature that comes to life. The young scientist has also
broken into the cemetery vault of the Averill family through
his cellar wall, and he uses it as a dumping ground to dispose
of body parts that he no longer needs in his experiments.
When Cain starts to criticize his latest studies, West says his
goal is to create a new Megan, Cain’s girlfriend who was killed
in the massacre. Starting with Megan’s heart, West intends to
construct an ideal woman. Cain is persuaded to continue.
When Lt. Chapman comes to question Cain and West about
the Miskatonic massacre, the tiny critter escapes, but the
detective fails to spot the little entity as it darts around. The
doctors claim they have nothing to add to their old testimony.
Chapman accidentally kills the creature when he drops a book
on top of it.
Dr. Graves injects the glowing fluid into the head of Dr.
Hill, bringing it back to life. Graves is astounded as the head
starts to speak. Within a short period of time, Hill is able to
exert hypnotic control over the amiable doctor. Francesca
Danelli shows up in Arkham hoping to revive her friendship
with Cain. She surprises him outside the hospital while Cain
and West are attempting to steal a corpse disguised as a
patient in a wheelchair. Lt. Chapman, noticing their meeting,
interrogates the writer. He tells her the story of the
Miskatonic massacre, when unspeakable carnage broke out at
the hospital, but Cain and West emerged from the mayhem
unharmed. He takes Francesca to the Sefton Ward of the
hospital, where the criminally insane are housed, showing her
three unexplained cases resulting from the massacre, people
who were certified as dead when they were placed in the
hospital morgue, but who are now animated zombies. One of
these three, Elizabeth Chapman, is the Arkham detective’s
wife, explaining his fixation with the case. Francesca is
stunned, but her confidence in Cain remains unshaken.
West and Cain are busy stitching together their female
creation in the basement. Francesca arrives for a dinner date
with Cain, bringing her dog, Angel. Chapman sneaks into the
house, accusing West of body snatching. When Chapman,
enraged, bellows about the condition of his wife, West
intuitively realizes that the detective had originally bludgeoned
her to death. Grabbing a shovel, Chapman furiously attacks
the scientist, who is forced to subdue him with a deadly
anesthesia. When West and Cain reanimate the corpse,
Chapman resumes his attack, and they cut off his hand with a
sword. Chapman barricades the doctors in their laboratory,
and attacks Francesca, killing her dog. West and Cain break
loose and rescue her, as Chapman flees into the night. As
Cain comforts Francesca, West reanimates Angel, giving the
dog Chapman’s hand. When Francesca sees it, she walks off
in disgust.
At the hospital the next day, Cain talks tenderly to
Gloria, but she passes away before he is able to complete his
thoughts. Taking her body to the crematorium, West removes
her head for his experiment. Meanwhile, the head of Dr. Hill
plots his revenge on West. Becoming afraid, Dr. Graves tries
to rebel, wraps Hill’s head in a towel and dumping it in the
trash. Hill, however, obtains a new servant using his hypnotic
powers, the reanimated Lt. Chapman. The zombie forces
Graves to attach bat wings to Hill’s head after reanimating
these parts, giving the head the power of flight.
That evening, as a thunderstorm breaks out, the two
doctors bring the female corpse to life. Cain reverently injects
it with the reanimation elixir. At the same time, various
parties converge on the house by the cemetery. Francesca,
upset but concerned for Cain, sneaks onto the grounds. Dr.
Hill plans an all-out assault using Chapman and the three
zombies from the Sefton Ward. Hill’s head gains entrance to
the house in a Trojan horse ruse, hiding in a special delivery
package for West. The zombie of Elizabeth Chapman,
however, attacks her husband as soon as she sees him.
Cain brings the newborn woman to life using mouth to
mouth respiration. The creature immediately falls in love with
the young doctor. Francesca breaks into the lab, warning Cain
that Hill is about to launch an attack. West tries to fight off
the zombies. The emotionally fragile monster feels threatened
by Francesca, sensing that she is a rival for Cain’s affections.
A struggle breaks out when Francesca pushes the creature
aside. When Cain chooses to help Francesca, his creation is
thunderstruck, shrieks aloud in despair, and finally tearing her
heart out, handing it to Cain. Then, by force of will, the head
rejects the other body parts, and she disintegrates. Meanwhile,
the monstrous creatures, the failed experiments that West
dumped into the crypt, join in the attack led by the flying
head of Dr. Hill, chortling madly. West appears to be
overcome by his “rejects,” and the walls of the vault collapse,
burying him and his creations. Francesca and Cain escape,
emerging onto the cemetery grounds. Buried underneath
rubble, the head of Dr. Hill continues to laugh, and Megan’s
heart, torn from the creature, continues to pulsate slowly then
finally stops beating as the end credits roll.
If the conclusion seems a bit unresolved, it is no
different than the rest of Bride of Re-Animator, which is
filled with loose ends that never quite match. Consider the
very opening of the film in Peru, where it is stated that eight
months have passed since the Miskatonic massacre. When the
scene shifts to Arkham, the same eight month figure is
repeated, yet Cain is completely healed of his serious wound.
When Francesca turns up, Cain reacts as if he hasn’t seen her
in some time, yet according to the film’s time frame, it is still
the same month. Incidentally, there is a slightly grosser special
edition available on DVD, which mainly relies on alternate
takes of various scenes. Also, there is a different opening,
which shows what happened when Cain revived Megan
during the night of the Miskatonic massacre, when she failed
to respond correctly to the elixir and collapses. West shows
up to comfort Cain, explaining that Hill “didn’t have the
guts” to kill him. Mary Sheldon played Megan in this brief
excerpt. Another loose end is Francesca’s dog, Angel, who
was revived by West, and then dropped from the story.
Likewise Dr. Graves, locked in his office by Hill and his
zombies, is not heard from again. The closing scene seems
particularly weak, since one doesn’t expect the minor debris
which buried the participants would put them out of action
for long, particularly the maniacal head of Dr. Hill.
A rival film attempted to milk the same vein as Bride of
Re-Animator, appearing at roughly the same time. It was
entitled Frankenhooker (1990), and it attempted to imitate its
quirky black comedy, but with far less wit or finesse. A mad
scientist brings life to a female monster constructed from the
body parts of slain hookers. Gore predominates in this story
laced with sophomoric and tasteless humor. In 2000, efforts
were made to develop another film based on the exploits of
Herbert West, tentatively entitled Beyond Re-Animator.
Jeffrey Combs expressed interest, but wanted to see a revised
script before committing himself to the project. The plot
would focus on Herbert West as he turns his attention to
harnessing the human soul. The amount of Lovecraft in this
script is somewhat minimal.

PERFORMANCES

Jeffrey Combs is excellent as Herbert West, even if his

performance is more erratic and less controlled than in Re-
Animator. His finest moment is his passionate rant,
competing with peals of thunder, as he proclaims the
brilliance of his creation, a magnificent parody of Colin Clive
in the original Frankenstein (1931). He is least effective with
some of his humorous asides, which seem rather forced, such
as when he confronts the head of Dr. Hill before it is
reanimated, calling it a “nobody.” He is masterful, however,
maintaining a manic gleam in his eye as he creates a grotesque
creature, joining together an arm and a leg, for instance.
Bruce Abbott’s role provides him with greater range, but he
finds it difficult to reconcile the contradictory elements of
Dan Cain as he is written. David Gale, as in Re-Animator, is
splendid in his over-the-top melodramatic theatrics.
Unfortunately, the talented actor died within a year after his
appearance in Bride of Re-Animator. Mel Stewart makes a
fine counterpart to Gale, a loopy but mellow mad scientist, a
fresh take in a part that might have been hackneyed in other
hands. Fabiana Udenio is merely adequate, bringing nothing
special to her role. Cult figure Johnny Legend, a West Coast
media fixture, has a cameo role as one of the three Sefton
Ward zombies. Two distinctive readings round off the cast.
Claude Earl Jones and Kathleen Kinmont play their parts
with extraordinary flair. Jones tackles the role as the dogged,
near retirement police Lt. Chapman with finesse. He
undergoes a subtle transformation after the audience learns
that he had murdered his wife with whom he is obsessed.
Incidentally, the last name of this character is labeled as
“Chapham” in the end credits. Yet in the film, his name is
clearly given as Chapman, and I decided to stick with this as
his name because “Chapman” appears in the original
Lovecraft story as the original owner of the house which
West uses for his experiments. Jones later excels when his
character dies and is reanimated as a zombie. The most
compelling performance in the entire film is delivered by
Kathleen Kinmont, daughter of actress Abby Dalton, who
delivers an eloquent, well-crafted and intelligent reading. First,
she is touching as the stoic, dying Gloria, never maudlin. As
the creature, she is amazingly expressive and convincing, at
times hopeful, affectionate, desperate, enraged and despairing.
If there wasn’t an in-grained prejudice against genre film
nominations at Academy Award time, Kinmont would be a
shoo-in for a best supporting actress Oscar. Without doubt,
Kinmont clearly delivers the finest female performance in any
Lovecraft film.
 FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

H. P. Lovecraft’s six-part novella, Herbert West—

Reanimator, was originally a magazine serial, and it was
carefully mined for useful nuggets to be utilized in Re-
Animator, leaving less material to be exploited in Bride of Re-
Animator. The setting of Arkham and the Miskatonic
University Hospital is retained. In the original story, West and
his unnamed partner become medics at the front during the
First World War. Bride of Re-Animator transforms this
episode into a revolution in South America, where West and
Cain volunteer their services in order to experiment on a
ready supply of fresh body parts. Writers Keith, Fry and
Yuzna lift a few names from the novella for use in the picture,
such as calling the psychopathic ward the “Sefton” Ward. In
the original Herbert West—Renaimator, the local asylum was
located in the town of Sefton. Likewise, the crypt that West
breached belonged to the Averills, exactly as it is in the HPL
text. The Chapman name was also adapted, as mentioned
earlier. The cemetery, unnamed in the film, is the Christ
Church cemetery. The culmination of the story, the revenge
organized by his beheaded victim, is also duplicated in the
film, more or less repeating the climax of the first film. In
this case, the action in Bride of Re-Animator is even closer to
the original. The mysterious midnight delivery of a large
square box to West’s home, “Express—prepaid” is pure
Lovecraft, as is the concurrent attack by creatures “semi-
human, fractionally human and not human at all” emerging
from the crypt, “the subterranean vault of fabulous
abominations.” In the HPL text, the “Cain” character passes
out in the attack. When he awakens, he tells his story to the
police, who merely laugh at him because the connecting wall
to the crypt is again whole and undamaged, which is a rather
nice touch. It might have been a decent touch if that ending
could have been added to the film, since the shot of Dan
Cain and Francesca Danelli emerging from the ground simply
doesn’t work. In any case, the attempt to include actual
Lovecraft material in the film is genuine and successful to the
extent it is employed.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“It showed up at a carnival sideshow just outside of

Arkham…remarkably well preserved considering the
massacre was eight months ago.” (Chapman to Graves)
“This morbid doodling with human body parts, is this
what it is all about?” (Cain to West, mocking his new line of
experimentation)
“Doctor Graves, I recognize you. That seminar in
Zurich, your theory reconciling creationism with the origin of
disease, totally idiotic!” (Hill to Graves, who stammers in
amazement as the head begins to speak)
“Blasphemy!” (Francesca to West upon seeing his
creation) “Blasphemy? Before what, God, a God repulsed by
the miserable humanity He created in his own image? I will
not be shackled by the failures of your God. The only
blasphemy is to wallow in insignificance.” (West, ranting over
claps of thunder)
 Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959)
AKA II Mostro Immortale
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Cthulhu (Equivalent)
Old Ones

Allied Artists. Written by Filippo Sanjust based on an

ancient Mayan legend Photographed by Mario Bava; Edited
by Salvatore Billitteri; Music by Roman Vlad; Produced by
Bruno Vailati & Samuel Schneider (American version);
Directed by Riccardo Freda & Mario Bava. Italian version, 81
minutes; American version, 76 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

John Merivale..............Dr. John Fielding (leading

archaeologist)
Didi Perigo.................Ellen Fielding (his wife)
Gerard Herter...............Max Gunther (expedition soldier of
fortune)
Daniela Rocco..............Linda (Max’s wife, a half breed)
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart...Prof. Rodriguez (scientist studying
Caltiki)
Daniele Vargas.............Bob (expedition diver)
Vittorio André.............Laboratory scientist
Arturo Domenici..........Nieto (Ulmer’s companion in cave)
Blake Bernard...............Police inspector
Gay Pearl....................Native dancer
 SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Caltiki, the Immortal Monster is a most unusual foreign

film that is full of Lovecraftian ideas and imagery. The
picture was filmed in Spain with an Italian crew, with the
action of the story set in Mexico. Although imaginative,
resourceful and colorful, Caltiki never really engages the
audience, frequently stumbling due to numerous static scenes
that merely take up time. The production ran into
considerable difficulties, and reportedly the original director
abandoned the picture which was then completed by the
cinematographer, Mario Bava. Bava’s photography is the
finest element of the film, and years later, he established
himself as a director of repute. Some of the film’s problems
involved the finale, in which the monstrous Caltiki is on the
rampage. The creature was not animated optically, but
brought to life by various techniques, including a man in a
huge sack decorated with animal innards. Bava used a
miniature set to represent the mansion in the climax. Most of
the film is moody and atmospheric, photographed at night or
in semi-darkness. When released in America, a scene in the
camp of the expedition showing the background
relationships of the main characters, particularly that of Max
Gunther and Ellen Fielding, wife of the expedition leader,
was excised. Therefore the picture begins with the
commotion caused by the entrance of a crazed worker into
the camp at night. This gets the story off with a bang, but it
also leads to plot confusion as the film unfolds.
Before the credits, a narration discusses the mysterious
disappearance of the Mayan from the ancient city of Tikal in
the seventh century. The Fielding expedition is seeking to
shed new light on this ancient enigma. As the film opens, a
delirious member of the team, Nieto, stumbles into the
expedition base camp in the middle of the night. He keeps
repeating the name of Professor Ulmer, another member of
the expedition, as well as that of Caltiki, an ancient Mayan
deity. Dr. Fielding, Max Gunther and other members of the
team head off to investigate the cave explored by Ulmer and
Nieto. They discover a stairway uncovered by a recent
earthquake. They find it leads to a massive temple dedicated
to the fearsome god Caltiki, who was regarded with fear and
awe by the ancient civilization. A huge bas-relief of the
terrible god is carved into the walls of the cave. A massive,
underwater lake exists beside the temple, and the
archaeologists speculate that victims to Caltiki were likely
tossed into the lake in the remote past. The only trace of
Ulmer is his film camera, found near the lake. When the film
is developed, it shows scenes shot by Nieto of Ulmer
exploring the temple. He suddenly turns, screams and starts
shooting at some unseen threat as the footage ends.
Fielding orders that the lake be explored using scuba
gear. The diver finds the bottom littered with gold jewelry.
On a second dive, he is attacked and killed by a gargantuan
creature, a mountain of pulsating jelly. It rises from the lake,
and an oozing pseudopod reaches out and seizes Max as he
tries to grab the gold jewelry abandoned by the diver. Fielding
hacks off the gelatinous tentacle, freeing Max, and the
expedition team dashes out of the cave. The giant creature
follows, and Fielding plows into it with a truck filled with
containers of gasoline. He leaps out of the truck at the last
moment as the vehicle crashes into the monster with a huge
explosion. The creature vanishes in the sea of flames.
 Max and Nieto are rushed to a hospital in Mexico City.
Max’s arm, which has been partially absorbed by Caltiki, is
completely dissolved. When the doctors test a sample of the
flesh of Caltiki, they are astounded, since it appears to be
unicellular in structure (like an amoeba) and its actual age is
astonishing, over twenty million years old. Newspaper
headlines from around the world proclaim the amazing
discovery of the existence of Caltiki. Fielding lectures his
scientific colleagues about his discovery, noting an inscription
he translated from the Mayan Temple, “Caltiki is One, the
only immortal God, and when its mate appears in the sky,
Caltiki will destroy the world.” Intense study of Caltiki will
proceed, using the fragments obtained from Max’s withered
arm. Professor Rodriguez and Dr. Fielding discover that the
sample expands when subjected to a bombardment of
radioactivity.
Fielding brings a sample to his home in Mexico City to
study in his personal lab. He warns his wife, Ellen, his young
daughter Jennie and his servants not to enter his lab under
any circumstances. Meanwhile, Max remains very ill in the
hospital, suffering from his contact with Caltiki. The infection
seems to be spreading. He asks Fielding about Nieto, and the
archaeologist reveals that he has died. Max denounces all the
team members who invaded the temple of Caltiki inside the
cave. He also rejects Linda, his wife, who patiently waits on
him at his bedside. Growing increasingly bitter, Max escapes
from the hospital, claiming to bring forth a new force that
will take over the world. He kills an attendant, and the police
are brought into the case.
Rodriguez consults an astronomer to learn if there was
any unusual celestial activity at the time of the Mayan
migration. He learns about the existence of a comet, Arsinoë,
named after a minor figure in Greek mythology, which last
passed near Earth in 607. Its cycle runs every 1,352 years, and
it has just appeared in the sky again. Rodriguez theorizes that
radioactivity from the comet causes Caltiki to grow and gain
incredible power. This is the reason behind the Mayan
emigration, and the meaning of the Mayan inscription. The
sample of Caltiki at Rodriguez’s lab starts to grow beyond
control, and the scientist sets it aflame, burning the lab in the
process. When Rodriguez informs Fielding, he rushes home
to destroy the fragment in his home lab. While racing home,
he is stopped by the police, who consider Fielding to be a
raving madman when he explains the danger. They take him
into custody.
Max breaks into Fielding’s house, killing his wife, Linda,
who is a house guest. The fragment of Caltiki starts to
expand quickly, growing with incredible speed. Max is
swallowed by the creature when he threatens Ellen. Caltiki
soon overwhelms the entire house, and Ellen attempts to flee
with Jennie. Fielding escapes from the police. When reports
reach the police concerning Caltiki, now grown to the size of
a house, they realize that Fielding was telling the truth, and
they inform the army about the threat.
The military surrounds the area of Fielding’s house.
Under the archaeologist’s direction, they unleash flame
throwers against Caltiki. The archaeologist rescues his wife
and child. Caltiki retreats and is finally enveloped by fire. The
army incinerates every particle of the giant, jelly-like monster.
The professor ponders what would have happened if the
ancient god had not proven so vulnerable to fire.
Coincidentally, the unusual history of the Mayans and
their mysterious vanishing is also referenced in another
Lovecraft-inspired film, Phantoms (1998). In that picture, the
time of the Mayan disappearance in 610 instead of 607.

PERFORMANCES

The actors and actresses in this production deliver

bland, run-of-the-mill performances with the exception of
Gerard Herter who exhibits some flair and style as the
doomed Max Gunther. The film uses its cast in a rather weak
fashion. John Merivale, the British actor who plays the
archaeologist John Fielding, is stiff and unconvincing
throughout. The rest of the characters are vague, shadowy
and poorly delineated, and never properly introduced to the
audience. This is particularly true of Fielding’s scientific
colleagues, who seem interchangeable and lack identity. A few
of the characters are miserably dubbed as well, particularly
Fielding’s daughter Jennie, whose voice is obviously rendered
by an adult who affects an absurd babyish lisp that makes the
child sound ridiculous. It is also obvious that the voice is the
same one dubbing one of the nurses in the hospital scene.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The film’s credits attribute the story to an ancient Mayan

legend, but the debt to Lovecraft is enormous. In fact,
numerous scenes in the film seem like direct depictions of
scenes from The Call of Cthulhu. First, Caltiki’s name is
seven letters long like Cthulhu, sharing the letters c, t and l.
The inscription about Caltiki can be reworded in pure
Lovecraftian terms. “Caltiki is One, the only immortal god,
and when its mate appears in the sky, Caltiki will destroy the
world” can be rendered “Caltiki is a Great Old One, and
when the stars are right, it will awaken and the earth would
flame with a holocaust.” The temple in which Caltiki is found
dormant recalls the famous line, “In his house at R’lyeh, dead
Cthulhu waits dreaming.” Like Cthulhu, Caltiki is depicted in
terrible stone bas-reliefs. Like Cthulhu, Caltiki arises out of
the water. Like Cthulhu, Caltiki is gelatinous, yet retains a
standard form. Like Cthulhu, Caltiki is ancient and ageless, in
essence a deity. Caltiki appears as a mountain of pulsating
jelly. In The Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft described Cthulhu in
the following terms: “The mountainous monstrosity flopped
down the slimy stones…slid greasily into the water” and “the
pursuing jelly…rose above the unclean froth like the stern of
a daemon galleon.” The “slushy nastiness” that is Cthulhu is
represented perfectly on screen as Caltiki. In The Call of
Cthulhu, Cthulhu is temporarily overcome when it is rammed
by a ship. In Caltiki, Caltiki is overcome when it is rammed by
a jeep loaded with canisters of gasoline. Cthulhu can only
arise when the stars are right, just as Caltiki can only be
empowered when a particular comet appears in the sky. Other
similarities abound. One of the characters in The Call of
Cthulhu is named Rodriguez, and in the film, one of
Fielding’s colleagues is also named Rodriguez. In sum, there is
no doubt that Caltiki is none other than Cthulhu, and the plot
of Caltiki is largely influenced by The Call of Cthulhu. As for
modifications, Caltiki is radioactive and vulnerable to fire. It is
certainly possible that Cthulhu is radioactive. (In several later
Mythos stories, he is radioactive). Nevertheless the Great Old
One is probably impervious to fire.
There are several other films that portray creatures that
have been compared to HPL’s Old Ones, such as X the
Unknown (1956) and The Blob (1958). These films have only
a superficial similarity. Both of those creatures were also
formless in their natural state. The being from X the
Unknown was composed of animated mud from the bowels
of the earth. The Blob originated in a meteor, recalling The
Colour Out of Space, but without any other genuine
Lovecraftian parallels. There is a remarkable moment in the
remake of The Blob (1988) that is reminiscent of Lovecraft.
The Blob, grown to huge size, oozes down a city street,
sending out tentacles that grab passersby to be devoured. The
incident passes quickly, however, without any other elements
or concepts that suggest HPL.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“This is a sacred pyramid in the ancient deserted city of

Tikal, three hundred miles south of Mexico City. In this dead
city there once lived for thousands of years, the peaceful and
cultured people known to us as the Mayans, a people versed
in the science of mathematics and astronomy, but one day, in
the year 607 A.D., the Mayans emigrated toward the distant
and savage north, abandoning the homes and pyramids and
temples they had constructed so artfully. Not a single person
was left behind, and the city was left deserted…. Today, the
few nomad Indians who cross this area, recount how their
ancestors fled this land in order to escape the wrath of a
vengeful goddess.” (Opening narration)
 “BILLION YEAR BEING DISCOVERED IN
TIKAL” (Newspaper headline)
“It’s OK, Linda. Now there is a power in me. Nobody
knows exactly how it works because they are all too busy, but
they’ll pay because they know I own half of everything, all of
that gold…. My fate is to bring a new force into the world.”
(Max to Linda at his bedside)
 Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Rating: *****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Necronomicon
Old Ones
Yog-Sothoth

HBO Pictures. Written by Joseph Dougherty;

Photographed by Alexander Gruszynski; Edited by Dan Rae;
Music by Curt Sobel; Produced by Gale Anne Hurd & Ginny
Nugent; Directed by Martin Campbell. 96 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Fred Ward..................H. P. Lovecraft (private detective)

David Warner..............Amos Hackshaw (millionaire occultist)
Julianne Moore............Connie Stone (Dunwich Room singer)
Clancy Brown.............Harry Bordon (Dunwich Room owner)
Raymond O’Connor.....Lester Tugwell (Bordon’s lackey)
Jaimie Cardriche..........Zombie who accompanies Tugwell
Alexandra Powers.........Olivia Hackshaw (millionaire’s
daughter)
Charles Hallahan..........Ray Bradbury (police lieutenant)
Peter Alias..................Otto Grimaldi (Bradbury’ s partner)
Amelia Walker............Hypolite Kropotkin (Lovecraft’s
landlady)
David Downing...........Thadius Pilgrim (lawyer)
Ken Thorley................Mickey Locksteader (man killed by
Tugwell)
Lee Tergesen...............Larry Willis (chauffeur & transvestite)
Curt Sobel..................Bandleader
Scott Lincoln..............Dunwich Room bartender
John De Bello.............Coroner
Colin Drake................Meadows (Hackshaw’sbutler)
Jim Eusterman............Werewolf
Michael MacKay.........Gargoyle
Rich Brinkley..............Owl Wagon counter man
Kevin Weaver.............Owl Wagon dishwasher
George P. Wilbur.........Owl Wagon cook

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Originally developed as an independent cable project for

HBO, this film is a delightful and phenomenal effort based
on an intriguing concept: what if you crossed the worldview
of Raymond Chandler with the cosmology of H. P.
Lovecraft? Cast a Deadly Spell is the answer, and it also
serves as an affectionate satire of countless film noir efforts
from The Maltese Falcon (1941) and I Walk Alone (1947) to
Chinatown (1975). This ingenious formula also pokes mild
fun at several horror efforts such as Burn Witch Burn (1962)
and Gremlins (1984). The film is even more effective by
maintaining a straight face instead of indulging in camp
humor. The risk with this approach is that the audience needs
to be very knowledgeable of the conventions of both film
noir and the Cthulhu Mythos. Fortunately, the film was
rendered entertaining enough to be enjoyed by those without
this expertise. The original script reportedly intended far
more references to other writers and members of the
Lovecraft circle, including Bloch and Derleth, but this idea
was dropped except for Ray Bradbury and H. P. Lovecraft
himself. In the plot, HPL is transformed into a streetwise
private eye loosely based on the character of Philip Marlowe
(with a dash of Sam Spade and Mike Hammer). The end
result is one of the cleverest and most treasured stars in the
constellation of Cthulhu cinema.
Along with the opening credits, a melancholy blues
number is played, highly reminiscent of the classic title theme
of Farewell My Lovely (1975). A title card announces the
setting as Los Angeles in 1948, but it might possibly be an
alternate universe since the use of magic has become a major
component of everyone’s life. Apparently only one individual,
shamus H. P. Lovecraft (who prefers to be called “Phil”),
completely disdains magic and refuses to employ it.
Hypolite Kropotkin, a fashionable dance teacher from
the West Indies, is conducting a ritual on the roof of her
building. A sensitive psychic, Hypolite detects that dark forces
are gathering in an unprecedented fashion. Meanwhile her
tenant, H. P. Lovecraft is wrapping up a case, turning over his
former client, a beautiful woman, to the police (as Sam Spade
did at the end of The Maltese Falcon). Lt. Bradbury warns
his friend that he senses real trouble brewing. In a voice-over
narration, HPL explains that he is the only one who knows
the full story of the eldritch events that followed. “It started
that night and it started with a woman. It always starts with a
woman.” In the Dunwich Room, a fashionable night spot,
singer Connie Stone watches her boss, Harry Bordon, as he
purchases a contraband item from a small-time hood named
Mickey Locksteader. When he opens the package, she is
surprised to see it is only a book, although with a most
unusual cover. Harry is furious, however, when he discovers
the pages are blank, and he screams for his assistant, Tugwell.
At the train station, Mickey is preparing to flee with his
lover, a transvestite wearing a blonde wig. Tugwell arrives
accompanied by a giant zombie. Mickey dashes into the
restroom, and Tugwell followers. He conjures up a deadly
spell, with Mickey as the intended victim. A swirling
windstorm envelops the doomed hood, and he collapses on
the floor, dead.
The next morning, H. P. Lovecraft appears at the
mansion of the wealthy eccentric, Amos Hackshaw. HPL also
encounters Olivia, the flirtatious sixteen-year-old daughter of
the millionaire. This meeting is similar to the one between
Humphrey Bogart and the tantalizing Martha Vickers in The
Big Sleep (1946). Hackshaw engages Lovecraft to recover a
rare book, the Necronomicon, which was stolen from him by
Larry Willis, his recently discharged chauffeur. Hackshaw had
fired Willis because he feared he had designs on his virginal
daughter. Hackshaw is desperate to get the book back within
48 hours. Lovecraft learns the reason that he was selected for
the job is because he does not practice magic. As the
detective sets off to investigate the apartment rented by
Willis, Hackshaw casts a spell on a gargoyle from the roof of
his mansion, bringing it to life and instructing it to fly after
HPL and observe him like a trained watchdog. Lovecraft
finds the apartment picked clean, except for a photograph
taken at the Dunwich Room of Mickey Locksteader and a
mysterious woman named Lilly. When he goes to the
nightclub, Lovecraft is stunned to discover that his old
girlfriend, Connie Stone, is the headliner. He also learns that
Harry Bordon, his old partner when he was on the police
force, is the proprietor. Harry invites HPL for a drink in his
office, boasting about how well he is doing. Lovecraft is not
impressed, and makes fun of the fact that he needs to hire
zombies as club bouncers. Bordon is annoyed when he learns
that Lovecraft, like himself, is on the trail of the
Necronomicon. Connie is moved after seeing HPL, and she
uses magic to observe him as he prepares to retire in his
office/apartment. The detective notices her fleeting
apparition.
Olivia Hackshaw awakens the detective when she
appears at his office the next day. He takes her to a greasy
spoon, the Owl Wagon, for breakfast. Tugwell sneaks into the
restaurant and bribes the counter attendant to slip a piece of
paper with runic symbols on it to Lovecraft. When he does,
HPL recognizes it as an assassination attempt. A demon will
appear shortly to claim the bearer of the paper. The
inspiration for this scene is the film Curse of the Demon
(1958) based upon the story Casting the Runes by M.R.James.
Lovecraft tries to force the man to take back the paper, and a
fight breaks out between HPL and the help in the kitchen.
When the demon appears, it slaughters the counterman.
Lovecraft reports the incident to Bradbury, who is busy
interrogating a werewolf. Bradbury pleads with his friend to
rejoin the police force, since he is the only man he can trust,
but Lovecraft declines. Detective Grimaldi, Bradbury’s
partner, starts to flirt with Olivia Hackshaw. Bradbury
threatens to detain Lovecraft for his own safety, but Hypolite
shows up with her cousin, a lawyer, and Lovecraft is freed.
She warns him, “Tomorrow night there will be an alignment,
all of the wrong planets will be in the right place at the wrong
time.” When she hears HPL refer to the Necronomicon, she
becomes frightened, stating that it is the accursed book
referred to in Revelations 5. She urges him to drop his case
and leave the city at once. After driving Olivia home, HPL
discovers he is being tailed by Grimaldi. He asks him for a
favor, to keep an eye on Olivia for the next day or two.
Although mocking and dismissive of the private eye,
Grimaldi consents to his request Back at his office, Lovecraft
finds Connie waiting for him, this time in the flesh. After
some discussion about his sense of integrity in refusing to use
magic, HPL and Connie embrace. After passing the night
together, Connie tells Lovecraft about the incident between
Bordon and Mickey Locksteader. Assuming Mickey is dead,
HPL decides to concentrate his search on Lilly.
Lovecraft travels to Vista Bonita, a housing development
owned by Bordon that is being constructed entirely by
zombies. The scene seems to be a parody of the housing
development portrayed in The Two Jakes (1990). He meets a
flighty real estate saleswoman who is similar to Jayne
Meadows’ character as she first appears in Lady in the Lake
(1946). From her, the detective learns that Mickey’s “sister,”
Lilly, has a room at the Ashcroft Hotel. Following the tip,
Lovecraft finally meets up with Lilly and makes some
dramatic discoveries. Lilly is a transvestite and is actually
Larry Willis. Moreover, he is in possession of the
Necronomicon, and he explains to the detective about the
power of the Old Ones such as Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu. As
he shows Lovecraft the book, the gargoyle smashes its way
into the hotel room and kills Willis, but HPL manages to
escape. Going to Connie’s apartment, he is waylaid by
Bordon, Tugwell and the zombie. After seizing the
Necronomicon., Bordon orders the zombie to liquidate
Tugwell, who made a mistake when he killed Mickey
Locksteader before locating the book. Before knocking him
out, Bordon tells Lovecraft that he would have been executed
too, except for a promise to Connie who interceded in his
behalf.
When he regains consciousness, the detective is in the
back seat of Bordon’s car. He watches his former partner
behind the wheel, with Connie by his side. The verbose
Bordon tells him that he had just called Hackshaw,
demanding a large ransom for the Necronomicon. It is
getting late and Hackshaw needs the book for a midnight
ceremony that has to take place on the site of his housing
development, Vista Bonita. They discuss Olivia, who will
serve as a human sacrifice during the ceremony planned by
Hackshaw. “Hey, do you have any idea how hard it is to find a
virgin in Hollywood? You have to have one, that’s why
Hackshaw kept her so close,” Harry observes. Lovecraft asks
about his deal, and Harry laughs, “I’m going to be on top of
the world. That should settle things once and for all about
who was smart and who was a chump. I’m going to be
immortal, and I’m going to wear your head for a watch fob.”
When they arrive at the site, Hackshaw is there with a tied-up
Olivia, and he boasts how he has been preparing his entire
life for this moment, rearing Olivia and preparing for the
ritual when the stars are right. He intends to summon Yog-
Sothoth. He believes the Old Ones will reward him beyond
compare when they return. As Bordon prepares to hand over
the Necronomicon, Connie kisses him and shoots him dead,
in stereotypical femme fatale fashion. As Lovecraft looks on
stunned, she tells her former lover, “There is so much you
don’t know about women.” She then arranges with Amos
Hackshaw to assume Bordon’s place in the transaction. The
millionaire opens the Necronomicon, and reads a liturgy of
evil, summoning Yog-Sothoth. He also pays tribute to a
pantheon of the Old Ones, Cthulhu, Tsathoggua, Shub-
Niggurath and Hastur the Unspeakable (using “Him-Who-Is-
Not-Named” as his sobriquet instead of the more common
“He-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Named”). Becoming ever more
passionate, Hackshaw reads on, as the lighting strikes and the
earth moves until the form of Yog-Sothoth emerges from the
ground, monstrous, throbbing, hideous, with one enormous
eye, a repulsive mouth and a loathsome bulk of flesh.
Although barely seen in the fog, Connie turns away, and
Lovecraft turns her head back, forcing her to watch the
horror which she has helped to unleash. A tentacle juts out
and wiggles toward Olivia. It wraps around her and lifts her
up, but then drops her back to the ground a moment later.
Instead, a new group of tentacles reaches out for Hackshaw,
and drags him off. The millionaire looks back and implores,
“Help me, Lovecraft!” He is drawn into the mouth and
consumed, and Yog-Sothoth slithers back and dissipates back
into another dimension. The gargoyle who was watching the
ceremony transforms back into stone. Lovecraft unties the
hysterical Olivia, who tells him that her father knocked out
Grimaldi. They go to revive him, and Lovecraft deduces why
the ceremony failed. Olivia was no longer a virgin. The
lecherous cop had deflowered her, and in doing so
unwittingly saved the world. When HPL laughingly refers to
Grimaldi’s wife, Olivia is shocked, slaps the man and
exclaims, “You are married!” Lovecraft wanders over to the
dejected Connie, who asks, “What happens now?” The
detective replies that she will be arrested for killing Bordon.
She then asks HPL for a last kiss.
 In the final scene, Lovecraft returns to his office. He
speaks briefly with Hypolite and pours himself a drink. He
thinks about the dead victims of the escapade as well as his
lost Connie. He hopes that the world might return to normal,
and that the allure of magic might dispel and fade away. To
insure that will happen, he plans to keep the Necronomicon
and make certain that the book will never again fall into the
wrong hands.
The last twelve minutes of Cast a Deadly Spell rank as
one of the indisputable peaks of Cthulhu cinema. The
editing, cinematography, acting and special effects combine in
absolutely breathtaking fashion, one of the all-time finest Old
One depictions. Camera angles, good miniature work and the
right mixture of fog and thunderstorm make the scene
unforgettable, despite the relatively small budget that was
spent on the sequence. Neither, during the invocation of
Yog-Sothoth, is the film noir element ignored. A lightning
bolt strikes the realty office of Vista Bonita, engaging the
record player which becomes stuck, mimick-ing the same
peculiar audio effect in the Orson Welles/Norman Foster
film Journey Into Fear (1942). The success of the climax
makes one easily overlook the one or two misfires, such as the
inept Gremlins parody or the werewolf being questioned in
Bradbury’s office. The film also holds up quite well after
repeated viewings, remaining scintillating, resourceful,
imaginative and a sheer celluloid delight. Unfortunately, the
same cannot be said for a follow-up film, Witch Hunt, which
couldn’t manage to maintain the same level of brilliance.
 PERFORMANCES

Fred Ward crafts his role as H. P. Lovecraft almost

exclusively on the traditional screen detectives of the 1940s.
There is little or none of the historical HPL in his
performance. He remains low-key and in character
throughout. He captures the downbeat mood, shadings and
nuances of the film noir anti-hero, and like the icons of the
genre, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster,
Edward G. Robinson and Robert Mitchum, he combines
toughness, dignity and world-weariness in perfect
proportions. Julianne Moore likewise invokes the flair of the
great femme fatales, using her feminine wiles to corrupt men
and achieve her ultimate goal, power. Her stylish rendition of
Curt Sobers torch songs, particularly “Why Do I Lie,” are
exceptional, and perfectly maintains the noir aura. The other
supporting players, especially Clancy Brown, do an
exceptional job. Charles Hallahan and Peter Alias cleverly
imitate the two Chandleresque detectives who frequently
appear in the Phillip Marlowe novels. Amelia Walker adds
considerable zest to the role of the exotic West Indian dance
instructor and occult dabbler, and she has some of the best
lines in the picture, which she delivers with sizzle. But it is
David Warner who clearly steals the film as the tycoon madly
obsessed on releasing the Old Ones. His dramatic rendition
of the ceremony is the essential ingredient that enlivens both
that key scene and the entire film.
 FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Cast a Deadly Spell remains very faithful to the spirit

and flavor of Lovecraft. The minutiae of the Cthulhu Mythos
are woven extraordinarily well into the fabric of the story, and
in fact more of the Old Ones are mentioned in the script
than in any other individual film. Even though the picture is a
satire, it is a respectful one, with no mocking tone, and it is
executed so well that it would be rare for a Lovecraft
aficionado not to be appreciative of the effort. The only
disappointment might be a gnawing frustration that the
dedication and enthusiasm applied to this film is too often
lacking in a straightforward Lovecraft efforts, except, perhaps,
for the amateur ones. Incidentally, Cast a Deadly Spell is not
the only endeavor to dress the mythos in noir trappings.
Author Jack Yeovil, who sometimes uses the pseudonym Kim
Newman, wrote a brilliant tour de force called The Big Fish
which is simultaneously a sequel to both Raymond Chandler’s
The Big Sleep and Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
An unnamed detective (clearly Philip Marlowe) investigates
gambler Laird Brunette’s involvement with a cult. Assuming
the name Herbert West Lovecraft (based on a story that had
caught his eye in a pulp magazine), the detective uncovers a
West Coast counterpart to Innsmouth. One of the best
moments is the hero’s quip when he is told about the mad
Arab Abdul Alhazred: “Mad, huh? Is he not getting his
royalties?” Popular noir author Ed German has also
contributed to the Cthulhu Mythos, particularly with a dark
effort called The Order of Things Unknown, in which an
Old One directs the activities of a serial killer. The
noir/Lovecraft vein appears to be a rich one for future
authors to explore.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“A retainer is customary, a hundred will do. You

probably spend more than that on goldfish for your squid.”
(Lovecraft to Hackshaw) “It is not a squid.” (Hackshaw’s
whispered response, suggesting his pet is a spawn of
Cthulhu)
“Someone’s throwing lesser demons at you, black magic
from the pit of Azathoth, and you don’t even carry a rabbit’s
foot” (Bradbury to Lovecraft)
“They talk about the Necronomicon in the Bible?”
(Lovecraft to Hypolite) “The end will come with the opening
of a door. The Necronomicon is the key to that door.” (Her
reply)
“Have you heard of the Old Ones? The Outsiders and
Yog-Sothoth, Cthulhu? They are out there, shamus. They
have always been out there, waiting for someone to unlock
the door. It is in the book, all right here, the promise, the
power and the price.” (Larry/Lilly to HPL)
“Stars align! Space folds! A thousand worlds merge in a
single instant! Crack the band of formlessness. Take shape
and come forth!” (Hackshaw, reading from the
Necronomicon, concluding his invocation to Yog-Sothoth)
 Castle Freak (1995)
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Graves and Ghouls

Full Moon Entertainment. Written by Dennis Paoli

based on an idea by Stuart Gordon & Charles Band inspired
by the short story The Outsider by H. P. Lovecraft;
Photographed by Mario Vulpiani; Edited by Bert Glatstein;
Music by Richard Band; Produced by Maurizio Maggi, Albert
Band (executive) & Charles Band (executive); Directed by
Stuart Gordon. U.S. version, 90 minutes; Director’s cut, 95
minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Jeffrey Combs..............John Reilly (American who inherits a

castle)
Barbara Crampton.........Susan Reilly (his wife)
Jessica Dollarhide.........Rebecca (their blind daughter)
Jonathan Fuller............Giorgio (the castle freak)
Helen Stirling..............Duchess Gabriella D’Orsino (John’s
aunt)
Massimo Sarchielli.......Leonardo Gianetti (lawyer)
Elisabeth Kaza.............Agnese (housekeeper)
Luca Zingaretti.............Forte (police inspector)
Alessandro S. Satta.......Jay Jay (Reilly’s dead son)
Raffaella Offidani..........Sylvana Lucci (murdered prostitute)
Marco Stefanelli...........Benedetti (thin policeman)
Tunny Piras.................Grimaldi (fat policeman)
Rolando Cortegiana.......Tonlo (bartender)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

This Stuart Gordon film is perhaps his darkest example

of Grand Guignol. Tongue-in-cheek humor, a trademark in
many of his earlier films, is absent here, and the story from
beginning to end is serious and doom-laden, leading to a full-
fledged tragic finale. The authentic Italian settings,
particularly the spacious castle, are well used. The
photography, editing and makeup are outstanding. Even
Richard Band’s music has far greater character and style than
his typical score. On the other hand, the film seems
alternately cold, brutal and remote. There is remarkably little
sympathy overall for Giorgio, the “castle freak,” a human
turned into a monster due to forty years of daily abuse by a
mad mother. Instead, he is largely depicted as an out and out,
bloodthirsty ogre. Considering that most screen monsters are
most effective when the audience finds empathy with them, it
is puzzling that Stuart underplays this aspect. It could have
added increased depth and interest to the story.
Duchess D’Orsino, a miserable hag of a woman, opens
the film as she beats and then feeds a pitiful figure lurking in
the darkness of a locked cell in the cellar of a huge castle.
The old woman suffers a seizure and dies when she returns to
her room, and the credits roll. The story proper begins as
John Reilly, an unemployed University professor, his wife
Susan and his teenage daughter Rebecca, arrive in Orsino,
Italy. John was summoned by a lawyer, Leonardo Gianetti,
who informed him that he has inherited the seven hundred
year old Castle D’Orsino from his aunt, the late Duchess. The
Reillys are a dysfunctional family, due to a recent automobile
accident by John, who was driving while he was intoxicated.
Rebecca is blind as a result of this accident, and their son, Jay
Jay, is dead. Susan has not forgiven her husband, even
refusing to allow him to embrace her.
The first night in the castle, John is disturbed by the
sound of moaning. When he searches for the cause of the
sound, he encounters the housekeeper, Gianetti’s sister, who
tells him the legend of Giorgio, the son of the Duchess.
When her American husband abandoned her forty years ago,
the Duchess reportedly murdered their five-year-old son in
revenge, and the sound of his crying ghost can be heard at
night according to local legend.
The next day, John tours the castle. He finds a photo
album, and learns that his father was the man who abandoned
the Duchess. He later discovers a crypt containing Giorgio’s
tomb and he is stunned that a photograph of the boy looks
exactly like Jay Jay, his son. Rebecca gets lost and passes by a
cell in which a deformed figure lies sleeping. After she leaves,
the creature awakens and chews off his own thumbs in order
to free himself from his chains. Breaking out of his cell, the
creature tries to follow the blind girl. When Susan finds
Rebecca, she discounts her daughter’s account that an
intruder is present in the castle.
The figure climbs the stairs to the main floor, stopping
in front of a mirror. He reaches out his hand, touching the
glass. He moans in shock and disbelief, staggering backwards.
He then whips the last of his chains against the mirror,
smashing it. That evening, the figure creeps into Rebecca’s
room, and she screams when he removes her blanket. John
calls the police to report a break-in, demanding an
investigation, but the inspector dismisses his report, saying
the castle, with 150 rooms, is far too big to search.
Rebuffed by his wife, John is approached by a prostitute
while drinking in the local bar. He brings the woman back to
the castle and they make love. (Most of the extra footage of
the director’s cut is from this sequence.) After he pays her, the
woman starts to leave, but is kidnapped by the castle freak
before she reaches the main entrance. He drags her to his
underground lair, tying her up. The next day, the police return
to the castle, this time demanding to search it. John had been
seen leaving the cafe with Sylvana, who is now missing. John
refuses the police request. Matters are further complicated
when John learns the inspector is in love with Sylvana, with
whom he had a love child. John turns to Gianetti for advice.
When he learns from his sister, the housekeeper, that she has
found Sylvana’s purse in the castle, the lawyer tries to
blackmail John.
Meanwhile, the creature rapes his captive. When the
housekeeper hears the woman’s screams and tries to come to
her aid, the deformed man kills them both. The police arrive
at the castle with a search warrant. John takes them to the
crypt and opens Giorgio’s tomb, which is empty. He theorizes
that Giorgio is still alive, tortured by his mother, the Duchess,
for the past forty years. The police ignore his theory, arresting
him after finding the bodies of Agnese and Sylvana. The
inspector leaves two policemen on guard, and takes John to
headquarters where he starts to grill him. When John insists
on his innocence, the inspector beats him with a nightstick.
John begs him to remove his wife and daughter from of the
castle, which he knows also houses a mad killer.
 Giorgio kills Grimaldi and Benedetti, the two policeman
at the castle, and kidnaps Rebecca. For a brief moment, he
tries to be gentle with her after discovering she is blind. A few
seconds later, however, he starts to slobber over her, driving
Rebecca into hysterics. Hearing the screams, Susan shows up,
freeing her daughter after stabbing the creature. John catches
the inspector offguard and decks him with his own nightstick.
He then escapes, returning to the castle. He intervenes as
Giorgio traps Susan and Rebecca on the roof. He grapples
with the deformed man and both of them topple over the
side onto the pavement below. Susan rushes to the side of her
dying husband, declaring her love and forgiving him. In a
brief epilogue, the residents of Orsino pay tribute to John at
his funeral, and while his casket is driven off, the police
inspector appears with his young son, to offer his
condolences to Susan.
Castle Freak is a remarkable film in many ways, although
it is handicapped by the dreadful title. The plot is riddled with
tiny loopholes. For example, how did Giorgio survive without
food for such an extended period after the death of the
Duchess. After all, it no doubt took Gianetti some time to
track down John Reilly in America, and for him to bring his
family to Italy. Giorgio killed and ate a cat after the arrival of
the Reillys, but what nourished him the month or two before
they showed up? The plot is also cloudy about the
complicated family relationship between the Reillys and the
D’Orsinos. John’s father married the Duchess, sired a son,
and then he abandoned them, running off with the sister of
the Duchess when he returned to America. Back in this
country, the sister gave birth to her own son, John. So in
actuality, Giorgio is John’s half brother. John’s suicidal bent
also weakens the effect of his ultimate sacrifice at the end of
the picture. In many ways, Castle Freak is an old fashioned
gothic at heart, with John as an anti-hero seeking redemption.
There are actually more touches of Charlotte Brontë than H.
P. Lovecraft in the final analysis, with the final scene being an
unconventional tribute to the climax of Jane Eyre.
Unfortunately, the film simply fails to hang together with its
odd mixture of gore, gothic romance, soap opera and
Lovecraftian terror.

PERFORMANCES

Jeffrey Combs delivers a tortured, somber reading as the

guilt-ridden John Reilly, displaying an impressive and
believable range of emotions. His character is not really
likable, but then none of the characters are, except for the
blind daughter. Many Combs fans will be disappointed that
no traces of his deft, satiric, mercurial humor are present in
this picture. There is no twinkle in his eye at any point, and
this element is missed as the picture unfolds. But Combs is so
compelling that many will be amazed at the depth of his
characterization. Barbara Crampton is good as John’s
embittered and vindictive wife. The other cast members
deliver solid performances, but the only one who draws
exceptional notice is Jonathan Fuller as Giorgio. Wearing a
full body suit for the part, Fuller brings his character to life
through his gestures alone. Fuller definitely was capable of
delivering a more sympathetic portrayal, glimpses of which
can be inferred from his brief encounter with Rebecca when
he learns that she is blind. His soft and pitying moans at this
point are extraordinary. This instance passes far too quickly,
and the human inside the castle freak quickly vanishes.
Developing this perspective was a road not taken, as Giorgio
quickly reverts back to a mindless savage.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Castle Freak is an atypical Lovecraft film, based largely

on a passage from one of HPL’s best known stories, The
Outsider. This is one of the most analyzed of all Lovecraft’s
works, with differing psychological, mythological, allegorical
and sexual interpretations. Essentially, The Outsider, is a
seven page story with a mysterious narrator, a lonely figure
who lives completely alone in a dark, underground castle,
without any companionship other than moldy old books.
Finally, the lonely and sensitive protagonist decides to leave
and has a tremendous struggle in finding a passable route to
the surface. He finally does so, seeing the stars for the very
first time. Hearing a party in progress at a nearby home, the
narrator enters through a window, and the people in the room
run off screaming. Then the narrator sees a loathsome,
hideous monster. He reaches out, and discovers it is his own
reflection in a mirror. He returns to his underground abode,
realizing he is an abomination, “an outsider.”
The castle setting and the incident of the discovery of
the reflection in the mirror are the only two elements that are
represented in Castle Freak. The stunning moment of self-
discovery is impressive, but the entire structure of the film is
almost the antithesis of The Outsider, as conceived by HPL.
A true adaptation of The Outsider would be difficult,
although amateur filmmakers Aaron Vanek and Robert
Hooks made two very stylish, although rather different, short
adaptations of the original story. The Outsider has also
proved very effective as both a radio play and as a vehicle for
a straight dramatic reading, a genuine companion piece to
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Some in town, they also say that late at night, when the
streets are quiet, you can hear Giorgio crying. They say the
castle is haunted.” (Agnese to John, telling the dark legend of
the castle)
“What’s left? Are you just punishing me?” (John to
Susan, in a heated argument) “Yes, because God didn’t. He
just let you walk away without a scratch.” (Susan’s mocking
retort)
“Check upstairs in the Duchess’ room, she has a whip!
Why would she have a whip? Who is she going to use it
on?… She never let anyone in, right? But who was here to
begin with? Her son! He didn’t die. She had him hid away. She
made him into a whipping boy to get back at my father for
leaving her.” (John to the inspector when he arrests him)
 The Crawling Eye (1958)
AKA The Trollenberg Terror
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Shoggoths (Equivalent)

Tempean. Written by Jimmy Sangster based on a six-

chapter BBC-TV serial by Peter Key; Photographed by
Monty Berman; Edited by Henry Richardson; Music by
Stanley Black; Produced by Robert S.Baker & Monty Berman;
Directed by Quentin Lawrence. 84 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Forrest Tucker.............Alan Brooks (U.K. troubleshooter)

Janet Munro...............Anne Pilgrim (entertainer & mind-
reader)
Jennifer Jayne.............Sarah Pilgrim (her sister)
Laurence Payne............Philip Truscott (reporter)
Warren Mitchell...........Professor Crevett (head of cosmic ray
observatory)
Frederick Schiller.........Klein (hotel owner & mayor of
Trollenberg)
Stuart Saunders............Colin Dewhurst (geologist)
Andrew Faulds.............George Brett (Alpine Club guide)
Colin Douglas.............Hans (hotel employee)
Derek Sidney...............Wilde (observatory scientist)
Caroline Glaser............Little girl attacked by shuggoth
Anne Sharp.................Little girl’s mother
Leslie Heritage............Carl (mountain climber & guide)
Theodore Wilhelm........Fritz (mountain climber & guide)
Jeremy Longhurst........English student climber
Anthony Parker...........2nd English student climber
Jack Taylor.................Jim (3rd climber who is beheaded)
Gerald Green...............Pilot

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

A perennial fan favorite, The Crawling Eye is one of the

most colorful, vibrant and purely entertaining monster films
of the 1950s. Yet this picture also has a number of detractors,
critics who either loathe or dismiss it, mainly on the basis of
the large number of unanswered questions in the plot: How
did these creatures come to Earth? Where are their
spaceships? What is their purpose? Where are they from?
Why are they hostile to people with telepathic abilities? Why
do they take their victim’s heads? Ironically, most of these
objections are easily resolved when the film is given a
Lovecraftian interpretation. These creatures are actually
shoggoths, vassals of the Old Ones, who are probing the
Earth to prepare the way for the return of their masters.
These shamblers from the stars arrived through
interdimensional portals, not spaceships, and since they
communicate telepathically, they do not want any humans
about who can eavesdrop, so to speak, on their plans. The
heads are procured, as in several HPL works, so that the
memory and knowledge of the victim can be assimilated. The
Lovecraft approach applies so naturally to The Crawling Eye
and resolves so many of the loose ends that it seems
inconceivable that the entry was not inspired by Lovecraft’s
writings, particularly his novel At the Mountains of Madness.
In any case, the interpretation fits like a glove. On closer
inspection, the picture is also influenced by the Quatermass
film series, which itself contains numerous Lovecraftian
elements. Like the Quatermass films, The Crawling Eye
began as a six part BBC television series. It was originally
called The Trollenberg Terror, and the director and one of
the cast members, Laurence Payne, were veterans of the
television version. The film was later changed to The
Crawling Eye as a more startling and dramatic title for
American audiences.
The film opens with a pre-title sequence featuring three
British climbers scaling the Trollenberg, a picturesque
mountain in Switzerland. Two of them are perched on a
lower ledge while the third, Jim, calls down to them from a
higher precipice. Suddenly, Jim reports that “someone is
coming,” and moments later his body goes hurtling over the
edge. His friends pull him up by his tether rope, but as they
raise him, one of them screams when he sees that Jim’s head
has been torn from his body. The scene shifts to a train racing
through the countryside. As the engine disappears into a long
tunnel, the credits appear in dramatic fashion prefiguring the
title sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest
(1959). After the train emerges from the tunnel, the camera
moves inside to the compartment shared by Alan Brooks, an
American, and the Pilgrim sisters, headliners with a mind
reading act, who are on en route to Geneva. One of them,
Anne Pilgrim, stands up to get a good view of Trollenberg
mountain, then lapses into a trance and collapses on Alan’s
lap. When she awakens, she insists that she and her sister
must disembark at Trollenberg, the next stop. Alan, trying to
be helpful, knows Klein, the proprietor of the Hotel Europa
and offers to secure them a room. As they are being driven to
the hotel, Anne has a vision in which she describes the
accident in which one of the British climbers was killed.
Arriving at the hotel, they meet another guest, Philip
Trustcott, a reporter on holiday. He recalls seeing the Pilgrim
sisters when they appeared at the London Palladium the
previous month. Two other guests, Brett and Dewhurst, are
about to leave on a climbing expedition. They intend to
spend the night in a cabin halfway up the main slope.
Dewhurst is actually a geologist who is investigating the
recent number of mysterious accidents on the mountain, in
which a number of hikers and climbers had simply vanished.
Brooks joins them on the first leg of their journey, a cable car
ride to the newly built observatory. It turns out that Brooks
was summoned by Professor Crevett, head of the
observatory, to investigate the same series of accidents, but
from a completely different viewpoint. Alan Brooks is an
employee of the United Nations who studies and reports on
the world’s trouble spots. Three years earlier, Crevett and
Brooks were involved in a strange case in the Andes
Mountains that involved a radioactive cloud and a large
number of unexplained disappearances. By the time Alan’s
report led to an official inquiry, the cloud had vanished, and
the case was dismissed as exaggerated hyperbole. Alan warns
Crevett that he won’t stick his neck out again without proof.
He becomes alarmed, however, when the professor informs
him of a radioactive cloud on the south side of the
Trollenberg, a static cloud which appeared three weeks earlier
and has not moved or dissipated. Alan informs Crevett about
Anne Pilgrim, who seems to be acting under some form of
mental compulsion. A telepath was also involved in the
Andes case, an elderly woman who was slain, and when the
man who killed her collapsed, it was discovered that he had
been dead for at least 24 hours. In short, she was killed by an
animated corpse. Crevett believes the cause of these events
are probably extraterrestrial.
Dewhurst and Brett reach the hiker’s hut where they
intend to spend the night, reporting by a special telephone
link to the hotel. Anne puts on a demonstration of her
psychic ability for the hotel guests, who are joined by
Professor Crevett. She has a vision of danger at the cabin.
Checking with the observatory, Crevett learns that the cloud
has moved toward the cabin. Alan calls, waking Dewhurst
who is puzzled by Brett’s disappearance. Opening the door,
the geologist reports that the fog has thickened and the
temperature has become quite frigid. He sees something
frightening and screams, after which the line goes dead.
Finally the observatory calls to report that the cloud had
retreated to its original position.
A rescue party sets out for the cabin, including Alan,
Philip and Klein. They find no trace of Brett, but Dewhurst’s
beheaded corpse is discovered in the hut. They also find signs
of intense cold, which caused the phone lines to snap after
they became crystallized. Anne falls into a trance and
attempts to head toward the cloud, taking the cable car. Her
sister calls Professor Crevett, and he sends his assistant to
intercept her. A search plane spots Brett, and two members
of the search team head off to reach him. Philip and Alan go
back to report to the professor, who then explains his
theories to the newsman. Meanwhile, the rescuers find Brett’s
knapsack containing Dewhurst’s head. They are then attacked
by a zombie-like Brett, who kills them with his pickax.
At the hotel, Alan is afraid that Anne may be summoned
again by the presence in the cloud, or they might try
something worse. Brett stumbles into the lobby, appearing
confused and uncoordinated. He complains that the room is
too hot. Alan gives him a cigarette, but Brett fumbles while
attempting to light it. When Anne comes into the room, Brett
lunges after her with a knife, but Alan overcomes the guide,
knocking him out. Examining Brett, they determine that he
has been dead for some time. Later, in the middle of the
night, the body of Brett is again reanimated, killing Klein
who was guarding the body. Slinking around in the dark hotel
corridors, the shuffling corpse locates Anne’s room. Alan
shoots Brett, and his body completely disintegrates when
Crevett tries to examine it.
The observatory reports that the cloud is moving
directly toward the village. The professor suggests that
everyone in town relocate to the observatory, which is built
like a fortress to withstand avalanches. Hans, the hotel
bartender, panics and tries to drive away despite the fact that
a second cloud now stretches across the road. The evacuation
proceeds slowly, since they must rely on the cable car. A
mother panics when her daughter vanishes. Alan heads back
to the hotel to search for her while the last group holds the
cable car and awaits his return.
A monster crashes through the front door of the hotel,
and is seen by the audience for the first time. The creature
has a huge, bulbous head, about fifteen feet across, featuring
only one enormous eye. No other organs are visible, and the
creature propels itself by a squiggling cluster of tentacles.
One thin, narrow tentacle reaches into the hotel to seize the
little girl, who is playing with a ball. Alan arrives and chops
off the tentacle, freeing the child. They race to the cable car,
which stutters, stopping and restarting as the cold from the
cloud almost freezes the equipment. The car barely completes
its ascent before the motors shut down.
At the observatory, they learn that five clouds are now
converging against them. Hans unexpectedly shows up as
well, complaining of the heat. After gaining admittance, he
slips into the inner office and throttles Anne before Alan and
Philip can stop his assault. They save Anne’s life, but she is
unconscious, unable to help them with her psychic ability.
When a sensor detector measures a temperature drop to 45
degrees below zero, Alan suggests they fight off the creatures
with heat. He orders the villagers to construct Molotov
cocktails. By short wave radio he requests an air force strike
from a military base in Bern, instructing them to drop fire
bombs in and around their location.
When one of the creatures appears on a telemonitor,
Philip remarks, “Cute little things, aren’t they?” Studying the
monitor, Alan says, “I’m going to throw a bomb at that one.
You watch on the screen and see what happens.” He takes a
Molotov cocktail and goes outside, tossing the explosive at
the monster, who ignites like a torch and starts to wither in
the flames. Philip goes out to throw another, but a creature
has slithered up to the roof of the observatory, and wraps
one of his tentacles around Philip. Alan freess him, but they
abandon their plan to try and destroy them one-on-one. The
creatures start to bore through the walls of the observatory,
concentrating on the room where Anne lies recovering. One
of the monsters cracks through a wall and grabs Alan by the
neck when he tries to move Anne. Philip uses a Molotov
cocktail to free his friend, and they return to the main
laboratory, hoping the planes reach them in time. They do,
the fire bombing is successful, and the nest of creatures
surrounding the observatory is entirely wiped out. The cloud
of intense cold dissipates, and the survivors are freed. A hint
of romance is suggested as Philip and Anne go for a walk,
while the others contemplate the Trollenberg, totally free of
clouds.
The Crawling Eye is often mistaken for an American
film, not only because the lead, Forrest Tucker, is an
American (many British films include an American star for
commercial reasons), but because British accents are largely
missing. Most of the cast speaks either with a German accent
or no accent at all. The pacing of the film is brisk, also
atypical for a British production. Everything falls into place,
including the special effects, which although not expensive,
are unusually compelling. These effects, designed by the top
British technical film wizard Les Bowie, are rather grotesque
and expressive, particularly in the closeups, when the giant
eye looks about. The miniature creatures used in long shots
are not nearly as good, but still well above average for a low
budget feature. The sound effects for the creatures are also
exceptional, but some critics complain that they would be
unable to make noise with no mouths. Since shoggoths are
telepathic, we can only assume that their grunts and pipings
are heard on the soundtrack are perceived telepathically. The
cinematography is outstanding, moody and quite effective,
especially in the half-lit corridors of the hotel or in the
claustrophobic hut. The editing is memorable as well. Seldom
has the location footage of a film blended in so well with the
actual footage. The illusion that the film was shot in a remote
Swiss village instead of a British soundstage is total. Jimmy
Sangster’s script keeps things humming, but there are one or
two puzzling gaps that are unresolved. Perhaps these
problems were unresolved in the original TV script. The most
noticeable is the mystery of the cabin door. Dewhurst is
shown barring this door, then he turns and screams. It is
assumed that Brett, now a zombie, slipped in while Dewhurst
was on the telephone. Then, offscreen, Brett kills and
decapitates the geologist so he can bring the man’s brain to
his new masters. But we never discover how Brett leaves the
cabin. When Alan and Philip arrive with the rescue party, the
door is still barred from the inside, and there is no other exit.
How did Brett manage this? The only solution is that he
didn’t. Brett unbarred the door and left, taking Dewhurst’s
head and closing the door behind him. A shoggoth then
slipped in a tentacle (either under the door or inter-
dimensionally) and replaced the bar, probably to confuse the
rescuers whenever they arrive to investigate. The powers of
the shoggoths in the Cthulhu Mythos are considerable, and
they have constructed entire cities for the Old Ones with
non-Euclidian angles, so replacing a bar to lock the hut
should prove no challenge. The film could also be criticized
for building up the psychological battle between Anne and
the shoggoths without any payoff. In some way, Anne should
have been responsible for providing the key to defeating the
creatures. Instead she is unconscious at the final
confrontation and provides no assistance. This, however, is
the only major shortcoming in a well-made and incredibly
diverting film, a textbook example of how interesting and
appealing a low-budget 1950s monster film can be.
 PERFORMANCES

The ensemble cast is another of the strengths of The

Crawling Eye, headed by Forrest Tucker, the tall and sturdy
American character actor. Tucker has sometimes been
compared to Sonny Tufts, but he had more charm and
greater range than Tufts as evidenced in this role which is
somewhat more thoughtful and cerebral than usual. He plays
the part well, more convincingly than he did in another
British science fiction film, The Cosmic Monster (1958),
which was unfortunately paired with The Crawling Eye on a
double bill in America. The slow-moving picture was a poor
match for the fast-paced The Crawling Eye, and it suffered by
comparison. Tucker is often recalled for his starring role in
the comedy series F Troop. Laurence Payne, best
remembered for his role as the shy librarian in The Tell-Tale
Heart (1963), is good, but his role seems to have been
watered down from the original TV version. This becomes
apparent when the reveals that his character and that of Anne
Pilgrim had a romance that blossomed off screen. Anne is
played brilliantly by Janet Munro, the memorable actress who
also excelled in numerous other films, such as Darby O’Gill
and the Little People (1959) and The Day the Earth Caught
Fire (1961). A genuine talent, Munro appeared to be on the
verge of major stardom, considering her natural charisma,
but an appropriate breakthrough role for her never
materialized. She died in 1972, reportedly choking to death
while drinking tea. Some of her abilities were inherited by her
daughter, the perky Caroline Munro, who enjoyed a minor
cult status among film fans for some time. Warren Mitchell is
congenial, if somewhat clichéd, as the amiable German
scientist. The various minor actors turn in extremely strong
roles, particularly Andrew Faulds as Brett, who becomes an
uncoordinated killer possessed by the aliens in the central
portion of the film. His pursuit of Anne in the middle of the
night is staged with creepy perfection. The one character who
is overlooked in any study of the film is Jennifer Jayne as
Sarah Pilgrim. The script simply fails to provide her with any
opportunities except to be concerned over her sister. Still, she
is a welcome presence who reacts well to the other characters
in the story, and is essential in setting up some of the best
scenes in the film.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Shoggoths are entities bred by the Old Ones to perform

a great variety of tasks. In his novel At the Mountains of
Madness, Lovecraft describes them as “vicious agglutinations
of bubbling cells—rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely
plastic and ductile—slaves of suggestion, builders of cities,
more and more sullen, more and more intelligent.” The
shoggoths were equipped with whatever organs their breeders
considered necessary. The creatures in The Crawling Eye are
furnished with a giant orb and a jumble of tentacles to equip
them with sight and motion. In At the Mountains of
Madness, the shoggoths always travel in an envelope of mist.
Lovecraft writes about the shoggoths “gathering unholy
speed and driving before it a spiral, re-thickening cloud of the
pallid abyss-vapor.” He also describes how clouds that appear
in the mountains signal the location of the shoggoths. “We
saw distinct traces of local mists around several of the
summits…and thought shiveringly of…the blasphemous,
horror-fostering abyss whence all such vapours came.” The
shoggoths, as the creatures in the film, have a fondness for
taking the heads of their victims. Lovecraft describes victims
“whom the frightful shoggoths had characteristically slain and
sucked to a ghastly headlessness.” Another link is one of
Lovecraft’s most commonly used expressive terms:
“Cyclopean,” and the shoggoths of The Crawling Eye, with
their single expressive eyeball, are certainly the embodiment
of that description. On Earth, the shoggoths were usually
confined to the frozen interior of the arctic regions or to the
depths of the ocean. Again this corresponds to the deep cold
climate preferred by the cinematic crawling eyes. These
unforgettable creatures correspond to the shoggoths of the
Cthulhu Mythos in practically all regards. The TV series did
provide the beings with a name, the Ixodes, but this idea was
abandoned for the feature version. A shoggoth by any other
name may still be as ugly. In any case, the film provides them
their only on screen representation.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I’m only important if I say something about cosmic

rays. If I say anything else, they tell me to mind my own
business.” (Crevett to Alan, explaining the government’s
attitude towards him)
“Well, if they can only exist on the tops of mountains,
they’re hardly likely to inherit the earth are they?” (Philip to
the professor, discussing the creatures) “You see, anyone can
get used to anything in time. Now these movements we have
recorded here, each time lower down the mountain.
Acclimatization, perhaps?” (Crevett’s reply)
“Do you mean to tell me…that we’ve just been fighting
a dead man?” (Philip to Alan) We believe that he was sent
down that mountain by whatever is up there for the express
purpose of killing Anne Pilgrim. They can’t afford for Anne
to be alive. She is a threat to their security. They tried to
entice her up there. Now they have tried this.” (Alan’s
explanation)
“Every time we have come up against these things, there
has been this intense cold. Remember you said that Brett’s
body looked like he had been in the deep freeze. Heat! That’s
what we’ve got to use.” (Alan to the professor and Philip)
“How about a breath of fresh air?” (Philip to Anne) “I’d
love a breath of fresh air.” (Anne’s reply, unaware that the air
outside the observatory is filled with the stench of charred
shoggoths)
 The Crimson Cult (1968)
AKA Curse of the Crimson Altar and Witch House
Rating: **
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Dream imagery

American International/Tigron. Written by Mervyn

Haisman & Henry Lincoln based on the novella Dreams In
the Witch-House by H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by
Johnny Coquillon; Edited by Howard Lanning; Music by
Peter Knight; Produced by Lewis M. Heyward; Directed by
Vernon Sewell. U.S. version, 87 minutes; European version,
89 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Boris Karloff...............Professor John Marsh (witchcraft

expert)
Christopher Lee...........J.D. Morley (owner of Craxton Lodge)
Virginia Wetherell........Eve Morley (his niece)
Barbara Steele..............Lavinia Morley (17th century witch)
Mark Eden..................Robert Manning (antique dealer)
Denys Peek.................Peter Manning (Robert’s missing
brother)
Michael Gough............Elder (Morley butler)
Rupert Davies..............Dr. Radford (Greymarsh vicar)
Rosemarie Reede..........Esther (Manning;’s secretary)
Roger Avon................Tyson (police sergeant)
Michael Warren............Basil (March’s chauffeur)
Nicholas Head..............Dream torture master
Vivienne Carlton..........Sacrificial victim
Ron Pember................Gas station attendant
Nova St. Claire............Woman running on the road

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

The Crimson Cult is a rather shallow effort considering

the talented cast and the impressive locale, the elaborate
Grimsdyke House in Middlesex, England, once the home of
playwright W.S. Gilbert, best remembered for his librettos to
The Mikado and other operettas composed by Arthur
Sullivan. The film’s plot is somewhat reminiscent of Horror
Hotel (1960), a far more successful effort also featuring
Christopher Lee. The picture fails for a number of reasons.
The use of almost psychedelic colors is simply wrong. Horror
Hotel, by contrast, was in very atmospheric black and white.
With a little imagination, Crimson Cult could have been
filmed in black and white with color reserved for the dream
sequences, providing them with more impact. Instead, the
color scheme is garish, particularly in the overly long party
sequence. The cinematography is stiff and pedestrian, the
editing is sloppy and the music score is amateurish. The
poorest ingredient, however, is the script. Boris Karloff
commented, “I don’t know what was worse, the script the
producer got first or the one I saw first. The poor fellow had
to rewrite it at least three times.” Many scenes were rewritten
as Karloff, Lee and Gough waited on the set. So it is little
wonder that the Lovecraftian elements of it had been
eviscerated. The picture had been originally titled Witch
House, after Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch-House. By the
time it played in England, it had been transformed into Curse
of the Crimson Altar. By the time it opened in America in
April 1970, two minutes of sex and torture were clipped, and
the title again altered to The Crimson Cult. By this time,
Karloff had been dead for fourteen months.
Briefly recounted, the story opens with Peter Manning
submitting to the demands of the witch Lavinia during a
“dream sequence.” Peter signs her book with his blood and
participates in the sacrifice of a virgin. Ten days later, Robert
Manning, an antique dealer, is perplexed when he receives an
odd note from Peter written on stationery from Craxton
Lodge in Greymarsh, the village in which they were born.
Robert travels there, only to discover that J.D. Morley, the
owner of the Lodge, has never heard of his brother. Staying
at the Lodge, Robert is invited by Eve, Morley’s niece, to
attend a wild party in celebration of Witch Night, a local
holiday that commemorates the burning of Lavinia, the Black
Witch of Greymarsh, three hundred years earlier. Robert also
makes the acquaintance of Professor John Marsh, an
historian and expert on the rituals of witchcraft. The antique
dealer has a number of strange encounters with Elder, the
half-witted butler of Craxton Lodge, who warns him to flee
for his life.
Robert has a series of frightening dreams in which
Lavinia attempts to force him to sign her book. Sergeant
Tyson finds him sleepwalking, with his arm cut and bleeding.
He takes Robert back to Craxton Lodge where he awakens
Eve to clean his wound. He then takes advantage of her
sympathy to seduce her. Slipping back into his own room in
the morning, he finds a secret panel which leads him to an
attic room resembling the witch room of his dreams. Robert
finally discovers that his brother had stayed at the lodge using
an assumed name. After Robert discovers the butler’s dead
body, both he and Eve are captured by Morley, who ties them
up in the witch room and prepares to sacrifice them in
memory of Lavinia. Professor Marsh and his manservant
Basil arrive in time to prevent their murders. Morley sets fire
to the building and heads to the roof. Marsh, Robert and Eve
escape, and as the fire engines arrive, Marsh explains that
Morley must have had a split personality, committing a series
of revenge murders on the descendants of the villagers who
had burned his ancestor, the witch Lavinia. He had
hypnotized his victims, such as Robert and his brother, into
believing that they were being interrogated by the witch
Lavinia. After proposing his rational theory, they watch in
amazement as Morley is physically transformed into Lavinia.
The witch, unharmed by the flames, laughs at the crowd
below, watching the lodge as it is consumed in the fire.
The film, no doubt, leaves its audience puzzled. Was
Morley possessed by Lavinia, or was he Lavinia all along,
disguising herself before the others. Did Robert and the other
victims dream the evil rituals, or did they actually occur? Why
did Marsh wait so long if he had suspicions about Morley?
The film offers no answers to these loose ends. The dream
sequences start off effectively, but after Nicholas Head
appears wearing nothing but antlers headgear and a black
high rise brief, the ceremonies become totally foolish and
ridiculous, just like the earlier party sequence that seems like a
parody of Laugh In with clips of body painting and other
mod hijinks. Add to this the totally unnecessary bedroom
antics of Robert and Eve, and you have an indecipherable
hodgepodge, redeemed solely by the presence of Karloff and
Lee. The script, however, attempts to squander this advantage
by including a gratuitous remark about the actor “Boris
Karloff,” just as the old Monogram film Voodoo Man (1944)
employed a witless remark about “Bela Lugosi” as a
humorous throwaway. On both occasions, the awkward joke
only makes the audience wince.

PERFORMANCES

Boris Karloff had less than a year to live at the time he

made The Crimson Cult. Even though he was obviously ill
and played most of his role in a wheelchair (standing briefly
in two scenes), his performance is compelling, and masterful,
including the special nuances that he brings to almost every
line. Quite simply, Karloff is the only worthwhile aspect of
the entire production. He engenders a far greater effect, for
instance, by merely referring to his collection of “instruments
of torture” than all the hammy, staged and phony dream
scenes in the witch room put together. He also brings genuine
pathos to such passing comments as, “All the best things in
life are short lived.” By contrast, the usually excellent
Christopher Lee appears stiff and indifferent, particularly
when compared to his similar role in the atmospheric
masterpiece The Wicker Man (1973). Mark Eden makes a
rather poor leading man, but then his character, Robert
Manning, is an insensitive boor, spending much of his screen
time trying to bed Morley’s niece, stiffly played by Virginia
Wetherell. Michael Gough, a fine British character actor,
delivers one of his weakest performances as the stuttering
butler. The script is almost ambivalent about whether he is a
sympathetic character or not. Derek Jacobi might have
endowed the part with some interest, but Gough fails entirely.
On the other hand, Barbara Steele makes a decent impression
as the Black Witch of Greymarsh with her skin colored green
and her elaborate sorceress headdress. Unfortunately, her
screen time is limited, and her lines are awkwardly distorted in
an echo chamber. However her final cackle over the end
credits is a nice touch, ending the picture on a high note.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

On the whole, the plot of this picture relies very little

from HPL. None of the character names are derived from
the original work, although in other works he mentions the
name Marsh. In The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one character
notes “disagreeable impressions connected with the name of
Marsh.” The setting of the film is switched from Arkham to a
small town in England. What remains are a number of potent
images, principally dream fragments, which are brought to life
on screen. These involve legends of a 17th century witch, a
black magic ceremony with robed men, the persistent efforts
by a sinister witch to induce the dreamer to sign his name in
an ancient book, the injury of the dreamer’s arm, and a ritual
sacrifice. The witch in Lovecraft’s original was Keziah Mason.
In the film, the character was called Lavinia Morley,
suggesting the name Lavinia Whateley from The Dunwich
Horror. The film also recreates some of the abstract elements
from the story, in the dreams of the main character. HPL
describes, “congeries of iridescent, prolately spherical
bubbles and a very much smaller polyhedron of unknown
colours and rapidly shifting surface angles.” The picture
comes close to replicating these images by using
kaleidoscopic effects and flashing lights at the start of the
dream sequences. In other words, The Crimson Cult
concentrated its efforts in reproducing the flavor and
atmosphere of the HPL original while abandoning its
storyline. The many Cthulhu Mythos elements mentioned in
the novella, from Miskatonic University to the Necronomicon
and the mention of various Old Ones, are not used in the
script. The book that the witch wishes the hero to sign in
blood is the book of Azathoth, not an acknowledgement of
guilt for the actions of his ancestors. For most Lovecraft
enthusiasts, the Lovecraftian elements are too little, too late.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“You know, this is a very interesting old house.” (Robert

to Eve) “I don’t know. It gets a bit creepy sometimes. It’s a bit
like one of those old houses in horror films.” (Eve) “Yeah, I
know what you mean. It’s like Boris Karloff is going to pop
up at any moment.” (Robert, exactly three minutes before
Karloff s character appears)
“It is not wise to joke about such matters. The devil is
not noted for his sense of humor, and he never sleeps.”
(Professor Marsh to Robert, after he makes a humorous
remark about witches)
“Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?” (Morley to Robert when
he discovers him in the cemetery at night) “No, I believe the
dead stay dead.” (His reply)
“What I don’t understand is how a person like me who
knows nothing at all about witchcraft, can have dreams with
such detail.” (Robert to Professor Marsh) “We all know the
subconscious mind can play strange, sometimes terrifying
tricks, the living bridge between this world and the unknown,
particularly in your case. Did you realize that you are the
linear descendant of Jonathan Manning, who was the
principal accuser of Lavinia at her trial for witchcraft?” (The
professor’s reply)
 Cthulhu Mansion (1990)

AKA Black Magic Mansion and La Manson de los

Cthulhu
Rating: *
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Cthulhu (References)

Filmagic. Written by J.P.Simon & Linda Moore based on

the writings of H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by Julio
Bragado; Edited by Paul Aviles; Music by Tim Souster,
Johann Sebastian Bach & Aram Khachaturian; Produced by
Jose G.Maesso & J.P.Simon; Directed by J.P.Simon. 92
minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Frank Finlay..............Chandu (stage magician)

Marcia Lay ton.............Lenore (his dead wife)
Lisa (his daughter)
Brad Fisher.................Hawk (tough gang leader)
Melanie Shatner..........Eva (Hawk’s girlfriend)
Luis Fernando Alves.....Chris (Eva’s brother)
Paul Birchard..............Billy (gang member)
Kaethe Cherney...........Candy (Billy’s girlfriend)
Frank Brana................Felix (Chandu’s mute servant)
Emil Linder................Eddie (drug dealer killed by Hawk)
Ronal Feabal...............Fatman (Eddie’s partner)
Pascal Mudazi.............Larry (local crime boss)
 SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Despite the intriguing title, this motion picture is a very

disappointing effort filmed in Spain, intended for the market
as a horror quickie. It had been rumored that “Cthulhu” was
added to the title only after the picture was completed as a
lure to attract an audience. However, a careful study of the
film shows that the name Cthulhu is an actual element in the
story, not merely added in as a post-production prop. An
antique booklet bearing the title Cthulhu appears at several
points in the picture, and the last shot shows an iron gate
topped with the name Cthulhu as well. Unfortunately, the use
of the name does not imply a summons to the actual Cthulhu
as conceived by Lovecraft. It is a simply a gimmick which is
almost extraneous to the basic plot, which is rather
incoherent at times.
The picture opens as Chandu (actual name, Kowalsky)
and his wife, Lenore, are performing their magic act on stage
when something goes wrong, and Lenore bursts into flames
while levitating. A flashback occurs showing Chandu and
Lenore on their honeymoon, touring an ancient European
castle, where Chandu discovers a timeworn pamphlet bearing
the title Cthulhu. Chandu and Lenore talk about this find, but
their words are not heard as the soundtrack is filled with only
the sounds of a music box. The scene switches to a carnival
sideshow many years later. Chandu is appearing with his
magic act, now assisted by his daughter, Lisa. Chandu sets up
Lisa for several wondrous trick escapes, first from a box into
which swords are plunged, then from a water tank that
Chandu covers with his cape.
At the carnival fun house, a tough punk named Hawk
kills a drug dealer, stealing his ample cache of cocaine. He
and his gang, consisting of Billy, Candy, Chris and Eva steal a
car to make their escape, but a gunfight breaks out when they
are caught in the act. Chris is wounded and his sister, Eva,
blames her boyfriend Hawk for ruining their escape. The
police comb the fair grounds, and the gang kidnaps Chandu
and his daughter as they head off at the end of the show. The
magician orders his mute servant, Felix, to drive the gang
back to his mansion. Unknown to them, Eddie’s partner,
Fatman, follows them in his car, biding his time to await
Hawk’s next move. Chandu tends to the injured man’s wound,
removing the bullet. Hawk telephones Larry, a local crime
boss, but is unable to make a deal for the stolen cocaine.
When the fuses blow, Hawk sends Billy, one of his gang, with
Lisa to replace them. Billy opens a locked door in the cellar,
which leads to a mysterious underground chamber. Lisa
reacts in panic and races back upstairs. Chandu finishes
dressing the wound, but Eva thinks Chris is too sick to move,
so Hawk and his gang decide to spend the night. The gang
locks Lisa in a bedroom with the recuperating Chris, and they
rummage around. Hawk orders the magician to be tied up.
Hawk breaks open the safe, but instead of cash only finds the
Cthulhu booklet. Felix tries to escape, and during a struggle,
Billy kills him. When Chandu is left alone, he calls upon the
ancient text for help, and the aged pages slowly flip open.
The ghost of Lenore appears to Chandu, warning him of
great danger from the opened door in the cellar.
One by one, the gang members are killed in a bizarre
fashion. Candy is seized by a demon as it hides in the
refrigerator. Billy takes a shower, and is drowned as the
shower stall fills with blood. Fatman sneaks into the mansion
and steals back the cocaine as Hawk and Eva sleep. Fatman is
mysteriously shot with Eva’s gun, and the cocaine stash
magically crawls by itself into the fire, where it is totally
consumed. Chris starts to transform into a monster. Hawk
panics and starts to search for Billy and Candy. He goes to
the car where he encounters their corpses, which return to
life and laugh at him. Eva becomes hysterical when she sees
her brother’s condition, and she unties Chandu and begs for
his help. Furniture in the room begins to levitate. Eva shoots
at it wildly, and Chandu confiscates her gun when it runs out
of bullets. Hawk returns in a frenzy, and he knocks out the
magician. Eva is smothered by an onslaught of vines that
enter through a window and overwhelm her body. Hawk is
stabbed by a cluster of knives that fly magically through the
air and are embedded in his chest. Chandu revives and
confesses to Lisa that he was responsible for her mother’s
death when he conjured the evil forces from the Cthulhu
booklet “I was playing with a power beyond my control!” He
urges his daughter to flee before the supernatural force takes
possession of him. Chandu encounters the monstrous image
of Chris, and, using a cross, he tries to exorcise him. He
succeeds, but then he transforms into a hideous demon
himself. Lisa and Chris escape as the mansion itself explodes.
As they leave the grounds, the name Cthulhu in metal
lettering atop the main gates of the estate erupts into flames
and starts to melt as the camera zeros in.
Most of the film is neither interesting nor frightening,
merely foolish. The makeup and special effects are juvenile,
although one of the deaths, that of Eva by the vines, is
staged very well. Most of the film makes no sense. For
example, a projector showing film clips of Chandu’s magic
act keeps turning on and off for no apparent reason. The
picture suggests something monstrous is about to emanate
through the cellar door, and the camera wastes considerable
time focusing on it, but nothing discernible ever emerges.
Neither is the relationship of the Cthulhu booklet to the
events ever spelled out. The film would perhaps work as
camp, but director Simon is too leaden to ever suggest this in
his approach. The editing is a mess. The cinematography isn’t
bad, particularly in the early fun house sequence, and the
music is not bad either, but then you can’t go wrong when
you play Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor or
Katchaturian’s Gayne as accompaniment to the magic scenes.
The film’s diverse elements never hang together, and the 92
minute length of the picture is almost unendurable.

PERFORMANCES

Frank Finlay, a highly regarded stage actor, received

special notice whenever he ventured into film work. He was
nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of lago in
the Lawrence Olivier version of Othello (1965). He also
played a number of other colorful roles, including Hitler in
The Death of Adolf Hitler (1972), Inspector Lestrade in A
Study in Terror (1965) and Murder by Decree (1979) both
features which featured Sherlock Holmes battling Jack the
Ripper. He was Jacob Marley’s ghost in the George C. Scott
version of A Christmas Carol (1984) and Dr. Van Helsing in
the Louis Jourdan Dracula mini-series, the most faithful
rendition of the Bram Stoker novel. Finlay manages to turn
in a decent performance as the tragic magician Chandu,
bringing the audience the only momentary flicker of interest
in this dismal production. The character name of Chandu the
Magician originated on the radio in the early 1930s. A film
version was made in 1932, in which Frank Chandler, alias
Chandu, was played by Edmund Lowe. In the follow-up serial
The Return of Chandu (1934), Bela Lugosi, who played the
evil magician Roxor who battled Chandu in the first film,
assumed the role of the mystic hero in the serial, which was
later recut into two feature films. (Waste not, want not, if you
have Lugosi on screen.) Finlay’s Chandu, however, bears no
relation to the earlier hero. Marcia Layton and Melanie
Shatner also have a few good moments in Cthulhu Mansion.
Melanie is the real life daughter of William Shatner, Captain
Kirk, and no doubt her flair for unrestrained scenery chewing
came from her father. At least she seems to be having fun
with her part, but the other players deliver dreary readings
that are painful to watch. They simply flail around awkwardly,
delivering such meaningful lines as, “I’m sick of this!” to
which the entire audience would loudly agree.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Although billed in the credits as being based on the

writings of H. P. Lovecraft, very little in the film is authentic
Lovecraft, except for the use of Cthulhu in the title. There is
some minor passing resemblance to The Shunned House, but
hardly enough to qualify as a legitimate source. It simply
seems that the filmmakers had a standard haunted house
story, and employed Cthulhu and Lovecraft’s name to attract
some interest in the film.
 REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“We are now on a long journey, a journey of no return, a

journey into the shadows of the unknown, the dark side of
life into unknown dimensions.” (Chandu’s spiel at the start of
his magic act)
“Rule number one: you never get high on your own
supply.” (Hawk to Candy when she suggests that they sample
the stolen cocaine)
“The evil congregates, just waiting for the moment to
invade with the vessels that you have provided. …There is
too much evil present. I am overpowered here. Seal the door.
Let it and me go. Save Lisa, but to save her, you must accept
your own fate, else she will be doomed with you as I was.”
(The ghost of Lenore to Chandu)
“OK, Chan-dude, let’s see how powerful you really are.”
(Hawk to Chandu, as he knocks him out) “End of magic
show!”
 Dark Intruder (1964)
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Old Ones (References)

Universal. Written by Barré Lyndon; Photographed by

John F.Warren; Edited by Edward W.Williams; Music by Lalo
Schifrin; Produced by Jack Laird & Alfred Hitchcock
(executive); Directed by Harvey Hart. B & W 59 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Leslie Nielsen..............Brett Kingsford (detective &

parapsychologist)
Mark Richman.............Robert Vandenberg (import stop
owner)
Judi Meredith...............Evelyn Lang (Robert’s fiancée)
Gilbert Green...............Harvey Misbach (police commissioner)
Charles Bolender..........Nikola (Brett’s butler & confidant)
Werner Klemperer.........Professor Malaki (fortuneteller)
Vaughan Taylor...........Dr. Burdett (Robert’s doctor)
Peter Bocco.................Chi Zang (occult specialist)
Bill Quinn..................Dr. Burdett’s neighbor
Ken Hooker.................First sergeant
Anthony Lettier...........Second sergeant
Mike Ragan................Plainclothes man
Richard Venture...........First man in the street
Ingvard Nielsen............Second man in the street
Claudia Donelly...........First woman in the street
Chester Jones..............Malaki’s servant
Harriet Vine................Hannah (murder victim)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Dark Intruder has a rather curious background. It was

originally conceived as the pilot episode for Black Cloak, a
proposed TV series by Shamley, the television production
company headed by Alfred Hitchcock. The famous director
chose the name of his company after Shamley Green, the
British village where the Hitchcocks had a summer home. In
fact, Hitchcock also used Shamley to produce one of his
most famous features, Psycho (1960). As a series, Black Cloak
was developed to focus on Brett Kingsford, a Holmes-style
private detective who operated in San Francisco in the 1890s
and whose cases all would have supernatural overtones. A
fascinating concept, but the series was not picked up largely
due to the anticipated high cost of the series. The pilot,
however, was of such quality that Universal decided to use it
as a feature film for theatrical release in 1965, despite the fact
that it was only 59 minutes in length. Dark Intruder is
strongly influenced by Lovecraft, including references to the
Cthulhu Mythos and to several of the Old Ones.
The story opens on a foggy night in San Francisco in the
fall of 1890. A woman is pursued by a snarling, cloaked figure
who traps her in a back alley and kills her. The murderer then
leaves an unusual small statue at the scene of the crime. The
following morning, Brett Kingsford reads the gruesome
details of the crime in the San Francisco Globe, which
compares the recent series of slayings to the Jack the Ripper
murders in London two years earlier. He is interrupted in his
reading by his butler, a dwarf named Nikola, who announces
he has a visitor. Evelyn Lang sweeps into his chambers,
bubbling with news of her forthcoming marriage to Robert
Vandenberg. She confides to Brett that her fiancée has been
acting rather strangely, and she asks his opinion. Kingsford
receives a note from Harvey Misbach, the police
commissioner, and he disguises himself as a flamboyant
dandy to visit him. He warns Misbach that his usefulness to
the police would be compromised if it were discovered that
Brett Kingsford works as their consultant. The police are
stumped, and the commissioner asks for Brett’s help on the
case. Misbach shows Brett the four mysterious ivory figurines
left beside the bodies of the four victims in the recent serial
killings. Each one stands about six inches high and is a
hideous grotesque. Brett notes that a second figure is
protruding from the back of the statue. When lined up in the
order in which there were received, the hideous image has
emerged farther in each one. The figures remind the detective
of images of the Old Ones, such as Dagon or Azathoth.
Brett brings one of the ivories to Chi Zang, a curio
dealer with extensive knowledge of the occult. The Chinese
elder describes the figure as one of the beings of pure evil
who were banished from Earth in primeval times and who
are continually scheming to retake their former domain. Chi
Zang conducts a brief ritual of protection and opens a small
box, unveiling the mummified remains of a Sumerian demon
clutching a wheel with seven spokes. The legend relates that
such a demon can take possession of any human or animal
after completing seven ritualistic killings. When Brett picks up
the demon, it seems to scratch his hand. Chi Zang locks the
demon away, telling Kingsford that the current killings are
undoubtedly part of such a ritual. He warns him to take care
to avoid becoming one of the spokes of the demon’s wheel.
Brett encounters a number of odd people in the street
that evening when he goes to meet Robert at his import shop.
He finds a note from his friend asking him to wait when,
suddenly, an intruder enters the shop and attacks Brett. The
detective fights off the snarling, cloaked assailant with his
cane. Robert and some bystanders turn up after the intruder
flees. Brett is hurt, and Robert escorts him to Dr. Burdett for
treatment. The detective explains that his shoulder was
actually gored by claws instead of by any weapon. Burdett is
amazed that the scars from the wound are duplicates of the
scars on Brett’s hand. The detective is startled to learn that
Hannah, the most recent murder victim, had served as
Robert’s nursemaid when he was born. Burdett and Robert’s
parents were on an archaeological dig near Baghdad thirty
years earlier. In fact, Hannah left the expedition a short time
later. Burdett lost contact with her, but Robert learned that
she eventually returned to the United States after adopting a
strange boy whom she kept in seclusion. This mysterious boy
later ran away and disappeared.
After Robert accompanies Brett back to his house, they
continue to talk, and Robert sinks into an odd trance and
starts to sleepwalk. He confesses that he has been
experiencing strange spells during which he loses all memory.
Robert also admits that he had known all the murder victims,
not recently, but when he was a child. He wonders if he is
somehow responsible. Brett consoles him, claiming that his
spells are merely the result of premarital jitters. However, he
asks Nikola to follow Robert when he leaves. On the street,
Robert is handed a flyer promoting Professor Malaki, a
psychic. When he goes to visit the fortuneteller, Nikola alerts
Brett.
Professor Malaki’s servant ushers Robert into the
fortuneteller’s inner sanctum. The mystic is a mysterious
figure wearing a dark, flowing robe. When Robert asks for a
reading, the professor asks him to wait. Moments later, Brett
and Evelyn arrive, and Malaki begins his session. At first,
Robert is annoyed by their presence, but soon he becomes
captivated by Malaki. The fortuneteller tells Robert that he
has an old scar on his lower back. Robert confirms that he
had a nevus, a growth on the base of his spine that Dr.
Burdett removed one hour after his birth. Suddenly Brett
slides the ivory statue to Malaki, who is taken by surprise, and
comments that time is “folding in on itself.” Malaki then
abruptly concludes the session. As he leaves, Richard begs the
professor for answers to the questions that are troubling him.
Malaki tells him that all his questions will be answered before
his wedding day. After his visitors leave, Malaki reaches out to
collect his payment, revealing that his hands are actually
monstrous claws.
That night, Nikola informs Brett that Dr. Burdett has
just been found murdered, the latest victim of the demon
killer. Disguised as a drunken seaman, Brett goes to the
murder scene. When the police commissioner recognizes him,
he admits Brett to Burdett’s office where he was killed. His
medical record book for the year of Robert’s birth is
discovered to be missing. The commissioner reveals that he
has learned about an earlier killing in the series, so there is
only one left in the cycle. The diminishing time pattern
between each attack means that the final murder will occur on
the following day, quite possibly at Robert’s wedding.
Suddenly the commissioner and Brett discover an
eavesdropper—the killer himself has been hiding in the office
and escapes, smashing through a window.
The police stake out Robert’s wedding. Brett believes his
friend is under some kind of hypnotic control. Consulting
with the police commissioner, Brett proposes that the killer
may be Robert’s Siamese twin, deformed at birth and
separated from Robert by Dr. Burdett one hour after his
birth. This misshapen twin survived, however, brought up
and adopted by Hannah. With the murders, the evil twin has
been obliterating all those who know of his existence,
eventually intending to possess the body of Robert, his
perfectly formed brother.
Outside the church, the police find another murder
victim, Professor Malaki’s servant. Brett rushes to locate
Robert, who has disappeared. Summoned by Malaki, Robert
walks up into the steeple of the church. The professor reveals
his hideous face, and he tells Robert that he is actually his
twin. He then begins a ritual in the name of the Banished
Gods. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Robert pushes
Malaki off the steeple, just as Brett and the police come
dashing up the stairs. The commissioner comforts Robert,
insisting that he was lucky to survive the terrifying encounter.
Brett, however, finds a new ivory figurine at the base of a
pillar, showing two distinct and separate figures. Later, the
marriage of Robert and Evelyn is concluded.
Brett speculates to Misbach that it is possible the demon
had completed his transfer, and it is really Robert who was
killed. If this is true, Evelyn is in great danger. They hurry off
to find them walking in the garden. Evelyn has just kissed her
husband, and she realizes something is wrong. Seeing the fear
in her eyes, the monster possessing Robert’s body starts to
choke her. Brett and the commissioner rush to her aid, and
Malaki/Robert runs off. Misbach shoots him, and in death
the figure of Robert’s body resumes his demonic shape.
In a brief epilogue, Brett arrives home after Robert’s
funeral, outraged that the funeral director confused the
bodies of Malaki and Robert. Nikola tries to ease Brett’s
concern, saying that he will switch the bodies to their proper
graves within a week. “If only the rest of the world knew
what we know,” Brett sighs. “If they did, sir, nobody would
get a decent night’s sleep,” Nikola quips as the picture
abruptly ends. Dark Intruder is amazing on several levels. The
story is so intricately plotted that practically every line of
dialogue in every scene is relevant. Not so much as a second
is wasted, and viewers are only able to piece it all together
after multiple viewings. The story, despite the light-hearted
wrap-up banter, is very dark. Brett’s success in the story is
limited. He is unable to save his friend, and Evelyn is a widow
who, in fact, had married a demon. Like a Shakespearean
tragedy, most of the cast is dead by the conclusion. The film
also has a smoldering intensity, quite atypical except, perhaps,
for a handful of episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

PERFORMANCES

At the time this film was made, Leslie Nielsen may have
been an inspired choice as Brett Kingsford, particularly with
his disguises and the dilettante airs which he assumes to fool
people when he is working on a case. However, since Nielsen
has now switched to parody and comedy with films such as
The Naked Gun (1988), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
and Wrongfully Accused (1999), it is hard to watch his earlier
performances without being reminded of his satirical edge.
When Nielsen poses as a Scandinavian sea captain in the
picture, it is so close to his comedy skits that it weakens the
caliber of his entire performance. Mark Richman brings a
fine poignancy to the doomed Robert Vandenberg. Werner
Klemperer, son of the great German conductor Otto
Klemperer, is magnificent as Malaki, and his makeup is quite
effective. At the same time, it is obvious that a stuntman took
over during a number of his scenes. Klemperer soon was to
be typecast in the role of Colonel Wilhelm Klink for the TV
series Hogan’s Heroes. The other performers, especially
Gilbert Green as Misbach and Charles Bolender as Nikola,
who would have been regulars if the series had been picked
up, are perfect in their roles. The best part, however, is Peter
Bocco, who undoubtedly would have been the most popular
recurring character in the role of Chi Zang. Bocco is able to
raise the gooseflesh of the audience by the mere inflection of
his voice as he describes the occult.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Although no particular Lovecraft story is cited as a

source, it seems obvious that writer Barré Lyndon had
formulated his plot as a loose adaptation of The Dunwich
Horror. In that story, there are also twins, Wilbur Whateley,
who was somewhat human, and his horrible brother, who
resembled his father, Yog-Sothoth. The interesting variation
is that Lyndon makes Richard unaware of his brother’s
existence until the climax. The other Lovecraft connections
are cemented by the various references to the Old Ones in
the plot. Dagon was one of Lovecraft’s earliest short stories
from 1917. Dagon, of course, first appeared in the Bible as
the fish god worshipped by the Canaanites whose temple was
destroyed by Samson. Lovecraft’s most memorable use of
Dagon was in The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Azathoth
originated in a story fragment by Lovecraft in 1922. Azathoth
also was referenced by Lovecraft in The Thing on the
Doorstep. Incidentally, the plot of The Thing on the
Doorstep includes the use of a spell whereby the conjurer
can switch minds with his victim, exactly like Malaki in Dark
Intruder.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“The seventh son of a seventh son has a certain

tradition to uphold.” (Brett to Evelyn, explaining his
eccentricity)
“Ancient before Babylon, before Egypt, it is the essence
of sublime evil. With its demons and acolytes so cruel, so
merciless, all were banished from the earth, and they are
forever struggling to return.” (Chi Zang to Brett, describing
the ancient deity portrayed by the statue)
“I am a wonder and a monster at the same time. I have
the power to abandon my body and enter yours. In exchange,
my dear brother, you will have mine.” (Professor Malaki to
Robert in the steeple)
 Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

AKA House at the End of the World and Monster of

Terror
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Old Ones (Allusions)

American International Pictures. Written by Jerry Sohl

based on the short story The Colour Out of Space by H. P.
Lovecraft; Photographed by Paul Beeson; Edited by Alfred
Cox; Music by Eton Banks; Produced by Pat Green, James H.
Nicholson (executive) and Samuel Z.Arkoff (executive);
Directed by Daniel Haller. 78 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Boris Karloff................Nahum Witley (patriarch of the Witley

family)
Nick Adams................Stephen Reinhart (American engaged to
Susan)
Suzan Farmer..............Susan Witley (Nahum’s daughter)
Freda Jackson...............Letitia Witley (Nahum’s wife)
Terence De Marney........Merwyn (Nahum’s butler)
Patrick McGee..............Dr. Henderson (Arkham physician)
Sheila Raynor..............Henderson’s housekeeper
George Moon..............Arkham cab driver
Paul Ferrill.................Jason (bike shop owner)
Leslie Dwyer................Potter (greengrocer)
Sydney Bromley...........Pierce (pub patron)
Billy Milton................Henry (pub patron)
Harold Goodwin............Pub patron
Gretchen Franklin.........Bailey (villager)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

While under production in England, this picture was

called The House at the End of the World, a rather poetic
title, somewhat reminiscent of Lovecraft’s The Strange High
House in the Mist or the works of William Morris. By the
time studio publicists took charge, the title was changed to
the dreadful Die, Monster, Die! This was done in an attempt
to highlight Boris Karloff ’s role, in which he (or rather his
stunt double) was transformed into a monster during the
climax of the picture. Some critics have considered the title to
be in bad taste, as if it seemly invokes the death of the aged
horror film icon. The ironic thing, however, is that Karloff s
young costar, Nick Adams, actually died in 1968, a year
before Karloff passed away. Die, Monster, Die! was the first
directorial effort of Daniel Haller, who had been a rather
successful art director for American International Pictures.
His inexperience contributes to the results, which seem
pedestrian rather than frightening or compelling. The end
product comes across as run-of-the-mill, not bad, but
decidedly second rate.
The credits appear in front of a vaguely shifting and
swirling color pattern, concluding with an iris that opens
upon a remote train station. In this storyline, Arkham has
been repositioned to the hinterlands of Northumbria in
England. A lone passenger, Stephen Reinhart, disembarks
from the train. He approaches a cab driver, who immediately
identifies the stranger as an American. When his passenger
asks to be taken to the Witley place, the cabbie refuses his
fare and drives off. Reinhart tries to ask for directions, but he
is rebuffed by a greengrocer and several men outside a pub.
He tries to rent a bicycle, but again he is turned away when he
mentions the Witley name. Eventually, Reinhart is forced to
walk, but since he is never given instructions, it is unclear how
he knows the right direction. He passes a blasted heath, a
blackened and lifeless patch of land. Reinhart touches a
shrub, breaking off a branch which crumbles in his hands.
When Reinhart reaches the gates of the Witley estate, it
is posted with signs threatening trespassers. The American
slips around the gate and approaches the front door. He
knocks, and there is no response, but the door is nudged ajar
by his knocking. Reinhart enters and starts to explore the
large mansion, calling out as he wanders around. He bumps
into Nahum Witley, an old, distinguished looking man who
uses a wheelchair because his arthritis. He demands that the
intruder leave. Reinhart produces a letter from Mrs. Witley,
inviting him for a visit. He explains that he met Susan,
Witley’s daughter, while she was attending college in America.
As Nahum implores him quietly to leave as Susan appears to
greet him. She takes him at once to see her mother, Letitia,
who has recently fallen ill and is bedridden. On the way,
Susan points out the portrait of her grandfather, Corbin
Witley, who went insane.
Speaking in her darkened room from behind bed
curtains, Letitia welcomes Reinhart enthusiastically. After
Susan leaves her room, Letitia tells Reinhart about Helga, her
maid, who mysteriously vanished a few days earlier. Before
she disappeared, she confided to Letitia that something
strange and frightening was happening to her. Letitia makes
Reinhart promise that he will take Susan away with him.
Meanwhile, Nahum is wheeled down to the cellar by Merwyn,
his butler, and he examines a strange object that makes a
humming noise. He then visits Letitia’s bedroom,
complaining about her decision to invite Reinhart. She insists
that Corbin died invoking the Old Ones. Now his call is being
answered, in the form of a glowing meteorite which Nahum
has brought into his cellar laboratory for scientific study.
Nahum, however, believes that the meteorite will provide an
age of abundance, stimulating breakthroughs in agriculture,
which his experiments will document.
At the supper table, Nahum, Susan and Stephen are
served by Merwyn. Reinhart asks about the blasted heath he
passed on his way to their house. This is where the meteorite
crashed to Earth, but Nahum tries to divert any suspicion by
insisting that the damage was caused by a fire. The butler
falters and collapses to the floor while serving the meal, and
Nahum tends to him. Susan visits her mother, while Reinhart
peruses the library, where his attention is drawn to an old
book entitled The Cult of the Outer Ones. He hears Susan
scream and rushes to her side, learning that she was
frightened by a strange cloaked figure, possibly Helga, lurking
outside the window. Susan tells Stephen that she will not leave
with him while her mother is ill. They encounter Nahum,
who tells them that Merwyn is dead. The elder Witley refuses
Reinhart’s offer of help, leaves his wheelchair and buries
Merwyn’s body in the garden.
The next morning Reinhart walks back to Arkham. On
the way he is attacked by Helga wielding a knife. While
fending her off, her veil drops and her face is revealed,
deformed with radiation burns. In the village, Reinhart seeks
out Henderson, the local doctor. He rebuffs the American,
but his housekeeper explains that Henderson has not been
the same man since he attended Corbin Witley’s death. Back
at the Witley house, Letitia locks herself in her room, and
refuses to open her door to either Susan and Nahum who
continually appeals to his wife from outside her locked door.
Hearing a strange animal cry emerging from the
greenhouse, Reinhart and his fiancée explore the building.
They discover that a number of plants and vegetables have
grown to massive size. Reinhart deduces that radiation has
produced these mutations. He finds a strange, glowing stone
buried near the roots of the plants. Reinhart is convinced that
the pebbles are all fragments of a larger rock. The strange cry
is produced by a bizarre mutation, a caged animal which is
octopoidal with pulsating flesh and wriggling tentacles. Also
in the cage is another animal, mostly unseen, which whimpers
like a puppy. As they leave the greenhouse, Susan is grabbed
by the vines of a large plant Reinhart grabs a hatchet and
hacks away to free her. When they return to the main house,
Reinhart goes to the cellar to locate the meteorite. When
Nahum shows up, Stephen tells him that radiation from the
meteorite has poisoned Letitia, Helga and Merwyn. While
they argue, Letitia goes berserk and attacks Susan. She
screams, and Stephen and her father rush to her aid. Nahum
begins to realize the perilous nature of the glowing meteorite.
Letitia, now possessing superhuman strength, stalks Susan,
and Reinhart tries to fight her off. Letitia finally collapses
before Nahum, and her body starts to dissolve. Reinhart
undertakes to bury her remains, as Nahum observes, “the evil
that Corbin created has finally come to root here.” He asks
Reinhart to take his daughter away, as he plans to destroy the
meteorite.
While Nahum goes to the cellar, Reinhart struggles to
his feet, grabs an ax and attempts to shatter the meteorite. At
this moment, the hooded Helga appears, seizes the ax and
stalks Nahum. When she swings the ax, she topples on top of
the meteorite and perishes. Reinhart heads to the cellar,
having heard Nahum’s screams. When Reinhart arrives, he
sees a terrible transformation that changes Nahum from a
man into a monster, his entire body becoming encased in a
glowing, gelatin-like silver substance. Nahum is now endowed
with superhuman strength, and he assaults Reinhart, who
flees back up to the main floor.
Nahum pursues him, and Reinhart and Susan lock
themselves in an upstairs room. Nahum easily smashes
through the door. Reinhart tries to hold him off, but in vain
as Nahum continues to chase Susan. He finally topples
through the staircase banister, and his body is consumed in
flames as he crashes to the floor. The flames quickly spread
to the house, which instantly erupts in flames. By the time
Susan and Reinhart make their way to safety, Witley House is
an inferno. The final shot of the picture shows the portrait of
Corbin Witley as it is devoured by flames.
The ending is rather conventional, with the stately old
mansion catching fire as if it were made of gasoline-soaked
papier mâché. The conclusion of the picture seems rather
abrupt, leaving a number of unanswered questions. The
meteorite seemed to shatter as if it were crystal, yet wouldn’t
it have shattered earlier when fragments were removed for
Witley’s experiments. Even presuming the meteorite is
destroyed, what about all the fragments in the greenhouse?
The house is destroyed, but the greenhouse is separate from
the main house and presumably undamaged, loaded with
mutant plants and animals. Incidentally, the greenhouse scene
is the best in the film, but it would have been even better if
Karloff had been integrated into the scene. Despite his age
and infirmity, Karloff is magnificent and adds a genuine
magic to the film every time he appears onscreen. Curiously, a
film Karloff made in his prime with Bela Lugosi, The
Invisible Ray (1936), had a similar ending as Karloff, glowing
due to radiation poisoning from contact with a meteorite,
falls from a height and his body erupts in flames as he
descends to the ground. This resemblance is a fascinating
oddity, and perhaps the scene of Karloff s death was a
deliberate choice by screenwriter Jerry Sohl based on this
earlier film. Although not a production of the first order, Die,
Monster, Die! has a number of laudable scenes and episodes
that makes it worth repeated viewings.

PERFORMANCES

Nick Adams fails to arouse much sympathy or interest as

the film’s protagonist, but he does an adequate job. The script
never spells out if Reinhart is a scientist, a professor or
merely a student who becomes Susan’s fiancé. Since the
background of his character is so sketchy, Reinhart seems
insubstantial and rather bland. Adams’ best scenes are with
Karloff, and he interacts well with him. Adams also shines in
another scene with Patrick McGee as the troubled local
doctor. Karloff, of course, provides the screen charisma that
holds the film together. Even though his role is not a
particularly interesting one, Karloff does endow it with
magic. His pleadings with his wife, Letitia, are heart-rending,
as is his disillusionment when he realizes his scientific
experiment has brought disaster. It is painful at times to
watch Karloff struggle on the occasions when he leaves his
wheelchair, particularly in the final confrontation with Helga.
It is obvious that a stuntman substitutes for Karloff in the
scenes when he is transformed into a monster, and this
weakens the effectiveness of this sequence.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

H. P. Lovecraft’s short story The Colour Out of Space is

one of his finest, and it influenced a great number of films to
some degree or another, including The Invisible Ray (1936),
Meteor Monster (1957), The Monolith Monsters (1957), The
Blob (1958), Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997) and as well as
others. Perhaps the most interesting takeoff was in one of
the segments of the anthology film Creepshow (1982), in
which author Stephen King (with great style and tongue
firmly placed in cheek) plays a Maine rustic who becomes
infected by a meteorite that stimulates the growth of a lush,
otherworldly crop of weeds. Die, Monster, Die! is the first
film to openly acknowledge Lovecraft as the source, and it
remains faithful to the basic concept of the original, thirty
page story. The plot describes how a meteorite landed on the
Gardner farm in June, 1882. At first, the farm was enriched
by a period of abundant vegetation, but then all the produce
was contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Finally,
the members of the Gardner family began to go insane,
slowly, one by one. There is no direct connection to the
Cthulhu Mythos, except for the setting of Arkham. It is
interesting to note that Lovecraft always uses the British
variant spelling, colour instead of color, in the title, so
perhaps the shifting of the story to England from New
England would not have troubled him. For this film, writer
Sohl substituted the name “Witley” for “Gardner,” no doubt
inspired by the name of the Whateley family, used by
Lovecraft in The Dunwich Horror. Nahum Gardner was the
patriarch of the family, but this was the only first name from
the original story to be retained in the script. Another name
that appears in passing in the text, Pierce, is assigned to one
of the villagers. It is interesting to note how Sohl added the
Old Ones to his screenplay. The Lovecraftian book cited in
the film, The Cult of the Outer Ones, is an interesting
amalgam of Cultes des Goules and Unaussprechlichen
Kulten, familiar titles of malignant books in the Cthulhu
Mythos. With these added elements, the meteor is
transformed into a deadly gift from Corbin and the Old
Ones, an interesting concept, one not fully developed in the
picture.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I wonder if you realize how like Corbin you’ve

become.” (Letitia to Nahum) “There is no similarity
whatsoever. I’ve uttered no incantations, neither have I cried
out to any of the so-called creatures of evil…and you know
why? Because I don’t believe in it, any of it! I never have
believed in it! It is you who would perpetrate these
blasphemies, these absurdities.” (Nahum’s reply, denying any
belief in the Old Ones)
“Perhaps the name of Witley no longer commands the
affection and respect it once did” (Nahum’s sad comment to
his daughter & Reinhart at dinner)
“Cursed is the ground where the Dark Forces live, new
and strangely bodied. He who tampers there will be
destroyed.” (Text from The Cult of the Outer Ones as read
by Reinhart)
 The Dunwich Horror (1969)
Rating: *****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Dunwich
Miskatonic University and Library
Necronomicon
Old Ones
Whateley family
Yog-Sothoth

American International Pictures. Written by Curtis Lee

Hanson, Henry Rosenbaum & Ronald Silkosky based on the
short story The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft;
Photographed by Richard C.Glouner; Edited by Christopher
Holmes; Music by Les Baxter; Produced by Samuel Z.Arkoff,
James H. Nicholson & Roger Corman (executive); Directed
by Daniel Haller. 90 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Dean Stockwell............Wilbur Whateley (young occult magus)

Sandra Dee..................Nancy Wagner (Miskatonic University
Librarian)
Ed Begley...................Dr. Henry Armitage (scholar &
philosophy professor)
Sam Jaffe....................Old Whateley (Wilbur’s grandfather)
Lloyd Bochner.............George Cory (Dunwich physician)
Talia Shire..................Cora (nurse working for Dr, Corey)
Joanne Moore Jordan.....Lavinia Whateley (Wilbur’s mother)
Donna Baccala.............Elizabeth Hamilton (Nancy's
girlfriend)
Michael Fox................Dr. Raskin (asylum director)
Jason Wingreen............Harrison (Dunwich police chief)
Beach Dickerson...........Cole (Dunwich farmer)
Barboura Morris...........Mrs. Cole (his wife)
Jack Pierce..................Reeger (Dunwich farmer)
Toby Russ..................Miskatonic Library clerk
Michael Haynes...........Miskatonic Library guard

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Daniel Haller, whose first directorial effort was Die,

Monster, Die! (1965), returned to HPL again with The
Dunwich Horror. The resulting film is a pivotal one in the
Lovecraft filmography for many reasons. It is the first “all-
out” Lovecraft film, and since The Dunwich Horror is one
of the key tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, it naturally becomes
one of the most important films. Therefore, despite a
number of minor flaws, The Dunwich Horror is an
admirable, well-meaning and laudatory effort, which attempts
to provide a reasonably faithful and respectful adaptation.
The picture starts with a brief sequence showing Lavinia
Whateley lying in bed, undergoing a difficult labor under the
watchful eye of her father, known simply as Old Whateley.
The credits follow, depicting a single file of hooded figures in
silhouette against a dark blue background, seeming like a
Lovecraftian counterpart to the “Ave Maria” sequence of
Fantasia (1940). They climb a dark edifice which turns out to
be a giant creature. The scene then transforms into ancient
pillars and altars, reminiscent of Stonehenge. The final image
shows a newborn baby, also in silhouette, undergoing a
metamorphosis into a caped adult. An unusual, melancholy
theme, occasionally punctuated with chimes, accompanies the
credits as the locale switches to Miskatonic University in
Arkham, Massachusetts. Dr. Henry Armitage is surrounded
by students, praising him for delivering an inspired lecture.
The professor hands a large, ancient book, the
Necronomicon to Nancy Wagner, with instructions to return
the volume to its locked case in the library. As she does so,
she and her friend, Elizabeth Hamilton, are approached by a
hip-looking young man, who asks to browse through the
book for five minutes. Fascinated by him, Nancy hands over
the Necronomicon to him, and he sits at a library table and
reads aloud as he translates the Latin text into English. A few
minutes later, Armitage arrives and asks him for the book.
The young man introduces himself as Wilbur Whateley.
Armitage, who had written a paper about the Whateleys of
Dunwich, greets him warmly, saying he is honored to meet a
genuine Whateley. Wilbur seems a little startled by this
reaction, and Armitage invites Wilbur to dinner with Nancy
and Elizabeth. During the meal, Wilbur tries to persuade the
professor to permit him to borrow and study the book, but
he politely but firmly refuses.
Wilbur misses his bus back to Dunwich, forty miles
away, and Nancy offers to drive him home. Running low on
gas, Nancy stops at a Shell station in Dunwich, but the surly
attendant stops his fill-up after a couple of gallons when he
notices her passenger is Wilbur Whateley. Wilbur explains
that the citizens of Dunwich are a superstitious lot. When she
drives up to the old, rambling Whateley House, and Wilbur
invites her in for a drink. She is fascinated by the curious old
house. Wilbur prepares a cup tea for Nancy, adding an herbal
potion from an ancient tin container. He then slips out and
disables Nancy’s car. Meanwhile, Nancy is frightened by Old
Whateley, who appears from a back room. After drinking her
tea, Nancy feels drowsy and accepts Wilbur’s invitation to
spend the night. Later, Old Whateley warns Wilbur that his
guest must be kept away from the locked room upstairs.
Nancy is haunted by her dreams that depict series of
frightening and disturbing visions.
The next morning, Dr. Armitage and Elizabeth drive out
to Dunwich to find Nancy. They are somewhat surprised to
find her enjoying a stroll with Wilbur. She tells her friends
that she has decided to spend the weekend in Dunwich as
Wilbur’s guest. Nancy is somewhat annoyed that Elizabeth
seemed to be checking up on her. Armitage decides to
investigate Wilbur, and looks up his birth. Dr. Corey, the local
doctor, explains that he didn’t actually deliver Wilbur, but was
called in shortly after his birth to treat Lavinia, who barely
survived the ordeal. He relates the colorful story how Old
Whateley fetched him at Osborn’s general store, and when
the other customers mocked him, Whateley made a cryptic
comment about the identity of his grandson’s unknown
father. Corey reveals that Lavinia had twins and one was
stillborn, but the doctor never saw the body. The mother
herself never recovered mentally, and has been confined to an
asylum for the past twenty-five years. Armitage tells Corey the
story about the Old Ones, and how periodically certain cults
attempt to summon these strange gods to enable them to
return to Earth. Corey believes it is possible that Wilbur
might be involved in such an endeavor. Cora, Corey’s nurse,
tells Elizabeth that she should do anything to get her
girlfriend away from “Weird Wilbur.” Meanwhile, Wilbur and
Nancy walk around Dunwich, and her points out the spot
where his great-grandfather, Oliver Whateley, who was hung
by a mob seventy years earlier, persecuted for his belief in the
Old Ones. Wilbur then takes Nancy on a climb up Sentinel
Hill, showing her the Devil’s Hopyard, an ancient site with a
stone platform that resembles a sacrificial altar. Stone pillars,
some standing and some toppled, surround the site. Nancy is
totally spellbound by the location, and she lies down upon the
stone altar, slipping into a trance. Wilbur describes the rituals
that were carried out on Sentinel Hill in the past. Raising his
hands to his temples so that his rings were adjacent to his
eyes, Wilbur starts to chant, “Yog-Sothoth! Yog-Sothoth!” He
opens his shirt, showing his body is decorated with strange,
other-worldly hieroglyphics.
The scene shifts to the upstairs room at the Whateley
House, where the locked door starts to rattle. Elizabeth drives
up to the house. Old Whateley tries to prevent her from
entering, but she pushes the feeble man aside and starts to
search for Nancy. She hears the noise upstairs, and heads to
the locked room, which she enters after sliding open the bolt
on the door. Inside the chamber, Elizabeth screams as dozens
of wriggling tentacles sweep over her body, smothering her.
When Wilbur and Nancy finally return to the house, the
panicked Old Whateley tells Wilbur about the intruder. He
demands that his grandson halt his experiment. When Wilbur
refuses, Old Whateley swings his staff at his grandson,
missing him and falling down the stairs. Wilbur kneels by his
grandfather’s side as he draws his last breath. The sound of
squawking birds are heard as the old man dies. Nancy asks
about the birds, and Wilbur explains that they were trying to
capture his grandfather’s soul as it left his body, but they
failed.
Wilbur gathers his few local followers and starts to hold
a funeral for his grandfather at the local cemetery. A mob of
outraged Dunwich residents, led by a farmer named Cole and
his wife, interrupt the service. Harrison, the Dunwich police
chief, shows up and tries to prevent any violence. He informs
Wilbur that his grandfather cannot be buried without a death
certificate, and asks him to suspend his service until one is
obtained. Wilbur concedes and allows the chief to
appropriate the body.
That night, Nancy drives Wilbur to Arkham, and he
breaks into the Miskatonic Library to steal the
Necronomicon. A fight breaks out between Wilbur and a
library guard, who is finally killed. Dr. Corey calls Armitage
with news that Lavinia Whateley is dying. They meet at the
asylum, where Raskin, the asylum director, explains that the
cause of her sudden illness is inexplicable. The dying woman
starts to chant passages from the Necronomicon. The sound
of birds fill the room, rising and falling in rhythm with
Lavinia’s breathing. She finally dies, and the sound of the
birds cease.
Wilbur starts his unholy ritual on Sentinel Hill. Nancy
lies on the altar and again slips into a trance. She begins to
repeat a chant to Yog-Sothoth. Wilbur calls out for his twin
brother to break out of his upstairs room at Whateley House,
imploring his help in summoning the Old Ones. The locked
door shatters, and “the Dunwich Horror” emerges, toppling
over a sacred stone which seems to explode and the house
goes up in flames. The soundtrack is filled with a whinnying,
sucking sound as the invisible “Horror” starts to head for
Sentinel Hill. Meanwhile, Wilbur reads aloud from the
Necronomicon. He tells Nancy that the gate is now open, and
now she is “one of us.”
The “Horror” passes by the Cole Farm, alerting their
dog who begins to bark wildly. Cole grabs a rifle, and shoots
at the “Horror.” The monster turns upon the farmer and
destroys his house, killing him and his wife. Armitage and Dr.
Corey, driving by, stop to investigate. A mob has already
gathered, and Chief Harrison asks Armitage for his help. He
urges the crowd head toward the Whateley House. Further
down the road, Dr. Corey’s nurse is driving her car, which hits
an unseen object. The car crashes, and Cora, crawling out of
the wreck, is attacked and killed by the “Horror.”
When the Dunwich mob reaches the Whateley place, it
is a smoldering ruin. Armitage asks for silence, and he hears
the strange, sucking sound in the distance. Dr. Corey suggests
it is coming from the direction of Sentinel Hill. They crowd
spreads out and heads toward the Devil’s Hopyard. Reeger,
one of the vigilantes, stumbles across the “Horror” and
screams in terror. As the unseen “Horror” nears the top of
Sentinel Hill, it begins to materialize, resembling a giant
centipede with dozens of tentacles. Wilbur, seeing the
approaching crowd, starts to chant and scream: “Ia! Shub-
Niggurath! Yog-Sothoth!” Proffessor Armitage, in return,
begins to proclaim a counter-spell, one he knows by heart
from the Necronomicon. A thunderstorm breaks out, and
Wilbur is struck by lightning, bursting into flames. The
“Horror” appears to pass through a gate in mid-air above the
altar, and vanishes into another dimension.
Nancy slowly comes to her senses, and Armitage
explains that the creature she saw was Wilbur’s twin, a being
trapped between two dimensions. Unlike Wilbur, he
resembled his father, Yog-Sothoth, one of the Old Ones. As
the professor escorts Nancy down from the hill, an image of
a fetus appears onscreen, signaling that Nancy is pregnant
(from either Wilbur or Yog-Sothoth).
Although an unqualified success, The Dunwich Horror
has a number of blemishes as well. The dream segments are
very bland and ineffective, almost seeming as if they were
cribbed from another film. They are the weakest moments of
the picture. At times, director Haller attempts to give the film
a psychedelic ambience rooted in the late 1960s. Haller
should have endeavored for a timeless air instead. The
confrontation between Armitage and Wilbur is not well
staged. A scene should have been added where Armitage
explains to Dr. Corey how he would attempt to offset
Wilbur’s efforts. Instead, he merely starts his own
incantations without preparing the audience for what he is
doing. The film works best when it sticks close to Lovecraft,
and these scenes are atmospheric, convincing and formidable.
The picture effectively summarizes the background of the
Cthulhu Mythos, so even viewers unfamiliar with Lovecraft
are able to follow the plot. The cinematography of the
picture is largely well done, although the color tinting of
various scenes is awkward. The haunting music score is very
effective. The acting is generally good, avoiding any camp
humor which would have been inappropriate in this story. In
many ways, The Dunwich Horror remains the quintessential
Lovecraft film, flawed yet substantial and a compelling effort.
 PERFORMANCES

Dean Stockwell does a fairly decent performance as

Wilbur Whateley. Of course, as depicted in the original story,
Wilbur would be more accurately played by either Richard
Kiel or Carel Struycken, since he was a figure of unusually
large proportions. Stockwell has a slight build, and his
concept of Wilbur portrays him as a charismatic hippie.
Wilbur is also a chain-smoker, which somehow seems
inappropriate and out of character. Stockwell is excellent at
adapting an other-worldly air, and he manages to shine
particularly well in the ritual scenes. He reads the words from
the Necronomicon with genuine fervor and conviction.
Stockwell makes a striking figure when he positions his rings
next to his eyes and starts to scream, “la! Yog-Sothoth!” His
death by lightning is too abrupt, however, and a very
unconvincing plot device. Stockwell was a gifted child actor in
the 1940s, and his career has been one of impressive
longevity with many impressive character roles on television
and film. Sam Jaffe is perfect as Old Whateley, the wild-eyed
and fearful old wizard, appearing brilliantly in both the
flashbacks and contemporary scenes. Jaffe built his entire
career playing elderly visionaries. He was the ancient High
Lama in Lost Horizon (1937) and the Einstein-like scientist in
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Jaffe was nearing eighty
when he appeared in The Dunwich Horror, and he remained
an active performer up to his death in 1984. Equally excellent
is Ed Begley, in the last role of his career, as Dr. Henry
Armitage. In the story, Armitage serves as the rare book
librarian at Miskatonic University, whereas the film casts him
as a visiting professor of philosophy. The Necronomicon is
on display at the library, but Armitage treats it as his personal
property. Begley is both gracious and scholarly, yet with
nerves of steel, exactly as described by Lovecraft. Begley
passed away the year after completing The Dunwich Horror.
Sandra Dee is sweet and charming, but adds very little to the
film on the whole. Her character works at the Miskatonic
Library, although some critics mistakenly claim she was a
student It is interesting to consider why Nancy is so pliant to
Wilbur. True, her tea had been drugged, but she seemed to
have a natural attraction to Wilbur, and at no point is she
inclined to resist him. Maybe her physical nearness to the
Necronomicon somehow had an effect on her, rendering her
more willing. Lloyd Bochner is excellent as the Dunwich
physician, serving as an excellent sounding board for Ed
Begley. His nurse, Cora, is billed as Talia Coppola, and later
gained fame as Talia Shire in The Godfather (1972). She is
the sister of Francis Ford Coppola. Barboura Morris, veteran
of many Roger Corman films, is superb as one of the
Whateley-hating Dunwich residents. Joanne Moore Jordan
also excels in the brief but pivotal role of Lavinia.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The film version of The Dunwich Horror is

approximately 70% faithful to the Lovecraft original. The
principal new ingredient added to story is the traditional
heroine, the part of Nancy Wagner. Nancy, however, is a
shallow, insubstantial character, one who quickly falls under
the influence of Wilbur, and she acts merely in accordance
with his wishes. Naturally, her character provides a traditional
way to unfold the story. It is unclear, however, what her actual
function is in regards to Wilbur’s plans. It appears he intends
to mate her with Yog-Sothoth, but to what purpose? He and
his brother were already the result of such a union. Is he
merely seeking to repeat the experiment? The screenplay is
unclear as to this point. The conclusion of the film differs, of
course, from the original story, in which Wilbur is killed while
attempting to steal the Necronomicon from Miskatonic
University. When Wilbur’s corpse is examined, it is discovered
the lower half of his body had a hide like a crocodile or
alligator. His body disintegrated almost immediately after his
death. Then, with no one left to tend to him, the “Horror”
breaks out and goes to Sentinel Hill to cry out to his father
for help. The “Horror” is described as “made o’ squirming
ropes” and resembling an “octopus, centipede, spider kind o’
thing,” with a half-shaped “man’s face on top of it, an’ it
looked like Wizard Whateley.” Giving the technology and
special effects of the day, the film does as good a job as
possible in portraying the “Horror,” although it made no
effort to include the human face. It would be fascinating to
see how computer technology might represent the “Horror”
today. Unusually enough, it is quite possible to sympathize
with the “Horror.” It is trapped and abandoned, and breaking
free in a desperate effort to survive, and its desperate plea to
its father is heart-rendering, in a way. Similarly, in the movie
the “Horror” is not aggressive and reacts only in a defensive
manner. Elizabeth breaks into his chamber, so one can
interpret that the “Horror” is acting in self-defense. Similarly,
Cole began to shoot at him so he struck back. Cora hit him
with a car, so again the “Horror” was provoked. Reeger was
stalking him as well. At least, the film version suggests that
the “Horror” safely returned to the dimension where the Old
Ones exist. In the story, Armitage opines, “It was like his
father—and most of it has gone back to him in some vague
realm or dimension outside our material universe.”
Yog-Sothoth is one of the principal Old Ones, the most
important according to many Lovecraft scholars. If and when
the Old Ones return to reclaim the earth, it will be through
Yog-Sothoth. According to differing interpretations of the
Cthulhu Mythos, Yog-Sothoth is the father of Hastur the
Unspeakable and great Cthulhu. Yog-Sothoth has the ability
to mate with humans, and is able to impregnate women
without actual physical contact. Yog-Sothoth is also
omnipresent, able to exist through any period of time or
space. Shub-Niggurath, also referred to in The Dunwich
Horror, is known as “the black goat with a thousand young,”
and is the fertility god among the Old Ones. Lovecraft
considered Shub-Niggurath the wife of Yog-Sothoth.
Some additional points in which the film differs includes
the scope of the Whateley family. In Lovecraft’s depiction,
Dunwich was filled with many branches of the Whateley
family, some degenerate and some not. In the film, there was
only the degenerate Whateley's, and few of them. Also the
character of Oliver Whateley, Wilbur’s great-grandfather, who
had been hung by a mob, is not derived from Lovecraft. The
bird activity at the death of a Whateley, however, is a
Lovecraft concept. Lovecraft depicted the birds as consisting
only of whippoorwills. In the film, they sound as if they are
seagulls.
Most of the place names and character names in the film
are authentic, including Sentinel Hill, the Devil’s Hopyard,
Wilbur Whateley, Lavinia Whateley and Dr. Henry Armitage.
Old Whateley is simply described as Old Whateley, and his
outburst in Osborn’s general store is precisely as depicted in
the film. Lavinia Whateley did not go insane in the original
story, however she mysteriously disappeared on Halloween
before the events in the story, and it is suggested that Wilbur
sacrificed her in a ritual. The physician in the text, however, is
Dr. Houghton from Aylesbury. There is a George Corey in
the story (not Cory), but he was just a farmer. Other
Dunwich names in the story include Bishop, Frye, Sawyer, as
well as a ton of “undecayed” Whateleys such as Curtis,
Zebulon and Zechariah.
Another interesting concept is the stone ruins atop
Sentinel Hill, the Devil’s Hopyard. Lovecraft based his
ancient stone altar on an actual site, now known as Mystery
Hill, or “America’s Stonehenge,” located in North Salem,
New Hampshire. This site was uncovered on the Pattee farm
in the 19th century, and many stones from the location was
removed to use as curbstones in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The current theory is that the structures at Mystery Hill are
Phoenician in origin. The structures include rather roomy
man-made caves, astronomical stones that mark the summer
and winter solstice, and an impressive large stone table that
has been dubbed “the sacrificial altar stone” because of the
grooves that have been carved around the rim of the stone.
There can be little doubt that Lovecraft’s “sizable, table-like
rock on Sentinel Hill” and his “rings of rough-hewn stone
columns” had its inspiration and origin at Mystery Hill.
A final, impressive observation is the film’s faithfulness
to the Necronomicon. The original story includes the longest
translated passage from the Necronomicon, thirty-two lines
long, and the film sticks very close to the actual words. In
fact, this entire passage has a unusual poetic flair: “Man rules
now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man
rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer.
They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign
again.”

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Yog-Sothoth is the gate whereby the spheres meet….

Yog-Sothoth is the key, and with the gate open, the Old Ones
shall be. Past, present and future, all are one. The Old Ones
walk serene and primal, undimensioned and unseen. The Old
Ones broke through of old and they shall break through
again” (Wilbur, reading passages from the Necronomicon,
but he is disturbed by Dr. Armitage before he can utter the
last word)
“In ancient times that book was said to unlock the gates
to another dimension, another race of beings. I do not share
those beliefs, nor do I fully understand them.” (Armitage to
Wilbur)
“Where the Whateleys are concerned, there is very little
that is not fantastic.” (Corey to Armitage)
“Some day yew folks’ll hear a child o’ Lavinny’s a-callin’
its father’s name on the top o’ Sentinel Hill!” (Old Whateley
to the customers of Osborn’s general store. Note, this is the
actual Lovecraft punctuation from the short story)
“You’ve taken their abuse and you’ve given up. They’ve
broken you. But the Old Ones are coming back. I am going
to let them through.” (Wilbur to Old Whateley, after the elder
calls him a fool)
 Enemy from Space (1957)
AKA Quatermass II
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Old Ones (Equivilent)

Hammer. Written by Nigel Kneale & Val Guest based

on a six-chapter BBC-TV serial by Nigel Kneale;
Photographed by Gerald Gibbs; Edited by James Needs;
Music by James Bernard; Produced by Anthony Hinds;
Directed by Val Guest. 84 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Brian Donlevy..............Bernard Quatermass (Top British

scientist)
John Longdon..............Chief Inspector Lomax (his friend)
Sidney James...............Jimmy Hall (newspaper reporter)
William Franklyn.........Brand (scientist & chief aide to
Quatermass)
Byron Forbes...............Marsh (scientist burned by meteorite)
Edwin Richfield............Peterson (assistant scientist)
Vera Day.....................Sheila (barmaid)
Tom Chatto.................Vincent Broadhead (Member of
Parliament)
Joyce Adams................Woman M.P. with inspection party
John Van Eyssen..........Tour supervisor
Michael Ripper............Ernie (pub owner)
John Rae.....................E.G. McLeod (chiefworker)
Jane Aird.....................Mrs. McLeod (his wife)
Charles Lloyd Pack.......Paddie Dawson (construction worker)
Percy Herbert...............German (construction worker)
Ronald Wilson.............Chris (infected man in car)
Jan Holden..................Woman accompanying Chris
Marianne Stone............Observatory secretary
Betty Impey.................Kelly (observatory aide)
Lloyd Lamble..............Brinkman (night duty inspector)
John Stuart..................Police commissioner
Arthur Blake................Police constable
Howard Williams..........Michaels (rocket launch technician)
Michael Balfour............Harry (Scotland Yard prisoner)
John Fabian.................Intern at plant hospital
George Merritt.............Superintendent
Philip Baird.................Lab assistant
Robert Raikes..............Lab assistant

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

The Quatermass quartet is one of the most imaginative,

stylish and entertaining series of films ever to emerge from
Great Britain. Each feature was originally presented as a BBC
television mini-series, usually in six chapters, based around
the exploits of super-scientist Bernard Quatermass. The
script was then sharpened, fine tuned and pared down to
feature film length and completely re-shot with a fresh cast.
Although H. P. Lovecraft is not officially credited, writer
Nigel Kneale was quite familiar with the famed Providence
writer and influenced by him. Each of the four films display
clear Lovecraftian attributes. Quatermass himself seems
somewhat like a typical Lovecraft hero, although a more
gruff and aggressive one. The first entry was The
Quatermass Xperirnent (1956), released in America as The
Creeping Unknown. Reginald Tate played Quatermass in the
television version, and Brian Donlevy played the scientist in
the feature. Quatermass developed the British space program.
The first manned flight returns to Earth with only one
survivor, an astronaut who mutates into a huge, tentacled
beast reminiscent of one of the Old Ones. The second film,
Quatermass II or Enemy from Space will be covered in depth
in this entry. The third and most outstanding film is
Quatermass and the Pit (1968) or Five Million Years to Earth,
in which Andrew Kier inherits the role of the brilliant
scientist. While a new subway tunnel is being excavated, an
ancient alien space capsule is un-earthed. Quatermass
determines that the alien ship itself is endowed with powers
to influence the minds of men, and that the ship’s crew were
insect-like creatures from a dying civilization. This film also
reflects the work by British writer Ramsey Campbell,
particularly his 1964 story The Insects from Shaggai. The
fourth and final picture, The Quatermass Conclusion (1980),
features Sir John Mills as an elderly Quatermass, called out of
retirement to battle a mysterious force from deep space that
is causing the young people of Earth to revolt, threatening
the downfall of civilization. When mass groups of people
vanish after apparently being summoned to the site of
ancient ruins, Quatermass develops an outlandish theory and
plan to overcome the intangible and mysterious threat. Unlike
the earlier projects, the original television version and the
feature film version are identical of The Quatermass
Conclusion are identical, with the latter simply edited down to
107 minutes running time.
 Each of these titles could be cited as a cinematic
offspring of Lovecraft, but I decided to concentrate on the
second entry as a representative choice mainly due to the
dramatic climax, in which the unnamed creatures, veritable
duplicates of the Old Ones, rampage as they are unable to
adjust to the atmosphere of Earth. It seems unlikely that
Lovecraft’s description of “crawling chaos” could have been
better depicted on screen, given the state of 1950s special
effects. It is beyond doubt one of the most memorable
images from that era. The six-part television version of the
story, entitled Quatermass II, was broadcast in 1955 with
John Robinson as Quatermass.
Enemy from Space opens on an English highway at
night. Bernard Quatermass, the preeminent British
astrophysicist, narrowly avoids an accident with another car.
A woman, nearly hysterical, is driving her husband to a doctor
after his face was inexplicably burned by a meteorite, which
ruptured when he picked it up. Quatermass escorts them to
the hospital, and then proceeds to his laboratory. He tells two
scientists, Marsh and Brand, that the government is scuttling
their project to establish a base on the moon. Quatermass
also gives them for analysis the meteorite fragments given to
him by the woman. Marsh responds that an unusual meteor
shower had just occurred in the vicinity of Winnerden Flats.
The next day, Quatermass and Marsh travel to
Winnerden Flats, but find the area blocked off for a secret
government project. Traveling up a hill that overlooks the
area, the scientists are shocked to discover a plant that is a
full-sized replica of their moon base plans fully constructed
on the government site. (It is also curious that the terrain
around Winnerden Flats is actually hilly.) Marsh sees
meteorites scattered over the hillside, and when he examines
one, it breaks open, scalding him and leaving a strange mark
on his arm. A group of armed soldiers show up, rough up
Quatermass and carry Marsh off. Outraged, the scientist goes
to the nearby village to file an official complaint, but he is
completely disregarded.
The scientist heads to London to report the incident to
his friend, Chief Inspector Lomax. He puts him in touch
with Vincent Broadhead, a feisty member of Parliament who
is investigating Winnerden Flats, a top secret government
project supposedly devoted to the development of synthetic
food. Broadhead has just obtained a pass to inspect the
Winnerden Flats plant with a group of his colleagues, and he
brings the scientist with him. Millions of pounds of
government funds have been poured into this project in the
past two years, with very little accountability. Broadhead
wanders off on his own during the tour of the plant
complex, and when Quatermass finds him, the politician is
horribly burned after examining the synthetic food.
Quatermass escapes when he perceives that the inspection
party is about to be taken hostage. He is hunted down by a
security team, escaping them by stealing a car.
He reaches to Lomax, who is doubtful when he hears of
the attempts at mind control practiced at the plant. He agrees
to investigate, and they head to the observatory accompanied
by a reporter, Jimmy Hall. The team of scientists have
reconstructed the meteor, and have determined it is actually a
transportation device emanating from a strange asteroid that
is hidden from the earth by an elliptical orbit. Quatermass
theorizes about the type of creature behind this threat,
something huge, strange and almost beyond their conception.
He orders the scientist to prepare their test rocket with an
atomic engine and launch it against the asteroid. He
hypothesizes that several of these creatures are at the plant,
having traveled to Earth in small pieces in the meteorites,
then reassembling themselves after being taken to the huge
domed structures that were especially prepared for them.
Using the synthetic food project as camouflage, a mixture of
ammonia and methane, poisonous to humans, is prepared for
the creatures to breathe, and this gas is pumped into the
domes for them. Eventually, the alien monstrosities hope to
become acclimatized to tolerate oxygen and colonize the
earth, altering it to suit themselves. They regard humans as
mere slaves, subservient to their godlike will. (Their strategy is
precisely the same as the Old Ones.) They infect humans with
their gas, which leaves a mark on their skin and renders them
powerless to resist their mental commands. Hall barely
follows these conjectures, but agrees to publish the story if
Lomax arranges for him to see the plant for himself, so the
inspector and Quatermass agree to drive him there.
A dance is in progress at the pub near the work camp,
where the construction workers employed at the plant live.
They are wary of the three strangers. Quatermass tries to
warn them of the monstrous purpose of the project. They
think he is preposterous, but a few of them have been
nursing their own suspicions about the plant. A meteorite
crashes into the pub, but the locals joke about it, calling it an
“overshot” from the plant. Sheila the barmaid is burned when
she examines the rock. A team of soldiers arrive from the
plant, and they shoot and kill Hall as he tries to phone his
newspaper. They then take away Sheila, now scarred with a
mark. Enraged, the workers decide to attack the plant to see
if Quatermass is right.
A terrific battle follows as they storm the plant, with
Quatermass and a group of the workers seizing the pressure
control station. The scientist, realizing that they can suffocate
the creatures, blocks their supply of poison gas, pumping in
pure oxygen instead. Meanwhile, Marsh, controlled by the
creatures, leads a group of soldiers to the observatory. They
shoot Brand, but he is able to launch the rocket before he
dies. One of the domes is destroyed by an anti-tank weapon,
which the construction workers find in a weapons locker in
the pressure control station. The creatures, unable to breathe,
break out of the other domes and rampage, driven mad by
the inability to adjust to the earth’s atmosphere. The missile
destroys the asteroid, the creature’s home base. They
disintegrate and die moments later, and the people and
soldiers infected by them return to normal, unable to
remember, anything of the time they were infected. Lomax
declares, “How am I going to make a final report about all
this?” Quatermass replies, “What worries me is how final can
it be?” The end credits appear after a final shot of the
smoldering remains of the creatures.

PERFORMANCES

Many British films in the 1950s import an American star

to play the lead, largely to allow their films to capture an
American audience when it is exported to the United States.
Brian Donlevy is perfect as the abrupt, impatient and rather
graceless and driven hero. Seldom has the screen had such an
abrasive hero, yet it is his very pigheadedness that makes his
character so interesting. He is a man totally obsessed, aware
only of his own vision of the truth. He continually interrupts,
chews out his assistants and insults his superiors. Even
Lomax, the chief inspector and his friend, seems hardly able
to tolerate him. The other performers who played
Quatermass smoothed over his rough edges, but they also
lack his zeal and drive. There is something extraordinary
about this no-nonsense visionary that makes him larger than
life, and in this film it is his determination alone that saves the
human race. Some critics, including writer Kneale, felt
Donlevy was too cold and mechanical, but others saw it as a
scintillating conception, playing against the fuddy-duddy
loveable old scientist typified by Cecil Kellaway in The Beast
from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). The other characters seem
bland next to the dynamic Quatermass, with the single
exception of Tom Chatto as the colorful Vinny Broadhead,
another pushy and stubborn iconoclast determined to get to
the bottom of the mysterious plant at Winnerden Rats. The
instant chemistry between Donlevy and Chatto is a
fascinating touch, as is the concern of the scientist when his
ally disappears, and he doggedly searches the remote coners
of the plant grounds, hollering “Broad-head!” The other
performers are adequate, although Sidney James is rather
annoying in his opening scenes in which he is drunk. After
his character sobers up, however, he is just fine. Finally,
Michael Ripper appears in the film as the innkeeper. Ripper is
a fixture in countless British films, usually Hammer horror
films, in which he usually operates a pub or tends bar. The
actor always has a twinkle in his eye in these parts, and
audiences always enjoy it whenever he makes an appearance
in a film, however brief.
 FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The influences of Lovecraft’s work in general are readily

apparent in Enemy from Space, far early in the story in fact
before the clones of the Old Ones appear. The initial threat
originating from the enigmatic meteorites can be traced to
The Colour Out of Space, for example. The dry and single-
minded hero seems right out of many Lovecraft stories, as
does the unimportance of female characters in the plot.
When the creatures appear at the pinnacle of the story, their
attempts to completely break through to our realm are
suggestive of the Old Ones trying to break through to our
dimension. Their appearance as huge, shapeless masses of
protoplasm with emerging and withdrawing pseudopods
could have been drawn from numerous passages of Lovecraft
fiction. The scores of mindless human slaves is another
characteristic taken from HPL and his stories. Most
importantly, Enemy from Space and the other Quatermass
films portray humankind battling cosmic forces completely
beyond their comprehension, except for one brilliant
individual with foresight.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I am suggesting that they have been methodically

infected with the same thing that struck young Marsh…. I do
know that they’ll come back, like hundreds, maybe thousands
of others have come, infected. If I had stayed there, I might
be here talking to you now, but not saying the things I’m
saying. I wouldn’t be able to.” (Quatermass to Lomax,
describing the mind control process at the plant)
“These things arrive in stone containers, a form of
meteorite. They have been coming for the past eighteen
months.” (Hall on the phone to his paper just before he is
shot)
“Inside those domes are creatures from outside this
Earth. I’ve seen them. Thousands of tiny creatures that can
join together and expand into things a hundred feet high.”
(Quatermass to the construction workers in the pressure
control center)
“We’re all that stands between these things taking taking
possession of perhaps the whole world, spreading over it.”
(Quatermass to the others)
 Equinox (1967/71)
AKA The Beast
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Necronomicon
Nyarlathotep
Spawn of Cthulhu

Visto International. Written by Jack Woods & Mark

Thomas McGee; Photographed by Mike Hoover; Edited by
John Joyce; Music by John Caper; Produced by Jack H. Harris
& Dennis Muerin; Directed by Jack Woods. 80 minutes

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Edward Connell............David Fielding (mental patient who

relates the story)
Barbara Hewitt.............Susan Turner (David’s blind date)
Frank Bonner..............Jim Hudson (student)
Robin Christopher........Vicki (student & Jim’s girlfriend)
Jack Woods.................Asmodeus (the Devil posing as a forest
ranger)
Fritz Leiber.................Dr. Waterman (geology professor)
James Phillips.............Sloan (newspaper reporter)
Patrick Burke..............Johanson (psychiatrist)
Jim Duran...................Orderly
Norville Brooks...........Harrison (police detective)
Irving L. Lichtenstein...Man in cave
Jim Danforth...............Second orderly
 SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Equinox is an unusual film that has achieved minor cult

status. In its original form, it was a forty minute amateur film
shot in 16mm in 1967. It included a number of primitive but
nonetheless interesting special effects created by Jim
Danforth and David Alien. When producer Jack Harris
viewed the footage in 1968, he believed it could be expanded
into a full length motion picture that would merit theatrical
distribution. Several years later, Harris reunited the cast and
shot an additional forty minutes of footage. The result is a bit
disjointed, but this actually works in the film’s favor, creating
a surreal atmosphere. The story is an unique blend of a rather
traditional devil fantasy blended into an H. P. Lovecraft story.
These two styles have an opposing cosmology that does not
easily mesh, and the film makes no effort to reconcile them.
Although this twists the plot, making it erratic, the ingenuity
is still compelling. The story unfolds in a rather complicated
fashion, with a student dashing hysterically out of the woods
onto the main highway, where he is run over by a mysterious
car with no visible driver. Another motorist stops and brings
the injured man to the hospital. The scene switches to a year
later, and the audience learns that the student, David Fielding,
was one of four picnickers who encountered something
horrible in the woods. David had lapsed into a catatonic state,
and his companions were found dead at the scene, torn apart
as if by some wild beast.
Sloan, a reporter, visits the asylum where David is a
patient, hoping to do a follow-up story. David is terrified
when the reporter shows him a picture of Dr. Waterman, his
geology professor. Dr. Johanson, David’s psychiatrist, plays a
tape recording for Sloan that was made shortly after David’s
arrival at the hospital, in which he tells a fantastic story. The
rest of the film is a flashback describing David’s narration.
A year earlier, David had been called by Dr. Waterman,
who asked him to come to his isolated cabin in the woods
where the professor promised to show him something
fantastic. David asks his friend Jim Hudson to drive him to
the place, but Jim decides to turn it into a picnic with his
girlfriend Vicki. They also bring along Susan Turner, a visitor
from New York, as a female companion for David.
They drive out to the woods, and are shocked to find
Dr. Waterman’s cabin in ruins. A park ranger introduces
himself as Asmodeus and suggests that the professor must
have returned to the city. The young people hear some
bizarre cackling coming from a cave, where they encounter a
crazy old man, who hands them an ancient book. They open
it, and find some handwritten notes by Dr. Waterman that
suggest the book is the Necronomicon (although the name is
never actually used). They learn that the book is over a
thousand years old, originated in the Middle East and has the
power to summon up strange creatures from another
dimension. The group unexpectedly catches a glimpse of a
medieval castle on top of a nearby hill. They decide to
explore the site, when Dr. Waterman himself turns up, now
apparently demented, and snatches the book. The boys chase
him, and the old professor slips into a stream, hitting his head
on a rock. Dr. Waterman appears to be dead, but his body
disappears moments later. The boys wonder if he had
somehow recovered and wandered off while their backs were
turned. Asmodeus shows up again, but David prevents Jim
from telling the ranger anything about the Necronomicon or
Dr. Waterman.
They find some additional handwritten notes tucked in
the book that describe Dr. Waterman’s experiments in which
used an incantation to summon up a large, tenacled
monstrosity that completely destroyed his cabin. Waterman’s
notes end as he claims to have opened Pandora’s box
(referring to the Greek myth in which evil was originally
released into the world). Events now move quickly and
become somewhat confusing as the group periodically
becomes separated. The park ranger returns and attempts to
molest Susan, but he backs off when he sees her cross
pendant The old man from the cave, pursued by a fearsome
ape-like creature over thirty feet tall, is cornered and killed by
the beast as his body is torn into pieces. The creature next
attacks the members of the group, but the boys jab it and
subdue it with a wooden spear, and its body disappears. Using
an illustration from the Necronomicon, Jim crafts a
protective amulet from some twigs which could offer them
some protection from these evil forces.
When they reach the site of the hilltop castle, it likewise
has vanished, and the students speculate that it has dissolved
into another dimension. Asmodeus questions Jim about the
Necronomicon. When Jim uses his amulet to hold him at bay,
Asmodeus offers Jim a deal, offering him wealth, power,
anything he wants in return for the book. Jim runs off, and
when he joins up with his friends, he hypothesizes that
Asmodeus is actually the devil. One of the alternate names of
Satan is Asmodeus, and Susan describes how he tried to
attack her.
The devil begins a new assault on them, creating a dark
giant to attack them. Jim gets trapped in the alternate
dimension, and when David tries to retrieve him, he is fooled
by Asmodeus who impersonates Jim. One by one, members
of the group are killed by the devil when he turns into a
flying demon. Finally, David escapes alone, but the devil
predicts that he will be dead “in one year and one day.” David
reaches the highway, and the film reprises the opening
sequence in which David is struck down by the driverless car.
The tape recording finishes, and Sloan dismisses the
story as the pointless ramblings of a madman. The asylum
orderlies take David’s cross away from him. He cries out in
panic. Meanwhile, the concluding image of the film shows
Susan (presumably the devil in disguise) approaching the
asylum as Sloan drives off and the film ends.
The real bewilderment for the audience in this story is
the devil’s motivation. Somehow, Satan learned that Dr.
Waterman has located the Necronomicon, and he desperately
wants to obtain it. He adopts the guise of a park ranger to
achieve his purpose. The identity or significance of the old
man in the cave is a total mystery. This madman somehow
retrieved the Necronomicon from the ruins of Waterman’s
cabin, only to surrender it to the first people he encounters,
David and Jim. The devil conjures up one of the Old Ones
to destroy the old man, and then sets about obtaining the
book for himself. His actual incentive is unknown. He seems
to have the ability to summon up the Old Ones without the
aid of the Necronomicon, although the beings he summons
up are among the most minor manifestations of
Nyarlathotep, relatively easy to control. No doubt, if Yog-
Sothoth or Shub-Niggurath appeared, the devil might find
himself overmatched. For what purpose does the devil
actually want the Necronomicon! If anything, the book
would seem to suit his purposes more if it fell into the hands
of an amateur black magician or cult follower of the Old
Ones, who could cause unlimited mischief with incantations.
Perhaps the devil’s real intent is to hide the book, leaving his
possible rivals, the Old Ones, undisturbed. Perhaps the devil’s
plans are meant to be indecipherable to mankind. In any case,
Equinox, although very low budget, is fascinating, imaginative
and very entertaining, a mad puzzle with no real denouement
except that David is doomed like the rest of his friends for
being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The devil, mean-
while, is devising some terrible scheme beyond human
understanding. Equinox is simultaneously audacious, inept,
clever, provocative and just plain fun. That in itself is a fairly
impressive accomplishment for a fringe production shot in
two segments four years apart.

PERFORMANCES

The performances in this semi-professional film range

from mediocre to barely adequate. On the other hand, they
are all earnest and remain reasonably consistent and within
character, considering that four years separate many of the
scenes in the picture. Fritz Leiber was a famous horror and
science fiction writer who was friends with Lovecraft and
corresponded with him. Leiber penned several fascinating
Lovecraft-inspired stories, including To Arkham and the Stars
and The Terror from the Depths. The writer; s father, also
named Fritz Leiber was a noted Shakespearean actor who
appeared in many character roles in varied films, and
Lovecraft enjoyed following his screen career. Another
coincidence is the participation of Forrest J.Ackerman in
Equinox. When he was a preteen adolescent, Acherman had
come to Lovecraft’s attention through his opinionated letters
to pulp magazines, and HPL used to mock him as a
precocious brat in his private correspondence. Ironically,
years later, Ackerman became Leiber’s literary agent and
editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, a magazine that
frequently brought Lovecraft’s name to the attention of
young readers throughout the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. It
was reported that Ackerman dubbed one of the voices heard
on the tape recorder.
The only over the top reading in the film is that of the
crazy old man in the cave, due to his wild, Renfield-like
cackling, but since his voice is so obviously dubbed, it is likely
a different individual provided the vocal pyrotechnics.
Director Jack Woods himself delivered the best performance
in the film as the devil who poses as a park ranger. He plays
his part in the manner of Robert Ryan, with a cold and icy
brutality. The actor who played Jim Hudson, Frank Bonner
(billed as Frank Boers Jr.) went on to modest fame on
television, appearing as ad man Herb Tarlek in the series
WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82) and Father Hargis, the head
of a Catholic boys school in Just the Ten of Us (1988–90).

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Although not based on any particular Lovecraft work,

the influence of HPL is clearly evident throughout the film.
The evil book in the story clearly corresponds to the
Necronomicon, with its origin traced to the Middle East over
a thousand years ago. More importantly, the beings
summoned through the book are various forms of the Old
Ones. The tentacled creature that destroys Dr. Waterman’s
cabin seems to be Cthulhu, or more precisely, one of the
spawn of Cthulhu, who resembles a smaller scale version of
his master. The other two creatures who are summoned
correspond to two different manifestations of Nyarlathotep,
the “Crawling Chaos” who is able to assume a hundred
forms. The first incarnation, the 30 foot simian, is the
“Beast” or the “Black Demon,” a terrifying creature with
black fur, a shape frequently assumed by Nyarlathotep. The
second incarnation is the “Dark One,” an eight foot
humanoid with the ability to pass through barriers. The plot
element that is difficult to integrate is that of Satan and the
Old Ones, whose terrible, cosmic nature makes them seem
far more powerful than the Miltonic devil. Satan desires to
obtain the Necronomicon in order to wreak havoc with
mankind, yet in the story, once he obtains the book, he seems
to do nothing with it. It is hard to reconcile the Judeo-
Christian devil with the Cthulhu Mythos, as they almost seem
to be mutually exclusive, but perhaps a clever writer could
find a way to blend these two concepts. Robert M. Price, one
of the leading Mythos writers and editors, has a ministerial
background, and in his perceptive writings, he has at times
successfully incorporated traditional Christian concepts with
the Cthulhu Mythos. Equinox, however, does not attempt to
do this in any fashion.
 REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I believe tests will prove the book to be a thousand

years old…It seems to be a veritable bible of evil, witchcraft
or demonism as it was practiced in the remote area of the
Persian Gulf in which it was found.” (David, reading Dr.
Waterman’s notes)
“I felt that I have found the famous touchstone…. I am
unable to control what I have created. Pandora’s box!”
(Waterman’s final note)
“Take my offer or you and your friends are dead.” (The
devil’s threat to Jim as he bargains to obtain the
Necronomicon)
 The Evil Dead (1981)
AKA Book of the Dead
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Necronomicon
Old Ones (pictorial representations)

Renaissance Pictures. Written by Sam Raimi;

Photographed by Tim Philo & Joshua M. Becker; Edited by
Edna Ruth Paul & Joel Coen (assistant); Music by Joseph Lo
Duca; Produced by Robert G. Tapert, Sam Raimi & Bruce
Campbell; Directed by Sam Raimi. 85 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Bruce Campbell...........Ash (MSU student on a weekend

outing)
Betsy Baker.................Linda (his girlfriend)
Hal Delrich.................Scotty (MSU student who rented the
cabin)
Sarah York..................Shelly (Scotty’s girlfriend)
Ellen Sandweiss...........Cheryl (girl who is first attacked by the
trees)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

The Evil Dead was a feature film developed by Sam

Raimi, a student filmmaker from Michigan State University.
He teamed up with Robert G. Tapert, another MSU student
and childhood friend Bruce Campbell to form a production
company, Renaissance Pictures. It took four years for the
enthusiastic group to complete their endeavor, from
fundraising to release. The most intense period was a three
month location shoot in 1979 at a remote, primitive cabin
near Morristown, Tennessee. Most of this material was shot
on 16 mm. Additional bits and pieces were later filmed in
Franklin, Michigan, largely in Raimi’s basement. Originally
called Book of the Dead, the film had its debut at Detroit’s
Redford Theater in October, 1981. In 1982, Book of the
Dead was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where it caught
the enthusiastic attention of writer Stephen King, who wrote
a glowing critique, as well as that New Line Cinema, who
picked up the distribution rights after changing the title to
The Evil Dead. The picture earned a number of foreign
bookings and was eventually released in the United States in
1983 without MPAA rating. Even though the film contained
no sex or foul language, the level of gore and violence
undoubtedly would have earned it an “X” rating. The picture
was promoted as “the ultimate experience in grueling horror”
and quickly gained cult status.
The Evil Dead’s principal stylistic technique is the Point
of View (POV) shot, with the camera itself assuming the
identity of the powerful and invisible evil demon roaming the
woods. As a cinematic device, POV photography was heavily
used in film noir, in such films as Lady In the Lake (1946) and
Dark Passage (1947), although earlier productions such as the
Frederic March version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
also relied on it. POV usage is intermittent in the film, but it
is so pervasive that some critics have dubbed The Evil Dead I
and U as The Camera is Chasing Me I and II.
 Five students from Michigan State University are driving
down for a holiday outing to a cabin in the deep woods of
Tennessee. Scotty tells his friends that he was able to rent the
cabin cheaply because it is a bit rundown. The other students,
Cheryl, Ash and his girlfriend Linda, start having doubts
when the road to the cabin crosses over a treacherous, rickety
bridge. Even Shelly, Scotty’s girlfriend, predicts the cabin will
be “a real pit.” When one of the rear wheels breaks through
the wood, Scotty panics and races the car to safety on the
other side of the gorge. Shortly thereafter, the group arrives
at the cabin, and they stare at the ramshackle structure in
open-mouthed disbelief. The swing on the porch keeps
rhythmically smashing against the side of the house, then
suddenly stops as Scotty reaches the porch. He obtains a key
from the ledge over the door. The interior seems a bit more
inviting once Scotty flips on the power. Soon the students
settle in, and playfully start to enjoy their holiday. That
evening, while sketching, Cheryl is frightened when the old
wall clock stops, its pendulum frozen in mid-swing. She hears
a mysterious distant voice whisper, “Join us,” and she
involuntarily starts to draw an image of a book. A trap door
in the floor starts to rattle. She doesn’t tell the others, but
when they gather for supper, the mysterious door pops open
of its own accord.
Scotty goes through the trap door into the basement,
and when he doesn’t immediately return, Ash follows. The
underground complex seems larger than the cabin itself, and
Scotty takes Ash to a dark chamber resembling a study where
they find a tape recorder and an ancient book. Ash pages
through the book, noticing illustrations of bizarre, tentacled
creatures and other macabre, sepulchral images. A violent
thunderstorm breaks out as the boys bring their findings
upstairs, and start to play the tape recording, in which an
archaeologist recounts his discovery, in the ancient ruins of
Kandar in Sumeria, of a remarkable book bound in human
flesh. It can reportedly invoke dark, primeval creatures with
the ability to possess the living. Terrified, Cheryl switches off
the machine, but Scotty forwards the tape and resumes
playing it at the start of an incantation. The limb of a tree
smashes through the window, and, screaming, Cheryl runs
off.
Alone for the first time, Ash gives Linda a pendant and
they kiss. Meanwhile, Cheryl is attacked by the trees as she
wanders outside. The roots twist around her arms, legs and
neck. She manages to struggle free and dashes back to the
cabin, pursued by the POV camera. She implores Ash to drive
her at once to the nearest town, and he reluctantly agrees.
The storm has abated, but the fog in the road is impenetrable.
He stops the car as he nears the bridge and discovers that it
has collapsed. They return to the cabin, where Ash plays the
rest of the recording and learns that the professor’s wife was
possessed by a demon. The only way to destroy her is by
hacking her body to pieces. As Shelly and Linda play cards,
testing their ESP, Cheryl becomes transformed into a demon,
and in an eerie voice threatens the death of all “one by one.”
She stabs Linda in the foot with her pencil, and battles the
others until they manage to toss her in the basement and
chain up the trap door.
Ash puts Linda to bed, then confers with the others to
discuss the situation. The demonic Cheryl, occasionally
roaring like a lion, mocks and taunts them after lifting the
trap door a few inches. The POV camera stalks the cabin,
finally zeroing in on Shelly through a window. She too
becomes possessed, launching a furious assault against the
two boys until Scotty chops her into pieces with an ax. Cheryl
cackles at this encounter, as the boys take Shelly’s remains,
still wriggling, and bury them outside the cabin. Scotty panics,
and heads off on his own, hoping to find an escape route that
bypasses the bridge. Ash tends to the sleeping Linda,
observing her wound, which suddenly spreads in a web-like
pattern until it covers her body, and Linda rises straight up
from the bed, newly possessed and laughing wildly. Weakened
and bloody, Scotty returns, begging his friend’s help before
expiring. Ash grabs a rifle and prepares to shoot the
sniggering demon Linda, but she suddenly changes back to
her normal self and they embrace. Cheryl also changes back,
and asks to be released from the cellar. As he lifts the trap
door, a monstrous arm reaches up to his neck and starts to
choke him. Linda, cackling hideously, reverts to her demon
state and resumes her attack. Ash overcomes her, but finds
himself unable to dismember her body. He tries to bury her,
but she revives and claws him. He struggles back to the cabin,
only to discover that demon Cheryl has broken through the
trap door, and Scotty’s body has revived.
Ash’s battle continues for the last twenty minutes of the
film, involving bizarre camera angles and POV attacks. At one
point, he looks at himself in the mirror and touches the glass
surface which yields as if it were water, recalling a scene in
Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus (1949). Finally, Ash decides to burn
the book, and as the flames consume it, the demons start to
disintegrate. Ash staggers out of the cabin as dawn is
breaking. A final POV attack sweeps through the forest and
the cabin, gathering speed. Ash, hearing a noise in the cabin,
turns around, and the POV camera zeros in on him as he
screams, and the screen goes black as the end credits start to
appear.
Many horror aficionados adore The Evil Dead,
considering it to be the pinnacle of splatter. Other viewers,
however, might be repelled by the effort. The outdoor scenes
are very atmospheric and effective, but some of the interior
scenes are too derivative of The Exorcist (1973). A few may
be turned off by the unrelenting, visceral intensity of the
second half. Raimi had been advised to add as much blood as
possible for commercial reasons, but at no time does the film
strive to be gross or to genuinely disturb the audience. In fact,
there is a cartoonish undercurrent to the action, a tendency
which moves to the forefront in the other films in the series.
Enjoyment of the film is a matter of personal taste, but no
viewer would consider this Tennessee tale of gore to be
realistic at any point. Even those not enthralled by the
picture, however, would be impressed by the talent,
imagination and vitality of the young filmmakers sowing their
wild oats. Sam Raimi went on to a successful career as a
director, helming such efforts as Darkman (1990), A Simple
Plan (1998), the mini-series version of The Shining (1998)
and the Hercules and Xena television series. Bruce Campbell
also went on to a thriving Hollywood career, even starring in
two clever television series, a Western called The Adventures
of Brisco County, Jr. and an adventure series Jack of All
Trades. Joseph Lo Duca’s work as a screen composer has also
been successful, and assistant editor Joel Coen went on to
direct and co-author such colorful films as Fargo (1996) and
The Big Lebowski (1998).
 PERFORMANCES

The five actors involved in The Evil Dead are all

energetic and sincere in their efforts, but only Bruce
Campbell has a genuine screen presence. There is little
understatement in the picture, but note the quiet game when
Campbell pretends to be napping as Betsy Baker notices the
small jewelry case in his hands. Not only does this bit of
business work very well, but it parallels a later scene when
Ash is burying his girlfriend and she feigns death before
starting a new attack. This momentary subtlety clearly stands
out, and helps to highlight the talents of both Campbell and
Baker. As for the demonic scenes, they vary in quality,
borrowing heavily from Linda Blair’s playbook as the
possessed Regan O’Neill in The Exorcist, although a good
deal of the cackling is creepy, creating a unique ghastly mood.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The influence of H. P. Lovecraft on The Evil Dead is

indirect but significant. The ambience of Algernon
Blackwood, another noted writer of the macabre, can also be
detected in the picture, particularly in the atmospheric
outdoor scenes which recall the flavor such expressive stories
as The Willows or The Wendigo. In his famous treatise on
supernatural literature, Lovecraft called The Wendigo,
“amazingly potent” in portraying the “horrible evidences of a
vast forest daemon.” Lovecraft’s admiration for Blackwood is
further evidenced by the opening quote from Blackwood
used in The Call of Cthulhu. In the film, it is quite obvious
that The Book of the Dead is the Necronomicon, although
the actual identification of the book as the Necronomicon is
not made until the sequels. While pages are being turned in
the book, some of the tentacled creatures in the illustrations
are undoubtedly based on the Old Ones. The ruined city in
the Middle East where the book was found by the
archaeologist is called Kandar. This is the name of actual
towns in Morocco, Tunisia and elsewhere, but the inspiration
for the place is possibly Kara-Shehr, the evil city of devils
referred to in the Necronomicon. This deserted and odious
city is located in the desert wastes of Sumeria. An even more
likely source, however, is The Nameless City, portrayed by H.
P. Lovecraft in his short story by that name. The demons in
The Evil Dead correspond to various beings from the
Cthulhu Mythos, particularly the Night Gaunts or the spawn
of Shub-Niggurath. The famous couplet, ‘That is not dead
which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may
die” seems the inspiration for the “dormant but never truly
dead” line from The Book of the Dead in the film.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“It is roughly translated The Book of the Dead. The

book is bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. It
deals with demons, demon resurrection and those forces
which roam the forest and dark bowers of man’s domain.
The first few pages warn that these enduring creatures may lie
dormant but are never truly dead.” (The voice on the tape
recorder played by Scotty and heard by everyone)
“I know now that my wife has become host of Kandari
demons. I fear that the only way to stop those possessed by
the spirits of the book is the act of bodily dismemberment.
I’d leave now to avoid this horror, but for myself, I have seen
the dark shadows moving in the woods and I have no doubt
that what I have resurrected through this book is sure to
come calling for me.” (The end of the tape recording,
monitored by Ash)
“Why have you disturbed our sleep, awakened us from
our ancient slumber?” (The possessed Cheryl to the others)
“Kill her if you can, lover boy!” (Demon Cheryl to Ash,
as he confronts demon Linda)
 Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (1987)
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Necronomicon
Old Ones

Renaissance Pictures. Written by Sam Raimi & Scott

Spiegel; Photographed by Peter Deming & Eugene Shlugleit;
Edited by Kaye Davis; Music by Joseph Lo Duca; Produced
by Robert G.Tapert, Bruce Campbell & Dino De Laurentiis
(executive); Directed by Sam Raimi. 85 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Bruce Campbell...........Ash (student on weekend outing)

Denise Bixler...............Linda (his girlfriend)
Snowy Winters............Dancing demon Linda
John Peaks..................Raymond Knowby (professor of ancient
history)
Lou Hancock...............Henrietta Knowby (his wife)
Theodore Raimi...........Henrietta Knowby (in demon form)
Sarah Berry.................Annie Knowby (their daughter)
Richard Dormier...........Ed Getley (Knowby’s associate)
Dan Hicks..................Jake (backwoods tracker)
Kassie Wesley.............Bobby Jo (Jake’s girlfriend)
William P.Robertson...Demonic voices
 SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Made six years after the original film, Evil Dead II: Dead
by Dawn both revises the original film and takes it off in a
new direction stressing satire and humor. Director/writer
Sam Raimi struck a deal with mogul Dino De Laurentiis to
film his sequel with a budget eight times larger than that of
The Evil Dead. (Note the sequel drops The from the title.)
Raimi ran into difficulties, however, obtaining the rights to
use of outtakes from the original picture. This forced him to
scale down the ending of the picture which he envisioned as
an extended sequence set in the Middle Ages. Instead, he was
forced to refilm the opening reprising scenes from the first
picture. The location footage was now shot in
Wadesborough, North Carolina at a site previously used by
Steven Spielberg for The Color Purple (1985). Raimi
streamlined this segment which contains a number of
changes. Unfortunately, this confused a number of viewers
and critics who wound up considering Evil Dead II to be a
remake instead of a sequel. On the whole, Evil Dead II is a
far better film, with improved pacing, editing and dazzling
cinema techniques that fascinate the audience. The picture is
a unique blend of diverse elements: surrealism and slapstick,
existential drama and absurdist theatrics, Lovecraftian terror
and Keatonesque comedy. Devotees of graphic horror might
think it dilutes the premise of the original, but it actually
enriches it, finally breaking out of its claustrophobic mold
with a wild, outlandish and totally unexpected conclusion that
inspired film audiences to stand and cheer at the end credits.
In a short opening sequence, the Necronomicon is
depicted on screen, and images of various Old Ones briefly
flicker by with wriggling tentacles, flapping wings and
otherworldly laughter. A narrator declares that the book can
serve as a gateway to other worlds and dimensions, finally
stating that it vanished from human view in the year 1300.
The title then appears.
The Evil Dead concluded as a primeval demon swept
down upon Ash as he emerged from the cabin, using a Point
of View—POV—camera technique to represent the unseen
entity. The opening ten minutes of the sequel brings us back
to this exact moment, although the narrative has been
modified, and these alterations will be carefully noted. The
characters of Scotty, Shelly and Cheryl have been eliminated.
Instead, Ash and his girlfriend are alone en route to the
mysterious cabin deep in the woods. They drive across a
narrow bridge over a deep gorge, finally arriving at the
bungalow which seems far more comfortable and inviting
than the ramshackle hut depicted in the first film. It now has
a piano, which Ash plays to accompany Linda as she practices
her ballet steps. They embrace as Linda admires the pendant
given to her by Ash. Looking for the champagne bottle he
brought in, Ash stumbles across the tape recorder (on the
main floor, not the cellar). When he turns it on, a voice
identifies himself as Professor Raymond Knowby (formerly
unidentified). He speaks of the find he made in the castle of
Kandar (previously the ruins of the lost city of Kandar). The
professor describes how he, his wife Henrietta, his daughter
Annie and his associate, Professor Ed Getley, discovered the
Necronomicon in a lower chamber of the castle. The
Professor brought the book to the cabin so that he could
work on translating it undisturbed. By reading aloud from the
book, Knowby raised up a dark and evil force. As Ash replays
the incantation, the camera follows a POV attack emerging
from the woods crashing through the window and possessing
Linda. She attacks Ash, and he beheads her while defending
himself with a shovel. After burying her body, Ash staggers
around outside the cabin. The final shot of The Evil Dead is
duplicated, as a POV camera sweeps through the forest and
cabin, smashing through the front door and focusing in on
the screaming Ash.
If someone viewed The Evil Dead and watched the
sequel from this point on, events would unfold in a fairly
logical fashion. In many ways, the story of Evil Dead II
actually begins at this point. Possessed, Ash is hurled
backwards over a mile until he crashes into a tree. His
transformation passes, however, when the full light of the
sun falls upon him. The POV camera, spinning slowly, pulls
back from Ash. Completely exhausted, he stumbles to his car
and drives back to the bridge, which is in ruins. “I’ve got to
get a grip on myself.” Ash mutters as he watches the sun sail
by at lightning speed and night returns. The POV attack
resumes, and Ash jumps in his car, placing it in reverse. This
scene, however, fails to match up with the shot of the
destroyed bridge, since the POV attack proceeds over the
intact bridge, suggesting that the collapsed roadway is only an
illusion. Ash cracks up the car and dashes back to the cabin,
pursued by his unseen assailant. After chasing him from room
to room, the POV attacker withdraws back into the forest.
The scene switches to a nearby airport. Annie Knowby
descends from a plane and is met by Professor Ed Getley.
She tells him that she has located several essential pages
missing from the copy of the Necronomicon owned by her
father. Ed reports that he hasn’t heard from her father for a
week, and they drive off at once to the cabin. Meanwhile
Ash, in a state of shock, is drawn out of a back closet by the
sound of the piano playing. He peeks out the window and
sees the headless body of Linda dancing in the moonlight.
Her head comes tumbling along beside her and she replaces it
while continuing her ghoulish ballet. At one point she
pirouettes, but her head remains stationary as her body spins
faster and faster. She tries to grab Ash through the window,
saying, “Dance with me” with a demonic cackle. He screams,
and awakens sitting in a chair. At first, he thinks the dance
was an illusion, but Linda’s head then plops into his lap and
bites his hand. Trying as hard as possible, he is unable to
force her to release him. He dashes over to a workroom and
fastens the head in a vice, pulling his arm free at last. When
the head continues to mocks him, he grabs a chainsaw and
starts it. Linda’s decapitated corpse breaks into the room, and
Ash destroys it. The head begs for mercy, using Linda’s
normal voice. Ash is not fooled, and he completes his grisly
task, which is not shown on screen as the camera pans to the
wall. Ash’s right hand then goes “bad,” and it attacks him in a
sometimes grotesque, sometimes hilarious struggle. The hand
begins to litter whenever it hurts Ash, who finally cuts it off
with a chainsaw, exclaiming, “Who’s laughing now?” When
the disembodied hand starts a fresh attack, Ash blows it away
with a shotgun.
When Professor Getley and Annie reach the bridge, it
again seems to be down. They ask two hill folk, Jack and his
girlfriend Bobby Jo, to guide them to the cabin using a
backwoods trail. When they arrive, they find a half-crazed
Ash brandishing a shotgun, and Jake knocks him out. He and
Getley toss his body into the basement, locking the trap door.
Annie desperately searches for her parents and is frightened
by the blood splattered all over the cabin. She locates the tape
recorder and hears the rest of her father’s message. She is
shocked to learn that evil forces were unleashed through her
father’s incantations and that her mother, Henrietta, was
possessed by a demon. At the end of the tape, she learns that
her father killed her and buried her in the basement.
Henrietta’s body returns to life, and attacks Ash who
screams for help. The others release him from the cellar, but
barely manage to hold back the demonic Henrietta. Getley
also becomes possessed and the collective voices of the
demons threaten that the remaining people will be “Dead by
dawn!” Ash grabs an ax and dismembers Getley. After a series
of loud booms, growls and rumbles, the ghost of Professor
Knowby materializes and tells Annie that their salvation lies
in the missing pages from the Necronomicon which she
recovered. They contain an incantation that can dispel evil.
Ash is startled to see an illustration from the book that
resembles himself. Annie claims it is a mysterious hero who
appeared out of the sky to battle the evil forces in medieval
times. She locates the spell, a dangerous two-part incantation.
The first part causes the evil to manifest itself in the flesh.
The second half opens a gateway into another dimension,
and compels the evil to pass through the gate. Bobby Jo
panics and runs off into the woods where she is assaulted by
the trees and their roots. Jake takes the pages away from the
others, tossing them through the trap door and demanding
that they search the woods for Bobby Jo. Their quest is in
vain, and Ash is repossessed, leading a brutal attack against
Annie, who flees back to the cabin. After Ash recovers, he
fashions the chainsaw to fit onto the stub of his right arm.
Then he and Annie raid the cellar, battling off the demon
Henrietta, hacking her to pieces.
Gigantic roots rise up from the ground as if they were
giant tentacles and tear at the cabin, ripping it to pieces. In the
collapsing structure, Annie struggles to read the incantations,
but she is struck down and stabbed by Getley’s disembodied
arm after finishing the first part. The monstrous demon
manifests itself, seizing Ash. Dying, Annie reads the second
incantation. A swirling vortex appears in the sky, and Ash, the
demon and his automobile are sucked into the astral gate. As
Ash spins through the whirlwind, the soundtrack plays a
passage from the Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns. He finally
tumbles to the ground in the midst of a medieval battlefield.
The soldiers surround him warily, Suddenly, a winged demon
appears in the sky, and Ash rises to his feet and shoots it with
his shotgun. After seeing the evil creature fall, the soldiers
cheer Ash, who looks around in disbelief. He cries out in
anguish, realizing that the image from the Necronomicon was
indeed his own.
Although never rated by the MPAA, Evil Dead II is far
more of a mainstream film than the original, even with its
considerable bloodletting. This is largely due to the camp-like
humor spread throughout the picture, as well as satire. One
excellent example is the sequence which parodies The
Haunting (1963), perhaps the most subtle and frightening
horror film ever made. Before the ghost of Professor
Knowby appears, the graphic horror is dropped and the
emphasis is on the thumping, pounding sounds alone. As in
The Haunting, four people, two men and two women, react,
their faces filled with terror. Then, Raimi adds another
reference, having Bobbie Jo believe that she is holding Jake’s
hand just as Julie Harris believes that she is holding Claire
Bloom’s hand. Of course, Bobbie Jo is actually holding Ed’s
disembodied hand. The reference to The Haunting is so
quick that many viewers miss it, but the camera angles,
closeups and lighting skillfully mock the classic. Of course,
there are numerous other references, to different pictures
such as The Beast With Five Fingers (1946), The House on
Haunted Hill (1958), Dementia 13 (1963), Deliverance (1972),
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and many more. Raimi
broadened this approach even further in the end of the
trilogy, Army of Darkness. All the aspects of this production,
the cinematography, the special effects (including stop-
motion photography), the editing and the spirit of the film
are praiseworthy and of excellent caliber.

PERFORMANCES

Even more than in The Evil Dead, Bruce Campbell

dominates the action of the film. He is given a much larger
palette, however, with an occasional spark of braggadocio
when he overcomes a supernatural opponent. At other times
he proves himself a slapstick comedian of the first order.
Campbell is adept on occasion in maintaining a pokerface as
effective as that of Buster Keaton when he encounters
unbelievable obstacles in his classic, silent, two-reelers.
Campbell proves a unique one-man-show as he battles his
own hand in one of the most incredible sequences in any
film. His gradual transformation from an awkward Romeo
into a demon-fighting guerrilla is stunning. The other
performers in the film simply cannot equal his flair, although
Denise Bixler is a very appealing Linda in the film’s opening
minutes. Sarah Berry and Richard Dormier are slightly
disappointing as Annie Knowby and Ed Getley. One the
other hand, Dan Hicks and Kassie Wesley strike the ideal
tone as Jake and Bobby Jo, who unpreparedly stumble into
the mad confrontation with other-worldly demons. The
ensemble acting of the cast is excellent. It is particularly
interesting to watch the shifting attitudes of the others
toward Ash, whom they first regard as a serial killer, then a
hapless victim and finally as an effective antagonist in their
battles against the unearthly forces.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The debt to H. P. Lovecraft is more specific in Evil

Dead II than in the original picture. The book is now openly
referred to as the Necronomicon, and animated visual images
of several of the Old Ones appear in the opening moments.
The concept of the Necronomicon being a gateway through
time and space is also a genuine Lovecraftian element. The
dramatic conclusion of the film offers a taste of the vast
cosmic canvas that HPL often portrays in his stories. The
film also draws upon some non-Cthulhu Mythos stories such
as The Picture in the House where Lovecraft portrays the
horrors that lurk in “the little unpainted wooden houses
remote from traveled ways, usually squatted upon some
damp, grassy slope.” These buildings, where “the vines have
crawled and the trees have swelled and spread” conceal
“unutterable things.” Lovecraft’s prose seems to come to life
in Raimi’s screen portrayal.
 REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Legend has it that it was written by the Dark Ones,

Necronomicon ex Mortis, roughly translated Book of the
Dead. The book served as a passageway to the evil world
beyond. It was written long ago, when the seas ran red with
blood.” (Opening narration)
“The book speaks of a spiritual presence, a thing of evil
that roams the forests and dark bowers of man’s domain. It is
through the recitation of the book’s passages that this dark
spirit is given license to possess the living.” (Professor
Knowby on the tape recording)
“I’m fine. I’m fine” (Ash, looking at his reflection in the
mirror) “I don’t think so. We just cut up our girlfriend with a
chainsaw. Does that sound fine?” (Ash’s dopplegänger,
reaching out from the mirror and grabbing his neck)
“We are the things that were and shall be again. …We
want what is yours—life! Dead by dawn! Dead by dawn! You
will all be dead by dawn!” (Voices of the demons to Annie,
Jake, Bobby Jo & Ash)
“Hail he who has come from the sky to deliver us!”
(Medieval warrior, saluting the stupefied Ash)
 The Farm (1987)
AKA The Curse
Rating: *
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
None

Trans World. Written by David Chaskin based on the

short story The Colour Out of Space by H. P. Lovecraft;
Photographed by Roberto Forges Davazati; Edited by
Claudio Cutry; Music by Franco Micalizzi; Produced by
Ovideo G. Assonitis; Directed by David Keith. 89 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Wil Wheaton...............Zach Crane (Tennessee farmboy)

Claude Akins...............Nathan Crane (his strict stepfather)
Kathleen J. Gregory......Frances Crane (his mother)
Amy Wheaton..............Alice Crane (his sister)
Malcom Danare............Cyrus Crane (his stepbrother)
Cooper Huckabee.........Alan Forbes (local doctor)
Hope North.................Esther Forbes (doctor’s wife)
John Schneider.............Carl Willis (TVA official)
Steve Carlisle..............Charlie Davidson (realtor)
Steve Davis.................Mike (Crane farmhand)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

This picture was shot at director David Keith’s own

farm in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, but the interiors were shot
in Italy at a studio in Rome. In the credits, the names of some
members of the Italian crew are Anglicized, so Claudio Cutry
is listed as Claude Kutry, for example. This is the first of a
handful of films directed by Keith, who is better known as an
actor in such films as An Officer and a Gentlemen (1982),
Firestarter (1984) and The Two Jakes (1990). If this film is
any indication, Keith’s talents as a director are minimal. The
basic script is decent for the opening hour, but Keith poorly
manages practically every scene with the exception of the
crash of the meteor, which is magnificent. The last third of
the film is a total disaster. The ending was reportedly recut
for video release, but the result is still so poor that one
viewing of the film is about all a viewer will be able to
stomach. This is a shame, because there is much to admire in
the film up to the scene in which Claude Akins starts to go
crazy. It seems that at this point, the director, editor and
cameraman also began to be infected by “the colour out of
space,” because the quality of their work deteriorates,
becoming unbearable to watch.
The film opens as a disoriented man in a tee shirt is
dragged off by police while shouting warnings about some
mysterious danger present in the water supply. The scene
then shifts back six months to depict the story behind his
panic. The Crane farm is an isolated one in Tellico Plains,
Tennessee. Zach is a sensitive teenager who is having
difficulty relating to his bullying stepbrother, Cyrus, and his
strict, religious stepfather, Nathan. Zach’s sister, Alice, is also
experiencing difficulties, and they both rely on moral support
from their mother, Frances, who is grateful to Nathan but
doesn’t love him.
One night, a huge, glowing object crashes onto the
Crane property, awakening the family and creating a great
commotion. They call the local physician, Dr. Alan Forbes, to
examine the meteorite, which is as big as a truck. He collects
a sample of it and urges the Crane family to avoid contact
with it until the fragment is tested. The next morning, the
meteorite has shrunk to the size of a horse. Dr. Forbes is
puzzled, and all his tests have proven inconclusive. Charlie
Davidson, the local realtor, urges the doctor not to contact
the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) about the
meteorite. Davidson knows that the region of Tellico Plains is
under consideration as the site of a future reservoir by the
TV A (Tennessee Valley Authority). Esther, the doctor’s wife,
works with Davidson to persuade her husband not to pursue
the matter.
That night, the glowing color seeps out of the meteorite
and sinks into the ground. The next morning, the object has
totally evaporated. Dr. Forbes provides the Crane family with
a flimsy hypothesis that the object was actually the frozen
contents of a jumbo airliner’s lavatory holding tank. The
family roars in laughter, except for Zach who realizes that the
doctor is merely trying to placate them.
During the next few weeks, the farm blossoms forth
with lush vegetation, yielding their richest harvest. Carl Willis,
on behalf of the TVA, begins to survey the area, and Charlie
Davidson tries to assist him, suggesting that Tellico Plains
would be the ideal site for the reservoir. Davidson snatches
one of the red apples from the Crane farm on a visit, but
finds it inedible. Frances, preparing an evening meal, also
finds although all of the new vegetables look impressive, but
likewise are putrid. Nathan is devastated by the failure of the
crop, but they continues to insist that the problem is related
to the object that fell from the sky. Zach and Alice refuse to
touch the water, leading to a confrontation with their
stepfather.
Things continue to deteriorate on the farm. The animals
start to become feral, attacking people. A cow gives birth to a
monstrous, grotesque calf. Frances begins to go slowly mad.
Strange warts starts appearing on her face and on Cyrus as
well. Zach calls Dr. Forbes to treat his mother, but Nathan
refuses to let the doctor see her. The doctor takes a sample
from their well and brings it to a public health laboratory in
Knoxville for analysis. Their results uncover an unknown
element that alters the molecular structure of the water.
Meanwhile, Frances goes completely berserk, and her face is
hideously deformed. Nathan overcomes her and locks her in
the storm shelter. Charlie Davidson arrives at the farm with
Esther Forbes, hoping to persuade Nathan to sell the
property. Esther is attacked and killed by the Crane dogs, and
Charlie flees into the shelter to escape. Instead, he is slain by
Frances who has been transformed into a complete monster.
Nathan begins to go mad. Similarly crazed, Cyrus attacks
Alice. Using a baseball bat, Zach frees his sister from his
drooling stepbrother’s clutches. At this point, the events in
the film become somewhat muddled, as all the remaining
scenes are shot in semi-darkness. Dr. Forbes, racing back
from Knoxville, reaches the Crane farm to find it empty and
lifeless. He breaks in, and Nathan buries an ax in his back.
The house itself starts to rumble and shake, finally collapsing.
Zach continues to fight off Nathan and Cyrus when Carl
Willis unexpectedly shows up and saves Zach and his sister.
The climax of this picture is literally incomprehensible.
It is never explained how Carl Willis becomes involved in the
scene. He simply shows up. It is only at this point that we
realize the character in the opening scene is Willis instead of
Dr. Forbes. The link-up of the film’s conclusion to its
opening is never reconciled or explained. The fate of Zach
and Alice is never clarified either except for the fact that Carl
had driven them away from the farm. The last twenty minutes
of the film are so disjointed that they virtually ruin the entire
film.
When released on video, the title of the film was
changed to The Curse, and the picture became part of a
series including The Curse II: The Bite, The Curse III: Blood
Sample and The Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice. None of
these other films have any connection to Lovecraft or to The
Farm. The “Curse” had simply become a grab bag title for a
low budget gore fest.

PERFORMANCES

Wil Wheaton first came to the attention of critics with

his excellent portrayal in Stand By Me (1986), based on
Stephen King’s novella The Body. He does as good a job as
possible in his limited part in The Farm. Wheaton shortly
began his role as Wesley Crusher in the series Star Trek: The
Next Generation. The only kind comment ever made about
The Farm was that the film gave him an opportunity to work
with his real life sister, Amy, in the role of Alice. Claude
Akins is also good in his scenes as Nathan, a decent but
somewhat intolerant man. The real acting plum in the
production, however, goes to Kathleen Jordan Gregory, who
is magnificent as Frances, particularly in the first scenes when
she starts to go over the edge. Malcolm Danare (Cyrus) and
Cooper Huckabee (Forbes) are also effective in their roles.
Having Dr. Forbes killed as he reaches the farm is an
unexpected and interesting touch, but the last scenes are so
ragged that his death loses some its impact since it is so
poorly staged.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Despite the shift in locale from 19th century Arkham,

Massachusetts to modern day Tellico Plains, Tennessee, the
script of The Farm remains remarkably close to the original
The Colour Out of Space. The description of the meteorite
(which continually shrinks in size) and the progression of
events is identical to the story. Both the proposed dam and
reservoir are bona fide HPL. In fact, Lovecraft based this
section of his story on the plans for the Quabbin Reservoir in
central Massachusetts, in which four towns (Dana, Enfield,
Greenwich and Prescott) were abandoned and flooded after
the construction of a dam to create a forty-square-mile man-
made lake. The actual flooding did not occur until 1939, and
the reservoir has the reputation in local legend of being
haunted. A passage from The Colour Out of Space is most
apt: “The reservoir will soon be built now, and all those elder
secrets will be safe forever under watery fathoms. But even
then I do not believe I would like to visit that country by
night—at least, not when the sinister stars are out; and
nothing could bribe me to drink the new city water of
Arkham.” In fact, the Quabbin serves as the source for
Boston’s water supply.
 REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“It’s in the water! It’s in the water.” (The desperate

warning by Carl Willis as he is led away by the police)
“I saw it glowing last night from my window. Last night,
it was glowing and the trees were moving, but there wasn’t
any wind.” (Zachary to Charlie Davidson & Dr. Forbes)
“Now there is nothing wrong with the food and there is
nothing wrong with the water. Neither one of you are going
to leave this table until your plates are clean and your glasses
are empty.” (Nathan to Zachary & Alice)
“It is very unstable. It is actually altering the molecular
structure of the water.” (Lab analyst to Dr. Forbes)
 Forever Evil (1987)
Rating: **
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Necronomicon
Old Ones
Yog-Sothoth (Equivalent)

Framework. Written by Freeman Williams;

Photographed by Horacio Fernandez; Edited by Roger Evans
& Horacio Fernandez; Music by Rod Slane; Produced by Jill
Clark & Hal Payne; Directed by Roger Evans. 107 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Red Mitchell...............Marc Denning (inventor, survivor of

cabin onslaught)
Tracey Huffman...........Reggie Osborne (survivor of earlier
attack)
Diane Johnson.............Holly (Marc’s slain girlfriend)
Charles Trotter.............Leo Ball (homicide detective who
befriends Marc)
Howard Jacobson..........Parker Nash (realtor & sorcerer)
Kent Johnson..............Alfie Creston (killer zombie)
Jeffrey Lane.................Jay Denning (Marc’s brother, slain at the
cabin)
Susan Lunt.................Julie (Jay’s girlfriend, slain at the cabin)
David Campbell...........Robert (Marc’s friend, slain at the
cabin)
Karen Chatfield............Jeanne (Robert’s girlfriend, slain at the
cabin)
Marcy Bannor..............Lisa Swinborne (doctor who treats
Marc)
Richard Zemecki..........Peter Swinborne (coroner & Lisa’s
father)
Freeman Williams........Ben (fortuneteller & mystic)
Kayce Glasse...............Mrs. Weinberger (Ben’s client)
Natalie Williams..........Donna (hospital nurse)
Barbara Williams..........Hospital cafeteria worker
Richard Hamner...........Fred (newspaper reporter)
Polly Mclntyre............Ms. Cranmeyer (Leo’s neighbor)
Ion Cox......................Detective
James Ebdon...............1st policeman
Dana Ryder.................2nd policeman
Pepper........................Nash’s phantom dog

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

This low budget production, filmed in the vicinity of

Houston, Texas, employs a number of Lovecraftian concepts
and ideas as background to the main story. Although
marketed as an explicit horror film, it is actually a rather
thoughtful picture rather than a gorefest. Unfortunately, it is
overlong, static, and occasionally bogged down with too
many irrelevant subplots. The script stresses the mystery
elements of the story, making its revelations in piecemeal
fashion in an attempt to retain audience interest. This
synopsis, however, will outline the plot in a straightforward
manner, unlike the script which saves the explanations for the
climax. Forever Evil may be a letdown, but it is a sincere and
worthwhile attempt, given the resources at hand.
 Parker Nash is an evil sorcerer, engaged in an elaborate
ritual to permit one of the banished Old Ones, Yog-Kothag,
to return to Earth and destroy the human race. Born in the
19th century, Nash, became a high-priest of Yog-Kothag and
was given eternal youth and special superhuman powers.
Following the detailed instructions of an arcane book
devoted to his dark god, Nash animates the corpse of a man
he killed to serve as the instrument of Yog-Kothäg’s return.
The sorcerer sets up potential victims for ritual slaughter
while posing as a real estate agent. He times these mass
killings to the schedule of the radio pulses of a quasar deep
in space, with the location of each sacrificial event forming a
specific pattern of an ancient symbol. This elaborate
ceremony will take years to complete properly, but the result
will open the dimensional gate for Yog-Kothag.
Marc Denning and his brother Jay are selling their
remote lakeside cabin to raise money to finance the
development of a new invention. They hire Parker Nash to
serve as their realtor, and plan a final party at the cabin with
their closest friends, including Marc’s pregnant girlfriend,
Holly. That evening, a knife-wielding animated corpse invades
the cabin, unleashing a bloodbath. Marc manages to escape,
reaching the highway, where he is struck by a car. His five
friends, however, are slaughtered, their bodies cut into pieces.
Lieutenant Leo Ball, assigned to the case, visits Marc in
the hospital, telling him that similar bloodlettings have
occurred recently. Lisa Swinborne, Marc’s doctor, helps him
recover from the mental trauma as well as his physical
injuries. Reggie Osborne, a young woman who survived an
earlier killing spree, introduces herself to Marc after he is
released from the hospital. They decide to assist Leo with his
investigation. They discover a common element in both cases,
the presence of the same real estate agent, Parker Nash.
When Leo makes an inquiry, he finds that no absolutely
documentation exists on Nash prior to the opening of his
real estate office.
Leo brings Marc and Reggie to visit Ben, a psychic who
had helped Leo in the past. Ben’s house, however, was
abandoned, except for an old cardboard box marked for Leo’s
attention. (At this point, the audience realizes that Ben was
the fortuneteller observed in the pre-credit sequence who
encountered a mysterious intruder.) Examining the contents,
they find a number of old books, Lost Gods, The
Necronomicon, The Gate and the Key by C.D. Ward and The
Chronicles of Yog-Kothag, A letter to Leo contains a dire
warning of approaching danger. Yog-Kothäg is a monstrous
prehistoric deity who had been exiled to a distant star. The
Chronicles of Yog-Kothag describes an elaborate ritual
paving the way for this Old One to return to Earth. There are
a number of old newspaper clippings. One involved the
museum theft at the beginning of the century of an antique
ceremonial dagger dedicated to Yog-Kothag. Other clippings
describe murders down the years, reportedly committed with
this dagger.
Marc uncovers an article written by a certain Dr. Phillips
that describes a irregular pulsar emanating from a dark quasar
in space. These pulses correspond to the group murders. Leo
has his doubts about this data, but he then uncovers the birth
certificate of Parker Nash from 1874, making him 113 years
old. He is murdered by Nash before he can inform the others
of his revelation. When the detective’s body is discovered, the
coroner, Peter Swinborne, offers his support to Marc in
avenging his friend’s murder. Lisa Swinborne also pledges her
help.
Determining the time and location of the next sacrificial
murders, Marc and Reggie disguise themselves and rent a
house from Nash. They then await the inevitable attack. A
long battle ensues when the zombie arrives. They shoot him,
run him down with a car and set him aflame, but they seem
unable to destroy the hideous fiend. Reggie runs off as Marc
succumbs to the creature.
Reggie goes to confront Nash, who confesses that he is
the mastermind behind the murders. Many decades earlier,
Nash killed the Creston family, for which Yog-Kothag
granted him special powers and virtual immortality. He then
resurrected Alfie Creston to carry out the other crimes. Since
Alfie is no longer functioning, Nash reveals his new
zombie—Marc Denning. Although under a spell, Marc still
manages to stab Nash with the ceremonial dagger, the only
weapon that is able to wound the realtor. Reggie carries off
Marc, and the voice of Yog-Kothag is heard, admonishing
Nash for his failure in completing the ritual. A closing title to
the film proclaims, “Somewhere, a man named Nash is
screaming” as the realtor is swept into another dimension.
Forever Evil is certainly a curious mixture. Some scenes
are magnificent, such as the dream sequence in which Marc is
walking through the cemetery when the sky suddenly clouds
over and his girlfriend, Holly, arises from her grave and
unleashes her unborn demon baby which begins to crawl
along the ground. Other scenes are ponderous, dreary and
filled with irrelevant plot points. It appears as if extra bits
were written in merely to allow additional people to have a
quick cameo. Instead of 107 minutes, the film could have
been edited down by twenty minutes or more, with a tighter
story and considerable improvement. Another drawback is
the awkward setup for the final confrontation between Nash
and Reggie. It is never clearly shown what happened to Marc.
Was he actually killed, or is he only shamming. If he is only
faking, how did he manage it? With a film that laboriously
dots every i and crosses every t, this plot gap is rather
puzzling and weakens the picture’s finale.

PERFORMANCES

Charles Trotter, as the veteran homicide detective,

delivers the only fully satisfying reading of the entire cast. He
is crusty, avuncular and filled with contrary emotions as the
evidence he uncovers suggests the involvement of the
supernatural. Howard Jacobson (Nash) is a close second, but
the pseudo-British accent he employs simply doesn’t work.
The other cast members, although unpretentious and well
meaning, are simply unconvincing, although no one is truly
bad or embarrassing. Kent Johnson is very effective as the
zombie, and his makeup is certainly fabulous. Writer Freeman
Williams, on the other hand, is rather weak as Ben, also
known as Brother Magus. Red Mitchell, the star of the film,
began to land roles in films by Oliver Stone and John
Avildsen, but his career was cut tragically short when his car
stalled at a railroad crossing and he was killed by an oncoming
train.
 FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

There are numerous Lovecraftian references throughout

Forever Evil, particularly in the books left by Ben for Leo.
The purported author of The Gate and the Key, C.D. Ward,
is undoubtedly a reference to Charles Dexter Ward. Dr.
Phillips is plainly a reference to Lovecraft’s middle name. The
Necronomicon is un-disguised, but Yog-Sothoth is called by
an alternate name, Yog-Kothag. Most of the Old Ones are
commonly known by various names, since their actual names
were never intended for human throats. Cthulhu, for
example, has been rendered as Kthulhut, Cutlu, Chullau,
Tulu, Hluloo, Khwul-Hliu, etc. So Yog-Kothag is not so great
a change. The characteristics of Yog-Kothag correspond
directly to Yog-Sothoth as the key to the gate through which
the Old Ones will return. There has been some inaccurate
publicity for Forever Evil, including stills of the zombie Alfie
Creston identified as Yog-Kothag, which is totally misleading.
Yog-Kothag never appears in the film, although in an unusual
twist we do hear the mental projection of Yog-Kothäg’s voice
in the final scene. Unfortunately, this voice lacks both the
appropriate aura and ambience needed to adequately
represent one of the Old Ones.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“With this whole new Yog-Kothag angle, we are not

dealing with murders anymore. We are dealing with sacrifices”
(Marc to Leo & Reggie)
“Yog-Kothag, Miss Osborne. He is coming back, and I
am bringing him. Can you imagine how utterly grateful he will
be? Already he has made me immortal.” (Nash, announcing
his ultimate aim)
“You see, one of the requirements is that you die in
terror, for which I really do apologize…. When you have to
retire an old and trusted employee, you replace him. Miss
Osborne, I’d like you to meet my new employee.” (Nash to
Reggie as he reveals Marc as a zombie)
“Worm, thou hast failed me.” (Yog-Kothag to Parker
Nash)
 From Beyond (1986)
AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s From Beyond
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Miskatonic University
Nyarlathotep (Equivalent)

Empire Pictures. Written by Dennis Paoli, Brian Yuzna

& Stuart Gordon based on the short story From Beyond by
H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by Mac Ahlberg; Edited by
Lee Percy; Music by Richard Band; Produced by Brian Yuzna,
Charles Band (executive), Albert Band (executive); Directed
by Stuart Gordon. 85 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Jeffrey Combs..............Crawford Tillinghast (assistant to Dr.

Pretorious)
Barbara Crampton.........Katherine McMichaelson
(psychiatrist)
Ted Sorel....................Edward Pretorious (scientist
investigating the senses)
Ken Foree...................Bubba Brownlee (police sergeant
assisting Katherine)
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon...
Roberta Bloch (asylum head)
Bunny Summers...........Next door neighbor to the Pretorious
mansion
Bruce McGuire.............Jordan Fields (lawyer)
Del Russel..................Harley (ambulance driver)
Dale Wyott..................Paramedic
Karen Christenfeld........Nurse
John Learner................Shock treatment technician
Andy Miller.................Patient in straitjacket
Regina Bleeze..............Girlfriend of Pretorious

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

One year after his brilliant success with Re-Animator,

writer/director Stuart Gordon turned again to Lovecraft with
another adaptation, From Beyond. Although grounded in the
original story, Gordon went much farther afield with this
adaptation, which also suffers from a rather bedraggled last
act. Made in Italy, the picture simultaneously appears to both
embrace and ignore HPL, apparently abandoning
Lovecraftian notions at key moments of the plot. There is
also something elusive about the development and
storytelling, as if sections of the plot were discarded or left
deliberately vague for no fathomable reason. From Beyond,
although rich and admirable in many ways, fails to deliver,
unlike Re-Animator, which strikes gold at every turn. The
numerous diversions of this story, on the other hand, become
tiresome and annoying.
In the picture’s opening teaser, physicist Dr. Crawford
Tillinghast is working on a complicated electrical device called
a resonator in the attic laboratory of Dr. Edward Pretorious.
Designed to stimulate the dormant pineal gland, Crawford is
startled when the machine permits him to observe life forms
from a parallel dimension. He observes a group of strange,
floating creatures which have become visible near the large,
vibrating tongs on top of the equipment. One of these
creatures, resembling a long, white tapeworm approaches
Crawford and bites him on his face. The physicist shuts off
the equipment, and rushes off to alert Pretorious that the
device is operative. Pretorious is delighted and turns the
resonator back on. Crawford urges caution, but Pretorious,
giddy over the success of his theories, wants to experience
more. Both scientists feel the effect of their machine, until
Pretorious declares gravely, “Something is coming!” The next
door neighbor hears a commotion and shouting coming from
the lab. She calls the police, but her poodle escapes, rushing
into Pretorious’ home. She follows cautiously, fleeing when
the screaming Crawford leaves the premises in complete
panic. The police arrive, detaining the hysterical Crawford.
The camera pans back to the laboratory where the poodle is
licking the half-eaten head of Dr. Pretorious, spread out on
the floor. The credit sequence follows, as the background is
filled with wriggling, overlapping tentacles.
The main story begins in the insane asylum when the
District Attorney’s office hires Dr. Katherine McMichaelson
as a consultant to determine the sanity of Dr. Tillinghast,
prime suspect in the death of Dr. Pretorious. Aware of the
physicist’s impressive background at Miskatonic University,
Katherine is convinced that only a test of the resonator
would confirm Tillinghast’s story that Pretorious was killed by
an unknown being from another dimension. Reluctantly,
Crawford agrees to recreate the experiment for Katherine,
and they return to the Pretorious mansion, accompanied by a
police chaperon, Sergeant Bubba Brownlee.
Crawford becomes flighty and nervous as they approach
the mansion. Bubba locates a video tape of Pretorious,
showing him torturing one of his girlfriends. “He used to
bring beautiful women here,” Crawford remarks, “But it
always ended with screaming.” Reconfiguring the resonator to
operate without the computer, Crawford warns the others to
stand perfectly still when the giant tuning forks start to
vibrate, because it is motion which attracts the creatures from
the other dimension. After turning the equipment on, all
three experience an intense erotic sensation. The creatures
appear, and Bubba is attacked by a jellyfish-like being which
bites his arm. A large, invisible creature arrives, and begins to
speak to Crawford with Pretorious’ voice. The being slowly
materializes in a form resembling Dr. Pretorious, who
explains that he survived his metaphysical rite of passage.
Touching him, Crawford discovers that the doctor’s body is
gelatinous. “Bodies change,” the creature chuckles, as it
transforms into a gooey, phlegmy monster and begins to
attack them. Saying “That will be enough of that,” Crawford
shuts down the equipment and all traces of the creature
vanish.
All three are deeply affected by the experiment,
particularly Katherine, who is exhilarated. Crawford concedes
that he is pleased that the experience cleared him of the
murder charge, but he is fearful of the beast that now
possesses the mind of Pretorious. Bubba inquires about the
erotic effect, and the psychiatrist suggests that the resonator
enlarged their pineal glands which, in turn, aroused them
sexually. She wants to repeat the experiment, but Bubba
objects and Tillinghast flatly refuses. They agree to leave after
getting some sleep, but Katherine slips off and turns on the
resonator. She quickly falls prey to Pretorious, who captures
her. Crawford heads down to the basement to shut off the
power supply at its source. The expanding field, however,
permits the monster to appear in the cellar, and a colossal
worm prevents Crawford from reaching the circuit breaker.
The slobbering creature envelopes Crawford’s head. Bubba
grabs the electric cable and pulls it out of the circuit breaker,
freeing the others. Crawford remains unconscious, however,
with all of his hair dissolved by the saliva of the monster.
The terrible consequences fail to deter Katherine, who
wants Bubba to leave with Tillinghast, so that she can resume
using the resonator. The policeman refuses, claiming she has
become addicted to the machine. Searching through
Pretorious’ room, Katherine dresses up in a leather
dominatrix outfit and attempts to seduce Bubba. While they
are preoccupied, the creature uses its mental powers to
reattach the electric cable to the circuit breaker, restoring
power to the resonator. Crawford awakens and alerts the
others that the resonator is working again. Bubba is attacked
and eviscerated by a swarm of tiny monstrous insects.
Crawford’s pineal gland, stimulated by the machine, grows
and emerges out of his forehead, looking like an obscene
four inch snake. The psychiatrist is seized by the tentacles of
the monster. The Old One prepares to swallow and absorb
her as it did Pretorious, when Crawford short circuits the
power by dowsing the resonator with a fire extinguisher, and
then collapses.
When Crawford reawakens, he is back at the asylum. Dr.
Roberta Bloch, director of the hospital, is inspecting his
forehead. Jordan Fields from the D.A.’s office, after hearing
Katherine’s narrative, decides to commit her. Dr. Bloch, who
despises Katherine as a rival, orders that she be subjected to
electroshock therapy. Crawford revives and breaks out of the
hospital, rescuing Katherine as he escapes. They steal an
ambulance and drive back to the Pretorious mansion. The
psychiatrist plans to blow up the laboratory with a time
bomb. Crawford becomes delusional, and restrains Katherine.
She warns that the Old One wants to devour the entire
human race. When he tries to kiss her, she grabs his pineal
gland with her teeth and bites it off. The resonator somehow
becomes operational again, and Pretorious reappears, a mere
head protruding out of a huge, flabby, unearthly body with
pincers and talons. Crawford infuriates the monster by
claiming that Pretorious had been nothing but a eunuch. It
corners the physicist and devours him, permitting time for
Katherine to escape before the bomb explodes. The neighbor
arrives and tries to help Katherine, who merely blathers, “It
ate him,” and starts to cry hysterically as the end credits roll.
Several factors weaken From Beyond. Its humor
becomes ham-handed and frequently misfires, such as when
the camera repeatedly returns to show the street sign
“Benevolent Street” on which the Pretorious mansion is
located. Except for this sign taken from Lovecraft’s original
tale, the film almost avoids the use of Lovecrafian references.
For example, one might have expected the asylum to be called
“Arkham Asylum,” but instead, no name is given. It almost
seems an editor in post-production, inexplicably removed any
Lovecraft allusions, except for Crawford’s Miskatonic
University tee shirt. The plot really slips away in the film’s
second half. It becomes annoyingly redundant when the
script switches back and forth on finding various ways to
have the resonator turned on and off. These attempts become
awkward and ineffectual. The effect of the pineal gland
emerging from the forehead is both foolish and ridiculous.
No doubt the intent was to have it resemble the male sex
organ, but it looks so silly that it virtually subverts the last
third of the film. The end of the story is a misfire as well.
Pretorious seems to be further and further absorbed into the
monster, becoming more and more remote, but then
Crawford enrages it by suggesting that Pretorious had been
impotent. That revelation just doesn’t make sense at the
moment in the plot when it occurs. It might have in an earlier
form when Pretorious still retained some vestiges of
humanity. The sub-plot of Katherine’s rivalry with Dr. Bloch
also seems misplaced, and it becomes just another miscue in
the rather scrambled finale. The script seems to lose sight of
the central premise, that something from beyond is
threatening to enter our dimension and claim it while
eliminating mankind. The storyline seems to collapse as it
nears the finish, wasting a fine cast, superlative special effects
and a rather unusual concept. Although loaded with quality,
From Beyond fails to congeal, due to a lack of focus and a
mistaken emphasis. Incidentally, From Beyond was also made
as an amateur film by Ken Avenoso and Andrew Migliore.
This excellent vignette, made with practically no budget, at
least captured the essence of the original Lovecraft story.
Oddly enough, the short also featured music by Richard
Band.

PERFORMANCES

Jeffrey Combs undertakes the role of Crawford

Tillinghast with his typical, all-out commitment, making his
performance a genuine joy to watch, ranging from wry wit to
unbridled hysteria, as well as hitting an amazing number of
levels in between. He cleverly walks a fine line between camp
humor and straight horror. Barbara Crampton is also
excellent as the psychiatrist whose character disintegrates as
the picture unfolds. Ken Foree brings an infectious zest to his
role, as does Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, the wife of the director,
as the sadistic head of the insane asylum. The key part of Dr.
Pretorious, as depicted by Ted Sorel, however, is simply
unconvincing and a major disappointment. Since Pretorious
is the villain of the film, a sadist while human and later a mad
hybrid from beyond, this weakens the impact of the film
considerably.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Although highly popular with numerous critics, From

Beyond represents a type of screen adaptation in which the
material used to flesh out the plot seems almost the inverse
of the author’s intent. The result is a clever and innovative
script, but it changes the story into a kind of sexual allegory, a
transformation that takes it far from HPL. Some
commentators have been led astray by this, calling From
Beyond an unmasking of Lovecraft’s own subconscious. The
original seven page story clearly resists this Freudian
interpretation. In fact, the primary victims in Lovecraft’s story
are the elderly servants, Gregory and Mrs. Updike, whose
bodies vanish leaving mere piles of clothing. There is
certainly no erotic subtext here. Lovecraft’s original tale is
another permutation of the Cthulhu Mythos, uncovering a
new portal to the dimension favored by the Old Ones, “some
vast incredible temple of long dead gods.” The pineal gland,
described as “the great sense organ of organs,” deals
primarily with sight in the story, without any hedonistic
component. In reality, the pineal gland is a vestigial organ
possessed by all vertebrates, so ascribing an erotic function to
it is not impossible, but it is not anywhere near what HPL
intended.
The actual elements of the story carried over to the film
are considerable. Crawford Tillinghast is the only name
utilized in the script, being the central character, the scientist
who investigates the pineal gland. The character of Dr.
Pretorious is undoubtedly a tribute to the character played by
Ernest Thesiger in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Lovecraft’s friend and correspondent, Robert Bloch, is also
honored in the name of the asylum director, Dr. Roberta
Bloch. The setting of the story is apparently Providence,
since the unnamed narrator carries a gun since he was
mugged in East Providence. The film’s simulation of various
floating creatures rendered visible by the device is taken
directly from the text. “The living objects were inky, jellish
monstrosities which flabbily quivered in harmony with the
vibrations from the machine. They were present in loathsome
profusion, and I saw to my horror that they overlapped; that
they were semi-fluid and capable of passing through one
another and through what we know as solids.” The device
also serves as a beacon to the strange, powerful beings. In the
text, Tillinghast exclaims, “I have harnessed the shadows that
stride from world to world to sow death and madness.”
Although he doesn’t name them, he is talking about the Old
Ones. Likewise the film doesn’t name them, but they are
depicted in abundance. The Old One who absorbs Pretorious
is most likely Nyarlathotep, the Old One who enjoys using a
thousand different forms and disguises. The many scenes in
which Pretorious is transformed again and again are
magnificent. In these moments at least, the picture excels.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I used to play pro football. We were all crazy.” (Bubba

to Crawford, upon their introduction)
“He was a genius. It was just that the five senses weren’t
enough for him. He wanted more.” (Crawford discussing
Pretorious)
“Didn’t we just almost all get eaten by it?” (Bubba to
Katherine) “All it takes is a hand on the switch. If it appears,
you make it disappear.” (Katherine) “I got a better idea. How
about if we disappear out the door.” (Bubba) “Don’t you
understand? This is the greatest discovery since van
Leeuwenhook first looked through a microscope and saw an
amoeba.” (Katherine) “Yeah, but he wasn’t down there with
the amoeba.” (Bubba)
“He is trying to start the resonator, from beyond.”
(Crawford’s warning after he regains consciousness)
“Humans are such easy prey.” (The Old One possessing
Pretorious as he prepares to devour Katherine)
 The Haunted Palace (1963)
AKA The Curse of Arkham
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Cthulhu (References)
Graves and Ghouls
Necronomicon
Yog-Sothoth

American International Pictures & Alta Vista

Productions. Written by Charles Beaumont based on the
novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft &
the poem The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe;
Photographed by Floyd Crosby; Edited by Ronald Sinclair;
Music by Ronald Stein; Produced by Roger Corman, James
H. Nicholson (executive) and Samuel Z. Arkoff (executive);
Directed by Roger Corman. 85 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Vincent Price..............Charles Dexter Ward (19th century

antiquarian) Joseph Curwen (18th century sorcerer)
Debra Paget.................Ann Ward (Charles’ wife)
Frank Maxwell............Marinus Bicknell Willett (Arkham
physician) Hiriam Willett (his 18th century ancestor)
Lon Chaney................Simon Ome (caretaker & warlock)
Milton Parsons...........Jabez Hutchinson (Ward’s lawyer &
warlock)
Cathie Merchant...........Hester Tillinghast (Curwen’s mistress)
Leo Gordon.................Edgar Weeden (leading Arkham
citizen) Ezra Weeden (his ancestor who burned Curwen)
Barboura Morris...........Mrs. Weeden (Edgar’s wide)
Elisha Cook Jr.............Peter Smith (Arkham villager) Micah
Smith (his 18th century ancestor)
John Dierdas...............Jacob West (Arkham villager) Benjamin
West (his 18th century ancestor)
Guy Wilkerson............Gideon Leach (Arkham villager)
Gideon Leach (his 18th century ancestor)
Harry Ellerbe...............Arkham minister
I. Stanford Jolley..........Carmoody (19th century coachman)
Darlene Lucht..............Miss Finch (18th century victim of
Curwen)
Bruno Ve Sota.............Bruno (bartender at Burning Man
Tavern)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

The Haunted Palace is the first film openly based on the

writings of H. P. Lovecraft, even though the title is based
upon a short poem by Edgar Allan Poe, allowing the
production to fit into Roger German’s series of Poe films
starring Vincent Price, following House of Usher (1960), The
Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1961) and The
Raven (1962). In fact, The Haunted Palace is 99% Lovecraft
and 1% Poe. Vincent Price had initially suggested to
American International that they consider doing a Lovecraft
story for a future film, and he later commented that The
Haunted Palace “had nothing to do with Edgar Allan Poe.”
The inclusion of the Poe poem was suggested by executive
producer James H. Nicholson solely for marketing purposes,
since he believed that Lovecraft was largely unknown by the
general public. The picture is a genuine landmark of
Lovecraft cinema, noteworthy for the first onscreen
appearance of the Necronomicon, the first mention of
Cthulhu and the first depiction of the haunted town of
Arkham (although the original story is actually set in
Pawtuxet, Rhode Island.) It serves as a fairly respectable
screen debut for Lovecraft, with a reasonably intelligent
script, a stellar cast, good if not outstanding production
values and a memorable musical score by Ronald Stein. The
film was only moderately successful when released in the
United States, but it was a much greater success in continental
Europe, particularly France, where Lovecraft’s name was
stressed in the publicity campaign: “H. P. Lovecraft’s La
Malediction d’ Arkham, un film de Roger Corman.” The
Lovecraft name was promoted heavily in Australia as well,
where the picture became a runaway success and one of the
highest grossing films of the decade.
The film opens with a brilliant credit sequence designed
by Armand Acosta, in which a spider is depicted weaving its
web, finally capturing a butterfly at the precise moment Roger
Corman’s name appears as producer and director. The action
begins in the village of Arkham, Massachusetts in 1771,
where the leading town residents are planning to raid the
“palace” of Joseph Curwen, whom they suspect of being a
warlock, somehow involving the women of Arkham in some
ghastly rituals. Ezra Weeden and Peter Smith follow a young
woman who visits Curwen’s abode in the middle of the night.
The woman, in a hypnotic stupor, is led by Curwen and his
mistress, Hester Tillinghast, down into a large dungeon where
they tie her before an iron grate which is slowly opened.
Curwen begins a Latin incantation. Meanwhile, a mob
organized by Weeden start to pound at the heavy door of the
building, demanding entrance. Curwen finally appears at the
door, and the crowd demands to see the young woman in
order to question her. When they observe her dazed
appearance, the mob seizes Curwen. They drag him to a tree,
which they prepare to torch. Weeden spares Hester, however,
who had once been his fiancée. Curwen pronounces a curse
against the town of Arkham and the descendants of all its
citizens. Weeden sets his torch on the straw that is piled at
Curwen’s feet. The warlock screams in agony as the flames
devour him, yet fail to consume the tree.
The scene fades and a title card announces that 110
years have passed in Arkham, while on the soundtrack
Vincent Price declaims a verse of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The
Haunted Palace.” It is a foggy night, as a coach pulls up
outside The Burning Man Tavern, bringing Charles Dexter
Ward and his wife Ann to Arkham. Ward and his wife enter
the tavern, where the patrons stare at them with open
hostility. He steps up to the tavern keeper and asks him
directions to the Curwen estate, but he is brushed off. Edgar
Weeden asks Ward’s identity, and he explains that he is the
great great grandson of Joseph Curwen and the inheritor of
the Curwen property. Weeden explains that the estate is
actually an ancient palace, brought over from Europe stone
by stone and rebuilt. He refuses to give him directions.
Another villager explains that the place has been abandoned
for over a century and is unfit for habitation. Finally Dr.
Willett comes forward to show them the way. After a long
walk, the pair arrive at the palace and explore the large main
hall. Over the fireplace they see a dramatic portrait of Joseph
Curwen which shows that Charles Dexter Ward is his
identical image. This painting of Vincent Price is the most
essential prop in the film, since it apparently serves as the
repository for Curwen’s soul. It is decidedly unlike a typical
18th century portrait. Instead, this brooding, dramatic work
appears to be inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s famous Self-
portrait which he painted for Dr. Gauchet. Van Gogh’s
penetrating stare and the intense, swirling blue background is
effectively duplicated in the Curwen portrait. (In the novel,
the Curwen portrait is also of great importance, as it leads to
Charles Dexter Ward’s obsession with his ancestor. Lovecraft
attributes the portrait to Cosmo Alexander (1724–1772), the
real life teacher of Gilbert Stuart. In depicting this brooding
painting, Lovecraft describes Curwen as wearing an
Albermarle wig and possessing a “thin, calm, undistinguished
face.” Yet, there was “something unwholesome about it.”)
Ward and his wife ramble through the palace, at one
point encountering a rattlesnake in the kitchen which Charles
kills with a meat cleaver. They are startled by a strange
individual, Simon One, who claims to be the caretaker of the
estate. Simon explains that he was hired by Jabez Hutchinson,
the attorney who informed the Wards about their inheritance.
The Wards are reluctant to stay, but Simon convinces them to
spend the night in the bedroom which he has prepared for
them. Ward returns to the main hall, where he finds himself
fascinated by his ancestor’s portrait.
The next morning, Ward tells his wife that he has
decided to remain in the palace, intending to oversee repairs
so the estate can be sold. Ann is startled when he suggests
that she return to Boston. He then escorts her to the village
where they encounter a group of mutants, disfigured and
mindless creatures who are set upon the Wards by the
villagers. It seems almost every family in Arkham has at least
one mutant among their children, a corruption of the town’s
bloodlines which dates back to the time of Joseph Curwen
and his experiments on the women of Arkham. That evening,
Dr. Willett visits the Wards and relates the stories and
eventual fate of Joseph Curwen. The townsfolk, he reveals,
are frightened by Ward’s presence since he resembles his
notorious ancestor. Dr. Willett explains to Ward the story of
the Necronomicon and the Cthulhu Mythos. (Remarkably, in
a few sentences, the script effectively sums up the central
thesis behind Lovecraft’s work.)
Charles Dexter Ward and his wife are stunned and
horrified by Willett’s comments, and they plan to leave
Arkham in the morning. That night, however, the spirit of
Joseph Curwen takes possession of Ward. Simon One and
Jabez Hutchinson, Curwen’s two warlock companions, attend
to him, explaining that a hundred and ten years have passed
since his immolation. Simon and Jabez themselves have not
aged, due to their magical powers. Simon explains that
Curwen’s earlier descendants were “useless” but that the
antiquarian Charles Dexter Ward appears to be a perfect host.
Curwen is delighted when Simon hands him the
Necronomicon, and he exclaims, “The book! The book!” He
then begins to weaken, and Curwen announces that Ward’s
willpower is strong, and that it will take additional time before
he can gain complete possession.
Ann comes downstairs and discovers her husband in a
stupor. He claims he must have been walking in his sleep. He
confesses to his wife that as much as he wants to, he may be
unable to leave the Curwen palace. Later, under Curwen’s
direction, Simon and Jabez dig up the grave of Hester
Tillinghast. In the Burning Man Tavern, Weeden, Smith and
the other villagers plan a course of action to oust Ward from
the community. Dr. Willett urges them to remain calm, but
Weeden mocks him, since he has no wife or “half-witted
thing” locked in his attic. Curwen, Simon and Jabez bring the
body of Hester into the dungeon of the palace, where they
invoke passages from the Necronomicon but fail to restore
her to life.
The next morning, Ward has regained control and he
attempts to leave with Ann. Simon delays their departure,
asking for a check to cover his expenses. Left alone in front
of the portrait, Ward again falls under the Curwen spell. He
tells Simon that his control is now permanent. He tries to
frighten Ann into leaving, finally persuading Dr. Willett to
take Ann into his custody since she is having a breakdown.
Curwen next plans to take revenge on the descendants of the
villagers who killed him. Simon and Jabez urge him to forget
the past and concentrate his efforts on their plan to restore
the Old Ones, since Yog-Sothoth is waiting. Curwen’s lust for
vengeance overwhelms him, however, and he plots and
arranges the deaths of Ezra Weeden, Peter Smith and Gideon
Leach, burning them alive.
Dr. Willett, learning that the villagers are planning a raid
on the palace, returns there with Ann to rescue Ward before
he is attacked. Meanwhile, Curwen is successful in raising
Hester from the dead. Breaking into the palace, Willett
discovers the secret entrance leading to the dungeon. When
he finds the Necronomicon, he realizes that all the legends
surrounding Joseph Curwen are true. The doctor notices a
strange iron grate in the floor. Looking down through it, he
sees the image of something monstrous. Curwen and his
cohorts appear and seize Ann, tying her before the grate.
When it is slowly opened, a shadowy being, presumably Yog-
Sothoth, starts to emerge. Ann screams.
A hostile mob of villagers carrying torches storms the
palace. They seize Curwen’s portrait and toss it into the
fireplace. At that instant, in the basement, Curwen collapses,
and Charles Dexter Ward regains control of his body. He
rushes over to Ann, releasing her. Simon and Jabez drag him
aside, and Ann escapes with Dr. Willett. As they ran upstairs,
the entire building has caught on fire. Once Ann is safe,
Willett returns to the dungeon to search for Ward. He finds
him lying sprawled on a stairway. Simon, Jabez and Hester
have disappeared, and Yog-Sothoth has vanished from the
scene as well. Willett assists the groggy Ward to safety
outside. He leans against the tree upon which Curwen was
burned 110 years earlier. “I don’t know how I can ever repay
you for what you have done, Dr. Willett, but I intend to try,”
Ward slowly remarks. When he turns around, a blast of
thunder is heard, making it seem likely that the spirit of
Joseph Curwen has again resumed control over Charles
Dexter Ward. As the film ends, the last stanza of Edgar Allan
Poe’s “The Haunted Palace” appears on the screen,
simultaneously read by Vincent Price on the soundtrack.

While, like a ghastly rapid river,

Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
And laugh—but smile no more.
 No doubt most viewers were dumbfounded concerning
the relevance of the Poe quote, which seems like exactly what
it is, a superfluous add-on. In fact, the last three minutes are
the weakest in the film, making the climax seemed rushed and
slap-dash. What exactly happened to Hester, Simon and
Jabez? Did Yog-Sothoth kill them or take them away? Or did
they merely flee, abandoning Curwen since Charles Dexter
Ward had regained control of his body. In any case, the wrap-
up is very disappointing, and the flip-flop over whether Ward
is Ward at the end or Curwen again is also very tepid. It is
also amazing how Curwen’s stone palace erupts into flames as
if it were papier-mâché. Another overriding weakness is the
uncertain editing, in which one week is cut as if it were a
single evening. Of course, this dreamlike confusion
contributes to the surreal atmosphere of the film so it is not a
total misstep. The idea, however, of having a rattlesnake
nesting in the kitchen of an abandoned building in New
England is totally ludicrous. The middle name of Edgar Allan
Poe is mistakenly spelled “Alien” in the opening credits.
However, after enumerating these flaws, the remainder of the
film is rather good. The script is literate, and writer Charles
Beaumont must be praised for his efforts. His summary of
the Cthulhu Mythos, reproduced in the “Notable Quotes”
section, is particularly noteworthy. The veteran cast performs
excellently, and the oversized sets, the fine use of color and
the overall pacing are admirable. The makeup used for the
mutants is rather primitive, but it somehow remains effective.
Of course, Corman had no funds with which to do a
convincing or even an adequate job of portraying Yog-
Sothoth, merely using a blurred and out of focus image when
the Old One appears. On film, it is always seems more
challenging to suggest the presence of an Old One than
actually showing it, but German’s compromise in this case is
just another disappointment. Considering the speed with
which the film was shot, it is remarkable that the film is as
comprehendible as it is. Future director Francis Ford Coppola
was just breaking into films as a jack-of-all-trades for Roger
Corman at this time, and he served as dialogue coach on the
film.

PERFORMANCES

Vincent Price does a superb job as Ward/Curwen,

effectively and seamlessly making the transition whenever
necessary. Like Joanne Woodward in The Three Faces of Eve
(1957), he crafts his multiple performances to appear as
effortless as possible. Price is most effective in the scene in
which he relates to Dr. Willett the story of his mission to
bring forth the Old Ones. Lighting candles with genuine
Grand Guignol relish while preparing to begin his ritual, he
softens his voice magnificently when he admits that he
himself does not fully understand his mission. The remaining
cast members are uniformly excellent. Lon Chaney is splendid
in one of his last major films, and it is regrettable that his role
wasn’t larger. Milton Parsons is an outstanding character actor
who appeared in countless film roles, including four colorful
Charlie Chan mysteries. He adds the perfect touch to the role
of Jabez Hutchinson. Elisha Cook, Jr., another venerable
screen character actor, particularly noted for his many film
noir appearances, is equally masterful as Micah and Peter
Smith. The scene in which he shows off his webbed fingers is
simply great. Other Corman regulars, Leo Gordon, Barboura
Morris, Bruno Ve Sota and Frank Maxwell, also shine.
Maxwell underplays his role to perfection, providing perfect
support for Vincent Price in their scenes together. Finally,
Debra Paget’s role would normally be considered a thankless
one, but she handles it with such genuine appeal that she adds
considerably to the success of the film. This was Paget’s final
screen appearance.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

H. P. Lovecraft’s novel The Case of Charles Dexter

Ward is not an easy one to adapt, but the script by Charles
Beaumont is serious, thoughtful and intelligent, largely
faithful to Lovecraft in most respects. The major alteration of
the story is the possession aspect In the original novel,
Charles Dexter Ward is not possessed. He actually reanimates
the corpse of his ancestor, Joseph Curwen, who later kills
him and takes his place. There are a number of other changes
which are also understandable. The main setting of the novel
is Rhode Island in the mid-1920s. Certainly, in shifting the
tale back to 1881, Beaumont makes a far more interesting and
flamboyant period piece. Of course, there is no palace in the
original. Curwen’s estate is a rambling farmhouse. The general
outlines of the characters and events, however, are largely
drawn from the novel. Curwen’s two unageless warlock
companions, Orne and Hutchinson, are drawn directly from
the book, although Hutchinson’s first name is Edward not
Jabez. Curwen mistress, Hester Tillinghast, is called Eliza
Tillinghast in the novel, and Curwen marries her, so she
becomes Eliza Curwen. Most of the other characters are
similarly taken directly from the book, including Ezra
Weeden, Benjamin West and Dr. Marinus Willett. Micah
Smith is actually Eleazar Smith. The town used as the setting
of the novel is not Arkham, but Pawtuxet (a corruption of
Pawtucket). A number of Latin incantations, spoken so
eloquently by Vincent Price in the film, are based upon the
actual text in the book. That is not to say that Beaumont
didn’t invent a number of elements in his script. There is no
Ann Ward in the novel; however, since Curwen’s only child
was a daughter named Ann, the use of the name seems
appropriate. The inclusion of a concerned wife for Ward is a
reasonable addition. There is no revenge subplot, however, or
mutants. The horrible creatures resulting from Curwen’s
experiments are far more horrifying in the original. Given the
limitations and parameters of Corman horror films in the
early 1960s, the adaptation is far more than adequate.
Screenwriter Charles Beaumont did his homework.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Well, it looks cursed, I’ll give it that!” (Ward to his wife,

describing his initial reaction to Arkham)
“One becomes accustomed to the darkness here.”
(Simon to the Wards after introducing himself as the
caretaker)
“He was a strange man. There were terrible rumors
about him. It was thought, Mr. Ward, that he had gained
possession of a book called the Necronomicon… (which)
held enough secrets to give a man absolute power. Of course,
every mythology has such a book, but the Necronomicon
supposedly contained formulas through which one could
communicate with or even summon the Elder Gods, the
Dark Ones from beyond who had once ruled the world, and
now merely waiting for an opportunity to regain control:
Cthulhu! Yog-Sothoth! Dreadful rubbish, I know. Still the
people of Arkham believed it. They claimed that Joseph
Curwen and two other warlocks were trying to open the gates
to these Dark Gods…. They claim that Joseph Curwen was
trying to mate those beings with humans.” (Dr. Willett to
Ward, explaining the rumors surrounding his ancestor)
“We began a project a few years ago, but unfortunately it
was interrupted. We’re most anxious to pick it up again…the
most important ever attempted of humans, Dr. Willett, more
important than you can ever imagine, therefore I fear beyond
your understanding. In fact, we don’t fully understand
ourselves.” (Curwen to Dr. Willett)
 In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
Rating: *****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Dream Imagery
Old Ones

New Line Cinema. Written by Michael DeLuca;

Photographed by Gary B. Kibbe; Edited by Edward
A.Warschilka; Music by John Carpenter & Jim Lang;
Produced by Sandy King & Michael DeLuca (executive);
Directed by John Carpenter. 95 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Sam Neill..................John J. Trent (insurance investigator)

Jürgen Prochnow..........Sutter Cane (horror novelist)
Julie Carmen...............Linda Styles (horror fiction editor)
Charlton Heston...........Jackson Harglow (head of publishing
firm)
David Warner...............Dr. Wrenn (psychiatrist)
John Glover................Saperstein (asylum administrator)
Bernie Casey...............Robinson (insurance company owner)
Peter Jason..................Paul (insurance scam artist)
Conrad Bergschneider....Cane’s agent & ax wielder
Marvin Scott...............Television newsman
Kevin Rushton............First asylum guard
Gene Mack..................Second asylum guard Wilhelm von
Homburg. Simon (Hobb’s End bar customer)
Frances Bay.................Mrs. Pickman (Hobb’s End hotel
owner)
Katherine Ashby..........Sylvia (Harglow’s secretary)
Ben Gilbert.................Teen in the alley
Dennis O’Connor.........Cop with nightstick
Paul Brogeren..............Scrawny teen in the bookstore
Sharon Dyer................Homeless lady
Sean Ryan..................Bicycle boy
Lance Paton................Little boy outside the church
Jacelyn Holmes............Little girl outside the church
Hayden Christensen......Boy selling Boston Globe
Carry Robbins.............Truck driver who gives Trent a lift
Sean Roberge..............Motel desk clerk who gives Trent the
book
Robert Lewis Bush.......Motel man who rebuffs Trent
Louise Beaven.............Talkative old lady on bus
Cliff Woolner..............Bus driver
Deborah Theaker..........Information desk woman
Chuck Campbell..........Book customer axed by Trent
Carolyn Tweedle..........Nurse
Thorn Bell..................Farmer
Jack Moore-Wickham...Johnny (Simon’s son)
George Barrows...........JRo-Man (monster in a movie on
television)
Claudia Barrett.............Alice (girl carried off by Ro-Man)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

One of John Carpenter’s finest efforts, In the Mouth of

Madness is a brilliant horror fugue, a scintillating, fresh and
intricate tribute to Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. It is
also one of the most intellectually challenging horror films of
the past thirty years. To fully appreciate it, a viewer has to be
thoroughly familiar with the Mythos, HPL, Stephen King and
fantastic cinema dating back to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(1919). Even with that, multiple viewings still may be
necessary, as with the best cinema. Audience members who
just watch it superficially would find it confusing, since there
is no obvious explanation about the film’s events. There are
no clear-cut resolutions, no enemy is conquered and the
monsters are outside the norm of traditional horror. Neither
does the hero wind up in the arms of the heroine at the end.
Yet the plot’s ambiguity is one of the aspects that makes In
the Mouth of Madness so disturbing and phenomenal.
Undoubtedly, this unique film’s reputation will continue to
grow, one of the few indisputable masterpieces of the genre.
As the film opens, insurance investigator John J. Trent is
being committed in a large, brightly lit insane asylum that
resembles an avant garde museum. He reacts violently,
kicking the guards as they toss him into a roomy padded cell.
When he screams, “I’m not insane,” the other inmates react
with similar cries. Saperstein, the asylum administrator, calms
them down by playing “We’ve Only Just Begun” over the
loudspeaker system. Trent sinks to the floor, moaning, “Not
the Carpenters too,” a statement which also serves as a
Hitchcock-style cameo for the director.
Later, Trent is visited by a psychiatrist, Dr. Wrenn, who
questions him about the events that led to his commitment.
Reluctantly, Trent talks about how he became involved in the
case of Sutter Cane. A flashback begins in which Trent cracks
a phony insurance claim, and the company owner asks him to
handle another case. Arcane Books, the publisher of the
country’s most popular novelist, Sutter Cane, has just filed a
claim regarding the writer’s disappearance. While discussing
the case at a restaurant, a madman with an ax approaches
Trent, asking “Do you read Sutter Cane?” Police shoot the
attacker as he raises his weapon, and the stunned investigator
gasps in astonishment.
When Trent visits Arcane Books, a major New York
publisher, he meets with Jackson Harglow, the head of the
firm, and learns some interesting facts. Cane had completely
vanished about two months earlier. The last person to hear
from the writer was his agent, who received in the mail
several chapters of his seventh and latest novel, In the Mouth
of Madness. In fact, the agent was the deranged man who
attacked Trent with an ax. Although Harglow has filed the
insurance claim, he would prefer if Trent could locate both
the missing book and the writer. Trent picks up the six earlier
Cane novels and starts to read them. The writing has a
strange disorienting effect on him, stimulating dreams and
bizarre visions. For example, Trent keeps imagining a
secluded alley where he once saw a cop battering a rowdy
teen with his nightstick. He sees the scene again and again,
but now the cop’s face is bloated and distorted. Cane’s agent
also appears in the alley with a horde of ax killers. Finishing
the novels, Trent lines the six paperbacks on the table in front
of him. The illustrations give him an idea. He cuts them out
of the cover, and fits them together like a jigsaw puzzle. He is
surprised when they form the perfect outline of the state of
New Hampshire. He brings his discovery to Harglow, who
states that he was unaware of the hidden message, since the
cover art had been designed by Cane himself. Trent believes
that Cane is hiding out in New Hampshire and proposes that
he track him down using Cane’s sixth novel, The Hobb’s End
Horror, as a guide. Harglow suggests that he bring Linda
Styles, Cane’s editor, along on his hunt. Since she is the
individual most familiar with Cane’s work, her assistance
could prove to be a real help.
Trent and Styles crisscross the area in which the
investigator deduces that Cane is hiding. Styles takes over the
driving after dark, and she encounters a strange figure on the
road riding bicycle. At first he appears as a youth and then as
an old man. This individual keeps reappearing on the road,
but when Styles hits him with the car, the figure quickly
resumes his place on the bicycle and pedals off. While Trent
sleeps, Styles passes through a dreamworld portal (disguised
as a covered bridge) and emerges in broad daylight in Hobb’s
End. Trent awakens, congratulating Styles on locating the
place. The editor is dumbstruck and cannot explain how they
wound up in the supposedly fictional town. She notes how
the locale corresponds exactly to the town in the novel.
They check into the local hotel, the setting of the
Hobb’s End Horror, and like the book, the establishment is
operated by a strange old woman named Mrs. Pickman. From
his room, Trent sees an ornate Byzantine church. He reads
aloud from Cane’s novel which describes the church precisely.
They witness a series of odd events. An armed vigilante
group attempts to break into the church. The doors of the
edifice start to flap open and close. Simon, the leader of the
group, spots his son, Johnny, just inside the doorway.
Suddenly, Johnny transforms into Sutter Cane, a
thunderstorm breaks out and a pack of savage dogs turn up,
attacking and dispersing the crowd.
Trent is outraged, accusing Styles and her company of
staging the entire escapade as a publicity stunt, expecting the
investigator to issue a report detailing these events. Instead,
he vows to find someone in the town who will “come clean”
and expose the fraud. Styles denies his assertion, and
moreover declares that she is genuinely frightened by these
events. She had also read the sample chapters of In the
Mouth of Madness, and reveals that the book is apocalyptical,
describing the downfall of the human race, with a chain of
events that begins in Hobb’s End. Dismissing her fears, Trent
heads off around town to question the residents. He strikes
up a conversation with Simon in the local bar. The townsman
claims that Cane has conjured up something evil at the
church. It has taken over the children, and it soon will do the
same with the adults.
Styles goes to the church to confront Sutter Cane. She
finds him at the typewriter, working on In the Mouth of
Madness. The author mockingly tells her, “You can edit this
one from the inside, looking out.” He tells her that his new
book is not fiction, but reality, and it will be the vehicle which
will instigate the change, opening the way for the Old Ones
to return. He pushes her head against his manuscript, and the
entire story crawls into her mind by osmosis. At the same
time, a montage of images flashes across the screen. He then
asks softly, “Do you like my ending? Any suggestions?”
That night, when Trent returns to the hotel, he finds
Styles in an hysterical state. She stammers, “I saw the book.
Don’t look at it. Don’t read it, John.” The editor then passes
out, and Trent looks around for help, but finds none. When
he returns to Styles’ room, a shadow with many tentacles
appears to absorb Styles. Smiling, she reaches out to him, and
Trent heads to his car, driving to the center of town. He
encounters a mob, bearing torches, rallying around the figure
of Styles, and Trent is bewildered how she got there. He
enters the bar and discovers Simon, holding a rifle against his
head. “Reality is not what it used to be,” Simon observes.
When Trent implores him not to pull the trigger, the man
replies, “I have to. He wrote it this way.”
Returning to his car, Styles is there, and attempts to
throw her arms around him. She says, “Cane is writing that he
wants me to kiss you.” Trent attempts to drive off and
escape, but he is unable to locate a route out of town. He
blacks out, and wakes up, disoriented, in the confessional
booth at the church. Sutter Cane is seated in the adjoining
priest’s compartment, and they talk. The insurance
investigator is desperate for a rational explanation, and Cane
replies that it is Trent’s nature to always be looking for a con
game. He must be prepared for a new reality with the return
of the Old Ones. To do so, he must read his new book.
Another frenzied montage follows, and Trent finds
himself on the floor in front of the typing Cane in the nave
of the church. The author removes the last sheet of paper,
announces that he has completed In the Mouth of Madness
and gives the manuscript to Trent, telling him to take it “back
to the world.” He also reveals to Trent that he is not a real
person, only a character in his final novel. He exclaims, “You
are what I wrote!” The investigator is stunned, maintaining,
“I am not a piece of fiction.” “I think, therefore, you are,” the
author replies. He urges him to go back to the real world, and
Cane plans to be absorbed by the Old Ones. He reaches up to
his forehead, and peals it back as if it were wrapping paper.
He continues to tear, creating a tear in the fabric of time and
space that leads directly to the realm of the Old Ones. Styles,
who reappeared a few minutes earlier, starts reading aloud
from In the Mouth of Madness, proving to Trent that every
action he is taking has already been described in the
manuscript. Trent peeks through the portal, and sees
monstrous shapes emerging from the darkness. Styles hands
him the manuscript, refusing to come with him. He turns and
starts to run down the corridor that Cane had indicated, as
the monstrous beings continue to pursue him. Suddenly, in a
flash, Trent finds himself on a rural road in broad daylight.
He sees a boy delivering The Boston Globe, and asks him if
he has ever heard of Hobb’s End. When the boy shakes his
head, Trent throws away the manuscript and walks down the
road.
The remaining scenes of the flashback are disjointed
and dreamlike, and do not proceed in a linear fashion. He
checks into a motel and watches Robot Monster (1953) on
television. Trent returns to New York, traveling by bus, but
his trip is disturbed by startling dreams. He keeps attempting
to dispose of the manuscript, but it somehow always returns
to his hands. He visits the publisher, Jackson Harglow, who
claims that he never heard of Linda Styles. The publisher
explains to Trent that he handed in Cane’s manuscript to him
months earlier. In the Mouth of Madness is already on the
best seller list, breaking all records, and a movie is in the
works. Trent goes to a bookstore, and sees his own image in
publicity posters for the novel. He goes berserk and attacks a
youth emerging from a bookstore.
The flashback ends, and Dr. Wrenn has no comment
when Trent asks him if civilization is breaking down. As the
psychiatrist leaves, Trent tells him he feels safer locked away
now. In ten years, he predicts, the human race will be only a
myth. Trent falls asleep and is awakened by screams. When
things suddenly turn quiet, he emerges from his cell and finds
the asylum deserted. He leaves the building and heads to the
city, which is also totally deserted. He notices a movie theater
that is advertising In the Mouth of Madness on its marquee
as the attraction. Entering, he finds the show in progress, and
he watches himself on screen in earlier scenes from the film.
He collapses in uncontrollable laughter, and a final, intense
montage sweeps by, leading directly to the final credits.
In discussing this film, John Carpenter was most
intrigued by the concept of dual reality. At first, the audience
and the film’s characters naturally accept the surface level
interpretation of reality. Then, this is undermined through
cinematic techniques, until we learn that the events of the
story are actually fictional characters brought to life. This
difficult concept had been used in several episodes of The
Twilight Zone, but seldom attempted on a feature length
scale. Editing becomes vastly more important, since the quick
images seen in the montage sequences are vital to the story.
The cinematography also become crucial in presenting the
story. In both cases, In the Mouth of Madness succeeds in
exceptional fashion, particularly in conveying the dream
imagery that becomes increasingly nightmarish. The special
effects, makeup and the use of sound are impressive.
Unfortunately, the film’s musical soundtrack is a bummer.
Director John Carpenter, a part-time composer, unfortuately
strikes out with his musical efforts. The picture was shot in
Canada, and the location footage representing central New
Hampshire is flat and entirely wrong. It seems more like
Indiana than the area of the White Mountains. The genuine
flavor of New England is missing. The only visual element
attempted is a covered bridge that appears briefly in one
sequence. The screenplay is very good for the most part,
although there are a few rough edges. Some additional
development as Trent becomes involved in the Cane case
might have been useful. Several critics knocked the film for
its script loopholes, but most of them missed the fact that
these loopholes were deliberate. For example, at the end,
when Trent goes to the movie theater, the film is running,
although everything else in the city seems to be abandoned.
Many viewers fail to recognize this as simply a loony
metaphor. Note that Trent even manages to procure for
himself a tub of popcorn, which on another level represents
traditional reality to which he wishes to cling. One could
easily consider the film to be a black comedy, geared in
particular to those familiar with the horror genre. Hobb’s
End, for instance, can also be seen as a reference to Five
Million Years to Earth (1968), the Quatermass film in which a
nest of strange creatures is located while excavating a subway
tunnel in an area known as Hobb’s End. It turns out Hobb is
ancient term for the devil, calling to mind the classic The
Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), also set in New Hampshire.
The brief film clips of Robot Monster, an absurd horror
turkey beloved by film fans, is another bit of inside humor.
Finally, the stylized covers of the horror paperbacks and
posters capture the style and flair of horror graphics, a rich
and fascinating vein of commercial art. All these bonuses are
in addition to the Lovecraft tributes.

PERFORMANCES

New Zealand-born Sam Neill had recently completed

one of the blockbuster roles of his career, Jurassic Park
(1993), when he was approached to star in In the Mouth of
Madness, an offer he quickly accepted as a challenging
opportunity unlikely to ever reoccur. Neill deserves full credit
for tackling the difficult part, endowing it with a distinctive
intensity since the film would ultimately succeed or fail based
on his ability to have the audience experience the film
through his eyes. He carries them through his opening
insanity, his lucidity and arrogance in the flashback, his
disintegration and his ultimate acceptance of the irrational
but inescapable conclusion concerning his origin. Neill is
successful at every step of the process, a unique
accomplishment that seems even more impressive with
repeated vie wings. The same is true for Jürgen Prochnow,
the talented but eccentric German actor who has played an
odd assortment of roles from the U-Boat captain in Das
Boot (1981), the resurrected Christ in The Seventh Sign
(1988) to the log man in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
(1992). He was an ideal choice for the part, since an American
actor might been seen as a pseudo Stephen King. No one
would think that, however, of the exotic and other-worldly
Prochnow, who delivers one of his finest performances. The
other noted stars in the film, Charlton Heston and David
Warner, hit the right notes perfectly in their cameo-sized
endeavors. Initially, Julie Carmen makes an insubstantial
impression as Linda Styles, but on repeated vie wings her
quiet, understated performance seems just right, and in her
last scenes she is very effective in a series of rather perplexing
variations. Peter Jason is memorable as the bumbling, wealthy
con man in a clever scene that seems almost a parody of a
scene from Double Indemnity (1944), in which insurance
investigator Edward G. Robinson sniffs out a phony claim.
Jason provides one of the film’s outright hilarious moments.
John Glover provides the other whimsical role as the asylum
administrator who is rather mad himself. When he soothes
the inmates by playing “We’ve Only Just Begun,” they all sing
along. The rest of the film’s humor is quite dark.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

In the Mouth of Madness is one of the finest cinematic

pastiches of Lovecraft ever made, one that is quite faithful to
the essence of the Cthulhu Mythos. The title is a reference to
HPL’s novel, At the Mountains of Madness. The six other
Sutter Cane novels, seen briefly with colorful paperback
covers, also have Lovecraftian titles: The Whisperer in the
Dark (HPL’s The Whisperer in Darkness); The Thing in the
Basement (HPL’s The Thing on the Doorstep); The Hobb’s
End Horror (HPL’s The Dunwich Horror); Monsters Out of
Time (HPL’s The Shadow Out of Time); The Feeling (HPL’s
The Festival); and The Breathing Tunnel (the only one
without an obvious HPL model, although one could suggest
The Lurking Fear as a remote possibility). Sutter Cane
himself bears little resemblance to Lovecraft, and although
his name suggests Stephen King, the script attempts to defuse
this affinity by stating that Cane outsells King. The situation
in which Cane has the insight that his horror fiction is true is
prefigured in the magnificent story HPL by Gahan Wilson,
written several years prior to the film. In this fantasy,
Lovecraft is extracted from his death bed by one of the Old
Ones, Shub-Niggurath. Shortly before his rescue, Lovecraft
wonders, “What if those awesome entities I had spent my
whole life conjuring up…were real? Suppose my minutely
detailed, precise visualizations of all their horrendous
particulars down to their last tentacle and claw, had not been
my creation at all, but a slow unveiling of actual, existing
beings?” This is very similar to the realization that comes to
Sutter Cane in the film. Then, the basis of the entire plot, a
scheme to open the gates to our dimension for the Old Ones
is pure Lovecraft. Cane himself reveals this, as noted in his
quote listed below. Another Lovecraft reference in the film is
the character of Mrs. Pickman. The Pickman family have
appeared in several Lovecraft stories, particularly Pickman’s
Model. Richard Upton Pickman, the main character of that
story, was a mad artist. In the film, whenever anyone talks
with Mrs. Pickman, they turn around and study a painting on
the wall which keeps changing each time it is seen. This subtle
reference is a rather nice touch. Finally, the Old Ones
themselves are portrayed frequently (although in very brief
shots) during the film. Tentacles are observed slithering under
doorways and emerging from the inter-dimensional rip. In the
final montage, there is an excellent close-up of Cthulhu, his
central eye bulging and his tentacles whipping around. This
image can only be appreciated on video by using a freeze
frame, but it is an exceptional visualization.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Pulp horror novels are all pretty familiar. They all seem
to have the same plot, you know, slimy things in the dark,
people go mad, they turn into monsters, you know. The funny
thing is, they are better written than you’d expect. You know,
they sort of get to you.” (Trent to Robinson on the
telephone, discussing Cane’s writing)
“It’s funny, for years I thought I was making this stuff
up. But they were telling me what to write.” (Cane to Styles,
referring to the Old Ones)
“It will make the world ready for the change. It takes its
power from new readers, new believers. That’s the point,
belief. When people begin to lose the ability to know the
difference between fantasy and reality, the Old Ones can
begin their journey back. The more people who believe, the
faster the journey.” (Cane to Trent, providing the crucial
theme of the film)
“Trent stood at the edge of the rip, stared into the
illimitable gulf of the unknown, the Stygian world yawning
blackly beyond. Trent’s eyes refused to close. He did not
shriek, but the hideous, unholy abominations shrieked for
him, as in the same second he saw them spill and tumble
upward out of an enormous carrion black pit choked with
the gleaming white bones of countless, un-hallowed centuries.
He began to back away from the rip as the army of
unspeakable figures, twilit from the glow of the bottomless
pit, came pouring at him toward our world.” (Cain’s prose
from In the Mouth of Madness, read by Styles as Trent looks
through the portal to the realm of the Old Ones)
 Lurking Fear (1994)
Rating: *
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Graves and Ghouls

Full Moon Entertainment. Written by C. Courtney

Joyner based on The Lurking Fear by H. P. Lovecraft;
Photographed by Adolfo Bartoli; Edited by Charlie Simmons;
Music by Jim Manzie; Produced by Vlad Paunescu, Oana
Paunescu & Charles Band (executive); Directed by C.
Courtney Joyner. 77 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Blake Bailey...............John Martense (convict seeking his

legacy)
Jeffrey Combs.............Dr. Haggis (Leffert’s Corners physician)
Ashley Lauren............Catheryn Farrell (vengeful woman
aiding Haggis)
Jon Finch..................George Bennett (casino owner)
Allison Mackie............Mrs. Marlowe (Bennett’s sidekick)
Joe Leavengood...........Pierce (Bennett’s henchman)
Paul Mantee...............Father Poole (Leffert’s Corners priest)
Michael Todd..............Martense clan leader
Cristina Stoica............Maria (churchgoer)
Luana Stoica...............Beth (pregnant woman)
Adrian Pinti................Ryan (churchgoer)
Ilinca Goila.................Leigh Farrell (Catheryn’s sister)
Vincent Schiavelli........Skelton Knaggs (mortician)
 SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Lurking Fear was filmed in Romania, conceived and

organized by Charles Band for Full Moon Entertainment film
division. Shortly after this picture was completed, Paramount
Studios, which distributed the Full Moon films, voided their
contract. No doubt, misfires like this picture lay behind that
decision. Lurking Fear may have the dubious distinction of
being the worst Lovecraft film ever made. Most of the fault
lies squarely on the shoulders of C. Courtney Joyner, who
seems completely unable to tell a coherent story on screen.
His script is muddled and thoroughly confusing. The
photoplay is filled with sloppy errors, such as having
Massachusetts residents who wander around in tee shirts in
late December, making it obvious that Joyner never
experienced a New England winter. There is no pertinent
reason for the film to be set at Christmas-time. The
continuity is slipshod, and the dialogue seems designed to
conceal rather than explain since relevant plot points are
buried in half-spoken sentences that seem like throw-away
lines. These problems frustrate the audience and bury the
production’s better points. The following synopsis attempts to
iron out the labyrinthian plot in a more comprehensible
fashion.
The background of the film involves the decayed
Martense clan, which after years of inbreeding and
degenerate practices such as cannibalism, have become semi-
human and have moved into tunnels under the remote town
of Leffert’s Corners, a backwater village two hundred miles
south of Arkham. A bastard son of the family managed to
escape from this environment, but he still had a killer’s
instinct and entered a life of crime. He robbed a casino
operated by an Arkham hood named George Bennett, and
buried the money in a coffin in Lefferts Corners with the
help of a man named Skelton Knaggs, a mortician. Shortly
after, he was arrested and eventually executed. John Martense,
his son, also has a criminal nature, and he was imprisoned for
five years. The film opens with his release from the
penitentiary on Christmas eve. John is summoned by Knaggs,
who operates a cut rate funeral parlor in Arkham. Knaggs
informs him of the money buried in Leffert’s Corners,
providing him with a map. After young Martense heads off,
Bennett shows up with a thug named Pierce and a beautiful
but deadly woman named Mrs. Marlowe. They rough up the
mortician, demanding that he hand over the map with the
location of his stolen money. They kill him after he reveals
that young Martense is tracking the money down. Meanwhile,
in Leffert’s Corners, a young woman named Catheryn Farrell
has been summoned by her sister Leigh who wants to flee the
town lest her newborn baby be stolen and eaten by the
degenerate Martense clan. They attack, kidnapping Leigh, and
Catheryn appeals to the local doctor that it is time to
eradicate the murderous horde. Haggis has several cases of
explosives, and they intend to hole up in the local church,
which is located directly above the Martense’s underground
headquarters. They plan to blow them up when the clan
attacks them. Father Poole, the local priest, objects to his
church becoming a battlefield, but Ryan, a churchgoer, joins
with Haggis.
Not long afterward, John Martense shows up, planning
to track down the fortune in the adjacent cemetery. However,
Bennett and his gang seize the group, demanding to be led to
the money. An elaborate game of cat-and-mouse ensues, as
the Martense ghouls attack, and one by one drag off their
victims. When they awaken in the underground catacombs,
Bennett informs John that the ghouls are actually the
remnants of his family. They spare John, recognizing him as a
relation. When he sees them preparing to rip the unborn
child from the body of Beth, one of their victims, he starts to
battle them. He teams up with Catheryn to blow up their
underground network of tunnels after flooding them with
gasoline, destroying the degenerate clan and freeing the town
from the “lurking fear.” Only Catheryn, Beth and John
survive the ordeal, but John is marked for life, never knowing
if the cannibalistic traits of his family will emerge in him.
Despite an excellent musical score, decent special effects,
creepy sets and exceptional creature makeup, Lurking Fear
squanders its many resources with its ragged script, chaotic
editing and indifferent direction. The resulting motion picture
is a textbook example of how not to make a movie.

PERFORMANCES

One of the wasted elements of Lurking Fear is its

talented cast, which includes such masterful character actors
as Jeffrey Combs and Vincent Schiavelli. Schiavelli told me
how delighted he was that his character was the first one
killed in the picture, allowing him to do his bit and then be
gone, leaving the remaining cast in their tent city facilities on
the lot of a Bucharest studio. Incidentally, Schiavelli’s
character in the picture, Skelton Knaggs, was named in tribute
to the colorful character actor of that name who appeared in
weasely roles in such classics as The Lodger (1944) and the
Universal Sherlock Holmes series. Besides Schiavelli and
Combs, the other performers who briefly shine in the picture
include Paul Mantee as the wacky Father Poole and Allison
Mackie as the elegantly evil Mrs. Marlowe. Other players, such
as Jon Finch, have difficulty with their parts so awkwardly
written. Michael Todd, however, is superb as the monstrous
head of the Martense clan. His makeup is truly memorable.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

H. P. Lovecraft’s short story The Lurking Fear (Note

that the film drops the article) is twenty pages long. It is not a
Cthulhu Mythos tale, but one of his ghoul stories,
characterized by an exaggerated flair to his text, including
such lines as, “It is a relief and even a delight to shriek wildly
and throw oneself voluntarily along with the hideous vortex
of dream-doom into whatever bottomless gulf may yawn.”
The tale deals with the degenerate Martense clan, whose
major physical characteristic is the possession of mismatched
eyes, one blue and one brown. Except for Martense, the only
other character name that originates in the story is George
Bennett, a companion of the unidentified narrator of the tale.
Bennett disappears while spending the night in the empty
Martense Mansion. The setting of the story is Lefferts
Corners (as opposed to Leffert’s Corners) in a remote area of
the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. Arkham does
not appear in the story. Neither do any gangsters in search of
money. The plot deals with a series of disappearances in the
area of Tempest Mountain, where the abandoned Martense
Mansion is located. The principal victims of the cannibal clan
are a group of hillbilly squatters, inspired perhaps by the
Ramapo Hill people of Northern New Jersey. The only event
from the film that parallels the story is the conclusion, in
which the narrator arranges for the mansion to be blown up.
This same plot was much better handled in Bleeders three
years later.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Sidney, Sidney, what happened? I’ll tell you one thing.

You look much better now than you ever did when you were
alive.” (Skelton Knaggs to a corpse)
“As Leffert's Corners burned, all I could think about was
who I might be inside, a killer or something worse. Had I
really come home? That’s what I am living with now. I know
my name, but I don’t know who I am, and until I find that
out, my prison sentence goes on with life.” (John’s closing
narration)
 The Manitou (1978)
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Old Ones

Avco. Written by Jon Cedar, William Girdler & Thomas

Pope based on the novel The Manitou by Graham Masterton;
Photographed by Michel Hugo; Edited by Bub Asman; Music
by Lalo Schifrin; Produced by Jon Cedar, William Girdler &
Melvin G. Gordy; Directed by William Girdler. 104 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Tony Curtis.................Harry Erskine (fortune teller)

Michael Ansara............John Singing Rock (Indian medicine
man)
Susan Strasberg...........Karen Tandy (victim of manitou)
Burgess Meredith..........Dr. Ernest Snow (anthropologist)
Jon Cedar....................Dr. Jack Hughes (tumor specialist)
Paul Mantee................Dr. Robert McEvoy (Karen’s doctor)
Ann Sothern................Mrs. Karmann (Karen’s aunt)
Stella Stevens..............Amelia Crusoe (occult shop owner)
Hugh Corcoran.............Mac Arthur (Amelia’s husband)
Jeanette Nolan..............Mrs. Winconis (Harry’s client)
Lurene Tuttle...............Mrs. Hirz (possessed woman)
Ann Newman-Mantee....10th floor nurse
Beverly Kushida...........Operation room nurse
Michael Laren..............Michael (orderly who is killed)
Jon Heininger..............Wolf (second orderly)
Tenaya.......................Wife of John Singing Rock
Carole Hemingway.......Prostitute
Felix Silla...................Misquamacus when he first appears
Joe Gieb.....................Misquamacus in later stages

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Graham Masterton’s 1975 novel The Manitou opens

with a long introductory quote by H. P. Lovecraft, referring to
the Indian wonder-worker Misquamacus, in which he
describes the appearance of one of the Old Ones as a great
toad or a shapeless cloud with a face covered with serpent-
like growths. So, from the very outset, Masterton proclaims
his book to be firmly in the Lovecraft mold, and the same is
true of the motion picture adaptation. Enjoyment of The
Manitou largely depends on the viewpoint of the audience.
The film undoubtedly fails as a serious horror movie,
although that was the original intent of this production.
However, if it is regarded in a satirical light, then it is a
rather successful and diverting example of black comedy.
Clearly, a number of the actors, such as Tony Curtis, played it
in this manner, and a second look is recommended for
viewers who failed to notice how tongue-in-cheek the
performances actually are, even if the overall direction is not.
The script stays fairly close to the original novel, although
switching the locale from New York to San Francisco, adding
a past romantic history between the main characters, Harry
and Karen, while eliminating several unnecessary characters
such as an intrusive police detective, Lieutenant Marino and
Karen’s parents. This tightens the script, allowing the picture
to flow very quickly, and avoiding any slow or dead spots.
While not a full-fledged cult film, it nevertheless has an
underground following for its sheer, wacky entertainment
value.
As the picture opens, Karen Tandy is in the Sisters of
Jerusalem Hospital in San Francisco. The administrator of
the hospital, Dr. Jack Hughes, is a specialist in the study of
tumors. Karen’s physician, Dr. McEvoy, called him in to
examine an unusual growth that has appeared on the back of
her neck. Completely perplexed by its inexplicable growth
rate, Hughes recommends that the growth be removed
surgically as soon as possible. Karen visits her friend Harry
Erskine, a charming rogue who earns his living as a
fortuneteller catering to wealthy elderly women. Trying to be
diverting, Harry tells Karen’s fortune with his tarot deck, and
the card portraying the magician keeps reappearing, together
with other cards foretelling disaster. When Karen drifts off to
sleep later, she repeats a phrase in a strange exotic language
that intrigues Harry.
The next day, when Dr. Hughes prepares to operate on
Karen, she revives while under anesthesia and starts to speak
a foreign incantation. As if under a spell, Hughes cuts his
own arm with a scalpel. Meanwhile, one of Harry’s clients,
Mrs. Hirz, collapses in the middle of a tarot reading. She
speaks in the same foreign tongue as Karen, and her body
levitates out of his apartment, finally crashing down the
stairwell. Harry later goes to the hospital to consult with Dr.
Hughes, who reveals that the strange tumor on Karen’s neck
resembles a fetus. Harry suggests that the supernatural is
somehow involved in her case. He consults Amelia Crusoe,
the only genuine psychic he has ever known. She arranges a
seance at the home of Mrs. Karmann, Karen’s aunt. Calling
upon the spirit world, Amelia calls up a hostile Indian
apparition that speaks through Mrs. Karmann, repeating the
same phrase spoken by Karen and Mrs. Hirz. A bolt of
lightning crashes into the room, abruptly ending the séance.
Harry next visits Ernest Snow, a University
anthropologist and expert on Native American culture and
magic. A theory is proposed that Karen is being possessed by
a long dead, powerful Indian medicine man with the ability to
be reborn by projecting his manitou, or spirit, into the body
of an individual in the future. Dr. Snow recounts a legend
that in 1851, an Indian medicine man from the Hidatsa tribe
emerged fully grown from the body of a young girl who
developed a swelling in her arm. This medicine man had been
a powerful magician who had died fifty years earlier. The
phrase repeated by Karen and others is identified by Dr.
Snow as the language of an Indian tribe that disappeared four
hundred years ago. It means, “My death foretells my return.”
The professor concludes that there is only one chance to save
Karen, by finding an Indian medicine man willing to imperil
his own life by opposing the manitou of an ancient brethren.
Harry travels to South Dakota, visiting five medicine
men who refuse to help him. He finally persuades John
Singing Rock, a younger medicine man, to come to San
Francisco and help Karen. The only payment he asks is for
some tobacco, and a donation to the Indian Educational
Foundation. Dr. Hughes agrees to cooperate with Harry after
an attempt at laser surgery fails. Karen announces that the
manitou is angry because he has been hurt by the X-rays
taken of the growing tumor. Singing Rock draws a magic
circle of red powder around Karen’s bed. He summons the
manitou, asking its name. In a trance, Karen replies, “In life,
Misquamacus.” Singing Rock is stunned, as he recognizes the
name of the most notorious and omnipotent medicine man
in Indian history. He warns Harry that their only chance to
defeat him will be to act at once, before he grows strong and
is able to direct his supernatural powers.
As Singing Rock prepares, a shriveled and malformed
Misquamacus emerges from Karen’s body. He kills Michael, a
male nurse attending Karen, by turning his body inside out.
Singing Rock attempts to oppose him by summoning the
manitous of friendly spirits, wind and rain, but the reborn
Misquamacus merely laughs and summons up an ancient
demon in the shape of a lizard, and it bites the hand of Dr.
Hughes. After warding it off, the medicine man cautions that
Misquamacus will summon up one of the Old Ones.
Dr. Hughes collapsed after the lizard demon’s attack.
Harry helps him back to his office, and when he returns to
Karen’s room, the entire floor of the hospital has been
transformed into a prehistoric Arctic wasteland. Singing Rock
explains that Misquamacus has summoned the Star Beast. He
tells Harry that he is failing in his task. None of the manitous
that Singing Rock has summoned have appeared to confront
Misquamacus. Harry asks Dr. Hughes to turn on all the
computers in the hospital. Perhaps the manitous of the
computers, technology with which Misquamacus is
unfamiliar, might be willing to fight him. Misquamacus
summons the “Great Old One.” Karen’s room turns into a
vast portal to another dimension, and the Old One begins to
manifest itself in the void. Misquamacus roars with laughter
as Singing Rock tries to summon the computer manitous.
After Singing Rock collapses, Harry shouts at Misquamacus,
challenging him directly. The computer manitous take over
the body of Karen, and she rises, hurling thunderbolts from
her fingers against Misquamacus. The Old One retreats
through the astral gate, and in a final explosion of light
Misquamacus is defeated. The hospital room returns to
normal, and Harry goes to Karen’s side. She smiles as she
embraces him. A few minutes later, Harry escorts John
Singing Rock to a taxi cab which will take him to the airport.
After warmly thanking him, Harry gives him a pouch of
tobacco. Before the end credits roll, a ludicrous title card
appears which states that a fetus has recently been found
growing in the chest cavity of a young Japanese lad.
It is easier to dismiss The Manitou for its obvious
shortcomings than to proclaim its occasional merits. Native
American groups could justly criticize the tone and
implications of the picture, although a number of lines try to
emphasize the richness and diversity of the culture of the
numerous Native American tribes, many of which had
disappeared due to inter-tribal warfare or natural casues long
before the arrival of the Europeans on the continent. A
subtheme of the novel, that the main goal of Misquamacus is
to wreak a terrible vengeance on the descendants of the
white settlers of North America, is eliminated in the film.
The final battle is the least effective portion, rendered as
a meaningless and unimpressive light show. The Old One,
described in the novel as, “a boiling turmoil of sinister
shadow that seemed to grow and grow through the gloom
like a squid or some raw and massive confusion of snakes,”
appears merely as a vague cloud. The special effects are
primitive and laughable. If modern computer technology
could have been employed to render a credible Old One, then
this picture could have been reworked as a viable horror film.
Nevertheless, the tongue-in-cheek approach used by Tony
Curtis renders the film watchable up until the final letdown.
The topper, however, is the foolish final message suggesting
that the premise is in some way feasible. After the last
sequence of the picture, this assertion could only be greeted
with laughter or complete derision.

PERFORMANCES

Tony Curtis gives a bravura performance as the rascal

Harry Erskine, always ready with a silly quip no matter what
the situation. He refers to Misquamacus as “Mixmaster” and
continually blunders in where others fear to tread. Since
Curtis endows his character with total charm, his
interpretation works and manages to keep the film lively and
interesting. Unfortunately, Curtis is not well served by the
makeup department, as he is furnished with one of the
poorest and most unnatural looking toupees ever seen on
screen. A phony flap of skin covers the top half of his
forehead which even an eight-year-old could detect as unreal.
The intent was to provide Curtis with a boyish forelock, but
the effect is a total misfire. Michael Ansara, who has played
many Indians in his film career, generally gives a magnificent
and straightforward reading, although he delivers one painful
line to Jon Cedar about “heap powerful medicine.” Susan
Strasberg is excellent, but receives very little screen time after
the first quarter of the film. Her closeups as she renders the
words of Misquamacus are very creepy and effective. Burgess
Meredith, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern are colorful and
offbeat in their eccentric character parts. They all seem to be
having fun with their roles. Two different actors play
Misquamacus at different stages of his development. Felix
Silla, a midget in a full body suit, portrays the malformed
medicine man as he worms his way out of the tumor and
across the floor in his initial appearance. Joe Gieb is used for
most of the closeups and in the later confrontation scenes.
Misquamacus comes across very well as an unearthly
character struggling for rebirth. Unfortunately, the special
effects department renders all of his spells and divinations
rather foolish.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The H. P. Lovecraft passage which inspired The

Manitou is from The Lurker at the Threshold, the first of the
Lovecraft stories completed by August Derleth, originally
published in 1945. The section that introduces Misquamacus
was reportedly a fragment that was penned entirely by
Lovecraft, so the character was actually invented by HPL. The
passage is an extended journal entry in the story set in the
early days of the country, in which the Indian wonder worker
and head of the Wampanaug tribe, is consulted by Bradford,
the Massachusetts governor. Misquamacus describes how he
had caught and imprisoned an Old One that had been
summoned by Richard Billingham, a would-be sorcerer.
Misquamacus names this Old One as Ossadagowah, a spawn
of Sadogowah, better known as Tsathoggua, the Old One
who often appears as a great toad. Therefore it follows that
the Old One who appears at the climax of The Manitou is
clearly based on Tsathoggua. Masterton also calls him “He
Who Devours in the Pit.”
The other demons appearing in the film are less easy to
identify. Masterton calls the lizard demon by the name of
K’malah, and it is apparently one of Masterton’s own
additions to the Cthulhu Mythos. The Star Beast is probably
Ithaqua, the Windwalker, known in Indian legends as the
Wendigo. Ithaqua is often associated with the Arctic regions,
and the transformation of the hospital floor into a cold
wasteland is characteristic of Ithaqua. August Derleth wrote a
number of Mythos tales about Ithaqua, such as The Thing
That Walked on the Wind.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Your mystic motto shall be: ‘Guard well the pips, and
the fruit shall grow without let.’” (Harry to his client, Mrs.
Winconis)
“The magic of ancient Indian tribes was very, very
powerful. They were in fact one of the great magical societies
of modern time, pure ethnic occult art, and they were
undiluted with European conceptions and preconceptions.
…If this medicine man of yours is really four hundred years
old, he comes from a time when the magic of the Indians was
amazingly, amazingly strong.” (Dr. Snow to Harry, Ameila &
MacArthur)
“It’s Misquamacus, greatest medicine man of all. He
turned rivers, made storms. Mountains rose at his command.
No spirit ignored him. No demon denied him.” (John Singing
Rock to Harry)
“Tokyo, Japan, 1969: Fifteen-year-old boy developed
what doctors thought was a tumor in his chest. The larger it
grew, the more uncharacteristic it appeared. Eventually it
proved to be a human fetus.” (End title card)
 Necronomicon (1994)
AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s Necronomicon: Book of the
Dead
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Cthulhu
Necronomicon
Old Ones

Pioneer/Ozla Pictures Written by Brent V. Friedman,

Brian Yuzna (HPL, 3), Christopher Gans (1) & Kazunori Ito
(2), inspired by various stories of H. P. Lovecraft;
Photographed by Gerry Lively (HPL, 2, 3) & Russ Brandt (1);
Edited by Christopher Roth & Keith Sauter; Music by Joseph
Lo Duca (HPL, 1) & Daniel Licht; Produced by Samuel
Hadida & Brian Yuzna; Directed by Brian Yuzna (HPL, 3),
Christopher Gans (1) & Shusuke Kaneko (2). 97 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

HPL Wraparound: The Library

Jeffrey Combs.............H. P. Lovecraft (writer of macabre
stories)
Tony Azito.................Librarian
Juan Fernandez.............Library attendant
Brian Yuzna................Taxi driver
Part I: The Drowned
Bruce Payne................Edward de la Poer (man who inherits a
seaside estate)
Richard Lynch.............Jethro de la Poer (his ancestor who
built the mansion)
Belinda Bauer...............Nancy Gallmore (inheritance lawyer)
Maria Ford..................Clara (Edward’s deceased girlfriend)
Denise D. Lewis..........Emma de la Poer (Jethro’s drowned
wife)
Peter Jasienski.............Jan de la Poer (Jethro’s drowned son)
William J. Russell.......Jethro’s doctor
Vladimir Kulich...........Villager
Part 2: The Cold
David Warner...............Richard Madden (doctor with a
mysterious condition)
Bess Meyer.................Emily Osterman (music student)
Millie Perkins.............Lena Kamen (Madden’s housekeeper)
Dennis Christopher.......Dale Porkel (reporter)
Gary Graham...............Sam Linder (Emily’s stepfather)
Curt Lowens...............Al Hawkins (diner owner)
Part 3: Whispers
Signey Coleman..........Sarah (Policewoman)
Don Calfa...................Harold Benedict (warehouse owner)
Judith Drake................Daisy (his blind companion)
Obba Babatundé...........Paul (Sarah’s partner)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

The Japanese/American co-production of

Necronomicon is simultaneously a triumph and a
disappointment. It is an achievement because it draws
together the two major figures of Lovecraft cinema, David
Warner and Jeffrey Combs, who deliver knockout
performances. It is also a personal tribute to Lovecraft
himself, who is played on screen by Combs. The overall
concept of the film is fantastic, building an anthology film
around HPL and his work. On the other hand, it is a sobering
disappointment because instead of delivering pure or direct
Lovecraft adaptations, we are treated to three modern day
stories loosely inspired by Lovecraft. (In some cases very
loosely.) While enjoyable and entertaining, Necronomicon is
primarily a lost opportunity. This film could have been “The
Lovecraft masterpiece,” but instead it is merely another entry
of the “close but no cigar” variety.
The best section is the wraparound story, which deals
with Lovecraft himself. It is one of the most brilliant
frameworks for an anthology horror film ever devised.
Unfortunately, the three stories fail to live up to their
introduction, with the weakest tale coming last. As the picture
opens, Lovecraft serves as narrator, explaining how he
tracked down an actual copy of the Necronomicon in 1932,
held in the library of a mysterious order of monks. On the
basis of his writings, Lovecraft is granted access to the library
to do some “fact checking” in a rare chemical encyclopedia.
The writer manages to lift the librarian’s set of keys, and
when he is left alone, Lovecraft seeks out the inner sanctum
where the rarest and most forbidden books are located. He
breaches the private cell, which locks behind him after his
passage, and approaches the safe in which the Necronomicon
is stored. The door to this safe opens as if by magic after
Lovecraft drops the keys which fall through the floor grating
into an underground pool. Lovecraft takes the book, handling
it with the greatest care. After paging through it, he opens his
notebook and starts to take notes that he entitles “The
Drowned.”
 The film then segues to depict this episode. Driving a
1990s automobile, Edward de la Poer arrives at his family’s
decrepit estate in New England, overlooking the Atlantic
ocean. Nancy Gallmore, the lawyer overseeing the property,
explains that the mansion has a sinister reputation among the
local villagers. She relates the tragic story of his ancestor,
Jethro de la Poer, who died mysteriously shortly after his wife
and son drowned in a shipwreck. Edward is given a letter
written by Jethro sixty years earlier, shortly before his death.
In it, his ancestor describes the tragedy when his wife and son
were killed. A demon arises from the sea and gives Jethro a
copy of the Necronomicon. Jethro reads it and performs
blasphemous rituals in honor of Cthulhu, one of the gods
described in the book. He repeats over and over the chant,
“That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange
aeons even death may die. In his lair, Cthulhu waits,
dreaming.” Invoking these dark powers, Jethro reanimates the
corpses of his wife and son. They transform, however, into
hideous squid-like creatures, the spawn of Cthulhu. After
reading Jethro’s letter, Edward tears the house apart in an
attempt to locate the Necronomicon, eventually locating it
behind a portrait of Emma. He reads aloud passages from
the dreadful book. When he falls asleep, Edward is visited by
the ghost of Clara, his girlfriend who perished in an
automobile accident. He awakens, to find that his visitor is
real, and in a panic he strikes at Clara’s image with a
decorative sword that was hanging on the wall. Great Cthulhu
itself begins to appear, smashing through the floor. Edward
starts to hack at its tentacles as it continues to materialize, and
the mansion begins to fall apart as the huge, unworldly
creature expands. Edward passes out, and when he awakens,
the house is gone. He is lying on the beach, and the cries of
Cthulhu can be heard trumpeting in the distance.
Back in the library, Lovecraft detects some slithery
motion in the waters underneath the inner sanctum. The
librarian and his attendant discover that Lovecraft is missing,
and they suspect that he has gone to the their private,
forbidden room, which is guarded by inhuman forces that
serve the Old Ones. They comment about his rashness.
Meanwhile, Lovecraft turns to another page in the
Necronomicon, and he begins to visualize another story.
The setting is Boston during a terrible heat wave. Dale
Porkel, an investigative reporter for the Boston Journal, is
working on a story about a series of homicides dating back
over four decades. His trail leads to a townhouse with a
sophisticated and advanced refrigeration system. He bullies
his way in and threatens the owner, the youthful Emily
Osterman into telling him the full story of Dr. Richard
Madden, an eccentric who reportedly has lived in the house
for the past eighty years. Emily tells him about her mother, a
music student also named Emily, and how met Dr. Madden
twenty-two years earlier when she rented a room from a
woman named Lena Kamen. Emily became the only tenant in
the house, except for Dr. Madden who lived on the third
floor. When Sam, Emily’s abusive stepfather, shows up, he
attacks her when she rejects his advances. Sam attacks her,
knocking her out, but Dr. Madden fights him off, throwing
him downstairs. Madden tends to Emily, helping her to
recover. He explains that his rare skin condition requires him
to keep his apartment at frigid temperatures. Emily takes an
immediate liking to the refined and cultured gentleman. That
night, however, she sleepwalks, stumbling across Dr. Madden
as he operates upon the unconscious body of Sam. The next
morning she believes that the incident was merely a dream or
hallucination, but when she learns that Sam is missing, she
confronts Madden. Falling ill and requiring an ice bath, he
confesses that he has discovered a formula for preserving life
in an ancient text, the Necronomicon, but it requires a drastic
reduction in temperature, and a periodic replacement of
spinal fluid. He revives a moribund rose and gives it to Emily,
who yields to temptation and goes to bed with him. Lena,
also infatuated with the doctor, challenges Emily, proclaiming
that loving Madden will requires her to kill for him. Emily
runs off, but returns several months later after discovering
that she is pregnant. She interrupts Lisa, who is in the process
of attacking an elderly man, the operator of the local diner.
After Lena kills him, she shoots Emily. Madden, in great pain,
tries to stop Lena, finally choosing to smash his extensive lab
equipment. Without fresh spinal fluid, his body begins to
decompose. The wounded Emily tells Lena that she is
carrying Madden’s child.
Porkel listens to Emily’s tale in confused silence. “You
mean they killed all those people for their spinal fluid?” He
finally asks why the murders are still occurring. Emily reveals
that she isn’t Madden’s child, but the original Emily, revived
from death by Lena and still pregnant. The treatment keeps
them both alive, stable and unaging. Emily now requires the
spinal fluid. As the truth dawns on Porkel, he collapses from
a sedative placed in his drink. The elderly Lena then enters
the room, to help prepare Porkel’s body for the operation.
After the conclusion of this story, the librarian spies on
Lovecraft as he becomes increasingly aware that he is trapped
and that something unearthly is advancing toward the inner
sanctum. Uneasy, the author closely reexamines the
Necronomicon, hoping to find a solution. Instead, the image
of a third adventure appears in his mind.
In the future, the inner city of Philadelphia has become
an urban wasteland, plagued by an elusive being known as the
Butcher. A police car is pursuing a gray Nova in a high speed
chase through the ghetto. Sarah, the officer who is driving, is
willing to pull out all the stops in the pursuit. Her partner, a
black officer named Paul, urges caution. As they argue, it
becomes apparent that Sarah is pregnant with Paul’s baby.
The driver they are chasing blocks the street with his vehicle.
Sarah cracks up the police car while trying to avoid the trap,
and the renegade driver carries off the wounded Paul,
entering a warehouse. Groggy, Sarah tries to follow them. She
loses her way and encounters Harold, a skittery eccentric who
identifies himself as the owner of the building. Harold says
that the man she is following is no doubt “The Butcher,” who
lives in the basement. Sarah demands to be taken there, but
instead the man takes her to his dingy, makeshift apartment,
where his companion, a blind woman named Daisy,
immediately senses that Sarah is pregnant Harold clears a
passage to the basement, which appears to be an
underground labyrinth dating back into antiquity. On the
walls, the bas-reliefs portray bizarre, ancient rituals, and the
dark, stone corridors are laid out in a perplexing pattern
foreign to human geometry. After leading her on, Harold
tricks Sarah into falling into a pit filled with bones and half-
eaten body parts. Harold and Daisy gaze down at Sarah as a
flock of strange, bat-like creatures start to flutter around her.
She shoots at them, but they are unharmed. She hears Paul,
speaking out of a shapeless mass of flesh. She finds his body,
but his brain has been absorbed by a monster. Passing out,
Sarah has a momentary vision that she is in a hospital and
that Harold is her doctor and Daisy is her mother. Somehow,
Sarah’s fetus has been replanted into Daisy’s body. Screaming
again, Sarah is back in the pit, being absorbed by the bat-like
creatures, and the episode concludes.
Looking bewildered, Lovecraft sinks his head down
wearily. The library instructs him to unlock the door, but the
writer explains that he has lost the keys. Tentacles emerge
through the grating on the floor and wrap around HPL’s legs.
The author grabs his cane, which conceals a sword, and fends
off the tentacles. The librarian, through some supernatural
power, slithers through the bars and enters the inner
sanctum.. A metal doorway opens in the back of the safe, and
Cthulhu appears. The librarian grabs Lovecraft, intending to
toss him into the gaping mouth of the Old One. As they
struggle, it becomes apparent that the cunning librarian is not
quite human. Lovecraft stabs his opponent with his sword,
and steps to the side as Cthulhu snatches the librarian and
retreats with him back into another dimension. Everything
returns to normal after the Old One departs with his victim.
The bared doorway opens, and Lovecraft departs, taking the
Necronomicon. The library attendant cries out after him,
“Lovecraft, you don’t know what you’ve done!” He calmly
departs the building and enters the waiting cab. the driver
asks if he had found what he wanted. Holding the book
securely, the writer replies, “It found me.”
Outside of the delightful and clever wraparound tale,
each of the stories is mired in problems. It is unclear if
Lovecraft is supposed to be reading these stories out of the
Necronomicon, although it seems more likely that the tales
are visions not actually written in the book. The timeframes
are rather confusing. Each of the tales appears to take place
in the 1990s, yet there are discrepancies. In “The Drowned,”
the creepy story about Jethro is supposed to be sixty years
old, yet the flashback makes the action seem as if it occurs in
the early 19th century. The second story is also good,
although a trifle disordered and haphazard in the telling. The
last tale, “Whispers,” is a total jumble, making no sense
whatsoever. At times, it seems as if it want to be an allegory
against abortion, and that these horrible events are happening
simply because Sarah does not want to have the child. But
this subplot is buried in the baffling and meaningless way in
which the story is presented. When the hospital scene is
added to the mix, the entire episode sinks into an
impenetrable mess. On the plus side, the special effects are
impressive for the most part, the music is good and the
cinematography is magnificent. Perhaps if they went back
and replaced the third story with an authentic Lovecraftian
one, the picture would merit a higher position in the hierarchy
of Cthulhu cinema.

PERFORMANCES

One of the finest elements of this production is the

high standard of acting. Jeffrey Combs tackles the role of H.
P. Lovecraft with his customary zeal. Unlike Christopher
Heyerdahl in Out of Mind, Combs does not have a strong
physical resemblance to HPL, but proper lighting and a subtle
makeup job give his features a certain similarity to the author.
Combs walks a fine line throughout his entire performance,
never sinking into burlesque, but never completely serious
either. It is a highly polished reading that borders on camp
but never crosses the line. David Warner, on the other hand,
delivers an outstanding tour deforce in a completely
straightforward manner, filled with poignancy and genuine
poetry. The many supporting players also turn in fine
performances for the most part, particularly Tony Azito as
the bald, insidious monk serving as librarian, Richard Lynch
as Jethro, Bess Meyer as Emily and the magnificent Millie
Perkins as Lena Kamen. Character actor Curt Lowens shines
in his brief part. Incidentally, Lowens had a key role at the
end of World War II. A young Jewish refugee from Nazi
Germany, he served as interpreter for the two Allied officers
who accepted the surrender of the Nazi government and
Führer Karl Dönitz, Hitler’s successor, at his military
headquarters in May, 1945.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The weakness of Necronomicon is most troubling in its

lack of fidelity to Lovecraft’s actual works in the three
depicted stories. “The Drowned” has an authentic,
melodramatic air similar in tone to much of Lovecraft. The
name de la Poer is lifted from The Rats In the Walls, but no
other element from that work seems to be utilized. The
climax of the chapter, the full-fledged appearance of
Cthulhu, is highly commendable and consistent with
Lovecraft’s descriptions of its appearance in The Call of
Cthulhu. The actual reproduction of Cthulhu’s cry over the
ocean is also a splendid touch. “The Cold” is the closest to a
genuine Lovecraft adaptation, based upon his wonderfully
atmospheric story Cool Air. Although this tale is heavily
elaborated upon in the film with manufactured and
distracting details, the story is an interesting and compelling
variation on this piece. Of course, Cool Air had received a
more authoritative interpretations on Rod Serling’s Night
Gallery and in the impressive and splendid amateur effort by
Bryan Moore. As for “Whispers,” the occasional actual
Lovecraftian elements are smothered by the wrong-headed
and idiotic approach. The title suggests it was inspired by The
Whisperer in Darkness, but except for brain transplants by
aliens, there seems to be very little of that memorable story in
this escapade. The only worthwhile moment is the brief
simulation of the jumbled passage-ways that suggests “non-
Euclidian angles” (to refer to one of HPL’s favorite clichés).
Otherwise, this segment is almost a complete waste, with an
irritating cast and an ill-conceived plotline.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“It was in the fall of 1932 when I discovered that a copy

of the fabled Necronomicon was here in America, being
guarded by a clandestine order of Omyadi monks. Obtaining
this legendary tome was vital, not only to my writings, but to
the fate of all mankind.” (Lovecraft’s opening narration)
“We were under the impression you dealt in fiction.”
(The librarian to Lovecraft) “My work is wrongly construed
as fiction by the lesser minded. In fact, I take great pride in
providing fictional possibilities. It is my duty, after all, as a
human being to enlighten the darkest depths of experience,
to expose certain secrets hoarded by others.” (Lovecraft’s
reply)
“I don’t know who will read these words. You should
only know that there is no magic cure for guilt, except
forgiveness.” (The last lines of Jethro’s letter)
“There is no other way. Without fresh spinal fluid, I lose
my senses. I smell nothing, I taste nothing. I can’t even feel
you.” (Dr. Madden to Emily, moments before he
disintegrates)
“This building has a bad habit of swallowing things up
just like they never existed.” (Harold to Sarah, before leading
her downstairs)
“The secrets of the Necronomicon do not come cheap.
This is going to cost you your life. Consider your privileges
revoked, Mr. Lovecraft.” (The librarian to Lovecraft,
threatening him with death and an even worse fate, the loss
of library access)
 Out of Mind (1998)
Rating: *****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Cthulhu (References)
Dream imagery
Miskatonic University
Necronomicon

Ciné Quo Non Films. Written by Raymond Saint-Jean

based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by
Serge Douceur; Edited by Philippe Ralet; Music by Gaetan
Gravel & Serge Laforest; Produced by Michel Ouellette.
Directed by Raymond Saint-Jean. 57 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Christopher Heyerdahl....H. P. Lovecraft (brilliant writer from

Providence, R.I.)
Art Kitching................Randolph Carter (artist)
George Angell (Carter’s deceased uncle)
Peter Farbridge.............Henry Blake (book shop clerk), Harley
Warren (occult scholar)
Pierre LeBlanc..............Robert Blake (lawyer)
Michael Sinelnikoff.......Dr. Henry Armitage (Miskatonic
University professor)
Sheena Larkin..............Annie Gamwell (Lovecraft’s aunt)
 SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Out of Mind, a truly extraordinary motion picture made

with loving care as a tribute to H. P. Lovecraft and his work,
was made in Quebec, Canada. It is a complex and intelligent
effort, difficult to follow for some audience members, but a
complete delight for Lovecraft aficionados. The multi-layered
story is an amalgam of various Lovecraft stories and
characters, centering around a true-to-life portrait of H. P.
Lovecraft himself. The author, portrayed in brilliant fashion
by Christopher Heyerdahl, is so detailed and convincing that
anyone seeing the film could easily believe that he is watching
the genuine H. P. Lovecraft. Upon studying the film
painstakingly, it appears that most of it is actually a series of
dreams by the famous author, even the segments set in the
1990s. The only moment of the entire scenario when it is
certain the characters are awake is a brief conversation
between Lovecraft and his aunt toward the end of the
picture, when HPL tells her that he has been dreaming. Since
the historic Lovecraft was a strong believer in the importance
of dreams, this interpretation has a certain logic. It helps to
explain the rather obscure title Out of Mind. The film has a
subtitle, The Stories of H. P. Lovecraft, which appears briefly
in the credits.
The film opens in black and white, with a hissing and
crackling soundtrack, simulating a documentary interview
with the writer from the mid-1930s. A title card announces,
“H. P. Lovecraft, Providence Rhode Island.” The author,
sitting at a desk, directly addresses the camera. He talks
briefly about his unconventional nature and interests,
concluding, “It is man’s relation to the cosmos, to the
unknown, which alone arouses in me the spark of creative
imagination.” The credits follow as the film turns to color,
portraying a gentle and peaceful woodland setting,
undoubtedly a fragment of Lovecraft’s dreamworld. HPL
appears from behind one of the trees, vocalizing the name
“Cthulhu” over and over again with different pronunciations.
The credits end, and the action returns to the black and white
interview as the author explains that the pronunciation of
Cthulhu could only be approximated, since the name was not
meant to be uttered by human vocal organs. Shifting back to
color, Lovecraft reads aloud from The Call of Cthulhu, as the
camera shows the environs of the house where he resides
with his aunt in Providence. HPL sits down in his study to
write.
The setting abruptly shifts to the 1990s, as an artist
works in his studio, welding together a metallic sculpture. The
locale is unnamed, but it is presumably Arkham,
Massachusetts. The artist, Randolph Carter, is summoned to a
lawyer’s office where he is given a sealed box bequeathed to
him by his uncle, George Angell, who vanished thirty years
earlier. Carter, unaware that he even had an uncle, accepts the
item with some confusion, particularly after he is told that the
only stipulation is that he be alone when he opens the box.
Back at his studio, Carter discovers the package contains
an ancient book, the Necronomicon, filled with fantastic
illustrations and passages in various obscure languages.
Tucked inside the volume, he finds several photographs and
an envelope addressed to Henry Armitage of Miskatonic
University. One of the photos is of a man who resembles
Carter himself. He reads aloud the words written on the back
of this photo in Latin, which he then translates. “The Old
Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not
in the spaces we know, but between them, they walk serene
and primal, undimensioned, and to us, unseen.” With these
and other words running though his mind, Carter falls asleep.
He dreams of walking down a deserted street where he meets
a man dressed in 1920s fashion. The man addresses him as
George Angell, claiming he is his friend, Harley Warren. He
takes him to a laboratory, where he encounters a second
Harley Warren, working on a secret experiment behind closed
curtains. Warren shows him a severed arm which he intends
to endow with life. Carter awakens as he approaches the
curtains to investigate. Disturbed by his nightmare, he goes to
an occult book store where his friend, Robert Blake, is
employed. Oddly enough, Blake is the spitting image of
Harley Warren. Carter shows him one of the photos from the
book, and Blake identifies the image as H. P. Lovecraft, a
master of macabre fiction, who died sixty years earlier. He
gives Carter one of Lovecraft’s books and a tee shirt bearing
the same likeness as the photo.
Carter becomes absorbed in reading about Lovecraft’s
life and his writings. He visits Henry Armitage, an elderly
professor and scholar, bringing him the Necronomicon.
Armitage is quite concerned when he learns that Carter has
read aloud from the book. “Legend has it that some of the
words can act as keys, which open invisible doors which cross
the wall of sleep.” He describes the 8th century origin of the
book, originally entitled Al Azif in Arabic, which he translates
as The Howling of Demons. He recalls that the author,
Abdul Alhazred, was torn to pieces by invisible demons in
broad daylight before a terrified crowd. Armitage suggests
that Carter’s uncle, George Angell, had many interesting
theories about the book. When Carter hands the professor
the letter which was addressed to him tucked inside the
Necronomicon, Armitage asks him to lend him the book so
he can translate the note which was written in a strange
alphabet. Carter agrees, promising to return on the following
day to pick it up.
That night, Carter is trouble by strange dreams featuring
a dark, mysterious, tentacled creature, who attempts to
devour him. When he awakes, he looks in the mirror and sees
the image of his uncle, his dopplegänger, who announces that
he has come back. Another black and white excerpt from
Lovecraft’s interview interrupts the story, as the author
discusses the “titanic significance” of dreams, which allows
entry to another world that may be as important as physical
life itself.
When Carter returns to Miskatonic University the next
morning, Armitage fails to open his door. The artist goes
around to the back of the building and breaks in when he
thinks he hears the professor screaming. He goes to the
basement, where living fragments of bizarre creatures are
kept in jars. Armitage is stretched out on the floor, his head
in the process of being devoured by a giant, worm-like
monster. Carter snatches the Necronomicon lying next to
Armitage’s body and runs from the room in a panic. He
returns to his studio and attempts to burn the book with a
blowtorch, but finds himself unable to do so.
The action switches back to Lovecraft writing in his
study, as he crafts a story about Harley Warren investigating
an old, desolate cemetery. As HPL narrates his tale, the scene
cuts to Randolph Carter in his bed sixty years later, reading
the same story. The scene returns again to Lovecraft, who
starts to doze off. Sixty years later, Carter also drifts into
sleep, where this tale is dramatized, with Randolph Carter
assuming the role of George Angell, Warren’s companion.
The two occult investigators stop in front of a crypt bearing
the name Howard Phillips, and Warren sets up a make-shift
intercom for Angell to monitor him as he descends into the
underground maze beneath the cemetery. Warren provides a
running commentary, as he encounters some ghoulish
creatures. Claiming that he is doomed, Warren begs his friend
to flee. Carter awakens and telephones Blake, his friend who
resembles Warren. As they speak, something attacks Blake.
Carter frantically calls his friend’s name, and an unearthly
voice speaks to him over the phone, saying, “You fool, Blake
is dead!”
Carter rises from his bed, and suddenly finds himself in
a forest. When he turns, he sees H. P. Lovecraft, and Carter
rushes over to introduce himself. The author is startled when
he notices his own image appears on Carter’s shirt. The
young man replies that where he comes from, Lovecraft has
quite a popular following, so his image is imprinted on tee
shirts as a tribute. Carter suggests that they both are
dreaming, and somehow have crossed paths in their
dreamlife.
When Carter introduces himself, Lovecraft recognizes
him as a character that he has created, “the traveler in the
world of dreams.” They walk together, wondering which of
them will awaken first. The scene is interspersed with another
passage from the black and white interview in which
Lovecraft says that the literary merit of his work is confined
to its dreamlike qualities. Back in the woods, Lovecraft and
Carter continue their chat. When Lovecraft explains that he
conjured up the Necronomicon in his imagination, Carter
replies that he owns a copy. Lovecraft is surprised, but then
adds, “In order for a thing to exist, it only has to be
imagined.” The author recounts to Carter his idea for a novel,
in which an aging alchemist arranges to pass on his copy of
the Necronomicon to his yet unborn nephew, thereby paving
the way for his own reincarnation as the younger man. As he
relates this story, Carter feels weak and dizzy, vanishing
completely when Lovecraft’s back is turned. The artist finds
himself back in his studio, realizing he is in fact George
Angell come back to life.
Lovecraft lets out a shout, waking up in his study. His
aunt, Annie Gamwell, calls to HPL, “Are you all right,
Howard?” He tells her to return to bed, that he was just
startled by a dream, and that he intends to write for a few
minutes. Thinking about his “magnificent nightmare,”
Lovecraft believes it is arrogant to think that he could
possibly live on because of his stories. He drifts off again,
returning to the dreamworld, in which he considers his own
death, a fate that does not frighten him. He finds himself
walking through a graveyard, and strides toward his own
grave. He looks impassively at his tombstone and notes the
engraving: “Howard Phillips Lovecraft, August 20, 1890—
March 15, 1937, I am Providence.” The picture fades to black
as Lovecraft gently smiles.
Out of Mind can be analyzed on different levels, both
philosophically and metaphorically. The central concept of
the film seems to be the personality of Lovecraft himself,
rather than the Cthulhu Mythos or other aspects of his
writing. The black and white narration, when Lovecraft
speaks directly to the screen, contains his actual words culled
from his voluminous correspondence. His philosophy and his
reflections about such matters as creativity, dreams,
humankind’s place in the cosmos and questions of life and
death comprise the essence of the film. As for Randolph
Carter, he is simply an extension, a dream character of
Lovecraft. In this film, Lovecraft’s imagination controls what
we see. When he imagines Carter, and gets the notion for a
story about him, that is what is shown. When he imagines the
Necronomicon, that is what becomes real. When he imagines
Carter’s fate, that is what happens. Finally, when Lovecraft
envisions his own death, he travels to his own graveside. Of
course, his presence there is in fact a contradiction of his
own nihilism, since by definition he should not be there.
However, he is there in his dream, so ultimately his dreams
are more real than reality, allowing Lovecraft to escape the
bonds of time and space. Through his stories, he allows his
readers to do the same. Filmmaker Raymond Saint-Jean
should be highly commended for bringing such a cosmic,
timeless quality to this modest motion picture, which
manages, in less than an hour, to capture the essence of
Lovecraft’s work in such a fascinating and thoughtful
presentation.

PERFORMANCES

It is interesting to note that no female character appears

in Out of Mind, a situation that occurs frequently in
Lovecraft’s stories, but never in the screen adaptations.
Lovecraft’s aunt is heard in one scene, but her image,
however, is not seen. Most of the cast members do fine work
in Out of Mind, particularly Art Kitching, the film’s nominal
hero, who brings both freshness and subtlety to his
interpretation of Randolph Carter and his alter ego, George
Angell. Michael Sinelnikoff is also superb as Henry Armitage.
He manages to convey volumes with the simplest gesture,
inflection or facial expression. Peter Farbridge is compelling
in his three slightly different appearances as Harley Wilson,
but his Robert Blake is somewhat flat in comparison. Of
course, the spellbinding cornerstone attraction is Christopher
Heyerdahl as H. P. Lovecraft, a masterful and intense reading
for which he undoubtedly did considerable research.
Heyerdahl has gained a reputation as one of Quebec’s finest
actors, and Out of Mind undoubtedly proves it. Oddly
enough, his next screen effort was also as a famous writer,
Charles Dickens, in the remarkable The Ghosts of Dickens
Past (1998). Heyerdahl’s screen debut was in Highlander III
(1994). Other credits include Bleeders (1997) and Affliction
(1999). He made a considerable impression in the mini-series
Nuremberg (2000), in which he played Ernst Kaltenbrunner,
one of the major Nazi war criminals, whose height, scarred
face and stern expression made him one of the most striking
of the defendants. Heyerdahl is obviously an actor of
considerable talents who should definitely become a major
character actor in films for the foreseeable future.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

This is clearly the most faithful film to Lovecraft the

individual as portrayed on screen. It is the only cinema effort
in which Lovecraft’s letters are used as text to bring him to
life as a genuine, breathing person, using such interesting
reminiscences as his youthful nightmares about ‘The Night
Gaunts.” Raymond Saint-Jean did considerable work in
crafting his screenplay. The character names are all culled
from Lovecraft’s writings. George Angell is derived from The
Call of Cthulhu. Robert Blake (originally HPL’s satire of his
friend, writer Robert Bloch) comes from The Haunter of the
Dark. Harley Warren can be found in The Statement of
Randolph Carter and Through the Gates of the Silver Key.
Randolph Carter can legitimately be described as Lovecraft’s
fictional alter ego, appearing not only in the two stories
mentioned with Harley Warren, but also in The Unnamable,
The Silver Key and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.
Carter is indeed a “traveler in the world of dreams,” as HPL
describes him in the film. Finally, Robert Barlow is not a
fictional character, but a young Florida writer befriended by
Lovecraft in the early 1930s. However, the names in the film
do not always match up with the characters as they appear in
Lovecraft’s stories. Consider The Statement of Randolph
Carter, for example. It is Randolph Carter who accompanies
Harley Warren on his fatal trip to explore the underground
chambers beneath an ancient cemetery, not George Angell.
Saint-Jean switches the payoff line of the story, “You fool,
Warren is dead!” to “You fool, Blake is dead!” because Carter
wakes up before the end of the story, and calls his friend
Blake who resembles Harley Warren. This story is also
depicted on screen in The Unnamable II: The Testament of
Randolph Carter. The main subplot, in which George Angell
takes over the persona of his descendant, is loosely based on
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Other elements of the
film are derived from various tales. Carter dreams terrible
dreams within dreams in The Dream-Quest of Unknown
Kadath. The fate of Professor Armitage is suggested by
several sources, including The Dreams in the Witch House.
The Dunwich Horror is the source for the long
Necronomicon passage read in English by Carter. In fact, the
film is so loaded with subtle references that it is difficult to
list them all. In conclusion, Out of Mind is profoundly
faithful to Lovecraft in capturing the mood and flavor of his
work, something very elusive and rarely achieved.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“I should describe my own nature as tripartite, my

interests consisting of three parallel and disassociated groups:
A, love of the strange and the fantastic; B, love of the
abstract truth and of science; C, love of the ancient and the
permanent. A summary combination of these three strains
would probably account for my odd tastes and eccentricities.”
(H. P. Lovecraft in the film’s introduction)
“Have you read his books?” (Carter to Blake) “Who,
Lovecraft? No, no, it’s not my speed. I saw one of his movies
once. It wasn’t very good.” (Blake) “What was it about?”
(Carter) “I don’t know, hairy squids from outer space.”
(Blake)
“In dream’s life, matter and vitality, as the earth knows
such things, may not be constant, and that time and space
does not exist as our waking selves comprehend them.
Sometimes I believe that this less material life is our truer life,
and that our vain existence on earth is itself the secondary
and merely virtual phenomenon.” (Lovecraft’s narration just
before he encounters Carter in his dream)
“Personally, I should not care for immortality in the least
There is nothing better than oblivion, since in oblivion there
is no wish unfulfilled. We had it before we were born, yet did
not complain. Shall we then whine because we know it will
return? Mammals, of which man is part, are simply a
psychochemical phenomenon, a component of carbon
animated by a form of electrical energy. This energy
disappears, the body disintegrates, and everything is finished.”
(Lovecraft’s closing narration)
 Phantoms (1998)
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Nyarlathotep (Equivilent)

Dimension Films. Written by Dean Koontz based on his

novel Phantoms; Photographed by Richard Clabaugh & Greg
Littlewood; Edited by Randolph K. Bricker; Music by David
Williams; Produced by Steven Lane, Michael Leahy, Robert
Pringle, Joel Soisson & Dean Koontz (executive); Directed by
Joe Chappelle. 95 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Peter O’Toole..............Timothy Flyte (archaeologist and

writer)
Joanna Going..............Jenny Pailey (local doctor in Snowfield)
Rosa McGowan...........Lisa Pailey (her teenage sister)
Ben Affleck.................Bryce Hammond (county sheriff)
Liev Schreiber..............Stu Wargle (flaky deputy)
Nicky Katt..................Steve Shanning (deputy)
Clifton Powell.............Gen Galen Copperfield (commander of
CBW unit)
Valerie Chow...............Sara Yamaguchi (CBW geneticist)
Rick Otto....................Lockland (CBW scientist)
Adam Nelson...............Burke (CBW scientist)
John Hammil...............Tabot (CBW scientist)
William Hahn..............Borman (CBW scientist)
Robert Himber.............Walker (CBW scientist)
John Scott Clough........Shane (CBW scientist)
Michael DeLorenzo.......Billy Velazquez (CBW support
soldier)
Dean Hallow................Sgt. Harker (CBW support soldier)
Paul Schmidt...............Support soldier in church sequence
Clive Rosengren...........Commanding officer outside the
perimeter
Edmund Wyson............Guthrie (communications operator)
Bo Hopkins.................Hawthorne (FBI agent who approaches
Flyte)
Robert Knepper............Wilson (Hawthorne’s partner)
Judith Drake................Hilda Beck (Jenny’s housekeeper)
Luke Ebert..................Boy in tunnel
Yvette Nipor................Cowgirl in bar
Rich Beall...................Security guard

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

As with The Manitou, Phantoms is a Lovecraft film by

association, since the Cthulhu Mythos clearly inspired the
author, Dean Koontz, who based his 1983 novel around one
of the Old Ones, Nyarlathotep, whom he calls “The Ancient
Enemy” and uses as the nemesis of his story. Koontz
carefully supervised the transfer of his book to the screen,
refining it, providing the screen treatment and serving as one
of the executive producers. In the process, he provides the
cinema with one of the most vivid, dramatic and colorful
depictions of one of the Old Ones to date.
The picture opens as Dr. Jenny Pailey is driving her
feisty younger sister, Lisa, from Los Angeles, where she was
sowing her wild oats, to the small, mountain village of
Snowfield, California. With the recent death of their mother,
Jenny is now her fourteen-year-old sister’s guardian. Lisa is
stunned by the isolation and emptiness of Snowfield as the
car drives down the main street. Lisa wanders to the kitchen
upon entering her sister’s home, and screams as she spots
Jenny’s housekeeper, Hilda, lying crumpled on the floor.
Jenny quickly examines her body, noticing no signs of
violence or obvious cause of death. They head down the
deserted street to the police station, where they find another
body, that of Paul Henderson, a police officer, and Lisa
begins to panic. The dead officer had obviously shot off
three rounds at someone or something before he was killed.
They continue to search, arriving at the conclusion that
everyone in town is dead after finding the beheaded bodies
of the local baker and his wife at their shop. They encounter
the county sheriff Bryce Hammond and his two deputies,
who have come to Snowfield to investigate the mysterious
phone call they received from Sergeant Henderson. Jenny
explains that something astounding might be behind the mass
deaths and murders, either a strange disease or even germ
warfare. Night falls, and everyone is startled when they hear
an unexpected mélange of sound: church bells tolling, the
shrieking of a fire alarm and other sirens. The street lights
start flashing on and off, and everything falls silent. Deputy
Wargle begins to act strangely, chuckling to himself. Sheriff
Hammond suggests they search the Candleglow Inn, the only
hotel in town. According to the register, four rooms are
booked. They find a body in one, but the others are empty.
Inside a locked bathroom, they find a puzzling message in
lipstick scrawled on the mirror: “TIMOTHY FLYTE THE
ANCIENT ENEMY.”
 Regrouping at the police station, they try to figure out
their next move. Deputy Shanning hears a shout, and when
he steps outside to investigate, he vanishes. Hammond calls
his headquarters and orders that Snowfield be quarantined
with roadblocks, and that the nearest anti-terrorist unit be
contacted for assistance with the understanding that hundreds
of civilians are missing or dead in Snowfield. The phone
rings, and a bizarre and unearthly message is recorded on the
answering machine. An enormous moth, over two feet wide,
crashes through the window and attacks Wargle. Hammond
fights it off with a round of gunfire, but Wargle is killed, his
face and brain eaten away.
Two FBI agents locate Dr. Timothy Flyte, author of a
controversial book called The Ancient Enemy, in which he
theorizes that an unknown, monstrous being from prehistory
is responsible for the periodic mass vanishings of people,
such as the 1939 disappearance of a unit of the Chinese
army, the lost colony of Roanoke in the 16th century and the
Mayan civilization in 610. The professor banters with the
agents until they insist he accompany them “on a matter of
national security.” Flyte is brought by plane to the outskirts
of Snowfield, where he is met by General Copperfield, head
of a special anti-terorist unit CBW (Chemical and Biological
Weapons). They have set up mobile lab units in two large
vans just outside the perimeter of town, and Flyte is
introduced to the team of scientists who are preparing to
investigate. Since one of the victims spent her last moment
writing Flyte’s name and book title as a message, the team
grills the professor for expertise on the Ancient Enemy.
Meanwhile, Jenny, Lisa and Hammond believe they are
being taunted by an evil presence. They hear phantom
screams in the distance, and Lisa momentarily sees an image
of Wargle which speaks to her, then vanishes. The vans
finally enter Snowfield accompanied by a squad of soldiers,
all wearing sealed contamination suits. The scientists take
samples from the bodies that remain, but Hammond suggests
that most of the victims are missing. The sheriff is surprised
to see the name tag “Flyte” on one of the suits, and asks him
how he fits into these events. Flyte replies, “Reluctantly.”
When the scientists find a pile of buttons, jewelry and
watches, Flyte concludes that they are undigested remains.
The squads eventually come under attack. Corporal
Velazquez, while attempting to repair the telephone lines in a
storm drain, is carried off by a number of large tentacles. In a
church, other soldiers come across a dog. As Flyte warns
them to stand clear, the dog transforms into a hellish
octopoid that reaches out with its feelers, smashing though
the mens’ helmets and sucking out their remains. They are all
killed but Flyte, and then the body of one of the soldiers
reassembles and addresses him, saying, “You were brought
here, Dr. Flyte. Do your research! Write the gospel!” He races
back to the mobile lab, and General Copperfield is attacked
and killed. After death, the corpse of the general spits out of
his mouth a small lizard, with the admonition, “My flesh,
study it. Write the gospel, but do not try to leave!”
Copperfield then topples over and dissolves. All members of
the CBW unit have been killed, leaving only Flyte, Jenny, Lisa
and Hammond.
The professor starts to examine the specimen, which
changes shape from a lizard back to protoplasm. He explains
to the others that the being laying siege to Snowfield is n
primordial creature with the ability to assume almost any
form. It lives deep in the earth, rising to the surface only to
feed, when it absorbs the flesh as well as the intelligence of
its victims. Then it returns to the depths, becoming dormant
for long periods of time, recalling the famous couplet from
the Necronomicon, “That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.” The Ancient
Enemy develops a mental link with the computer in the
mobile lab, and Flyte and the others begin to converse with it.
The professor suggests that it truly believes it is a god, having
absorbed the various mythologies of the human
subconscious. The Ancient Enemy almost playfully enjoys
posing as the devil or a demon. It also has the ability to send
out detachments, called phantoms or drones, that perform an
assigned task and then return later to the creature as a whole.
Flyte determines that the creature’s basic composition is
similar to petroleum jelly. The mobile lab has a sample of
biosan 14, a genetically engineered bacterium that eats crude
oil, used primarily to break up oil spills. Flyte believes that it
might infect the Ancient Enemy. Since the bacterium grows
in an oil-rich environment, it could even destroy it.
While the others prepare the weapon, the professor
leaves the mobile lab and walks out into the street,
challenging the Ancient Enemy to appear before him in its
entirety. Only this way, Flyte believes, will the weapon be
successful against it. He plays upon its ego, taunting it,
inquiring if it has anything at all to fear. The figures of
hundreds of people suddenly appear before the professor.
They disintegrate, merging with a massive pseudopod that
oozes out of the storm drain, rising to the sky and taking the
shape of a colossal, grotesque monster with feelers, suckers
and multiple faces. Hammond and the others burst out of the
lab, firing their weapons which drench the Ancient Enemy
with biosan 14. Infected, the creature goes mad, changing
shapes and screeching an infernal wail. Everyone scatters in
all directions. Jenny and Lisa dash into a building where they
are pursued by an image of Deputy Wargle. They shoot it
with their guns treated with biosan 14, and Wargle transforms
into a squid-like creature with dozens of tentacles that reach
out for the sisters. Hammond, falling into the storm drain,
encounters a young boy, a duplicate of an image from his
past, a youngster he once shot by accident while on duty.
When the boy picks up a vial of the biosan 14 which
Hammond has dropped, the sheriff shoots the vial, and the
boy disintegrates. The Ancient Enemy withdraws
underground, screaming in pain.
Lisa, Jenny, Flyte and Hammond gather back in the
street. The professor announces that the creature has been
vanquished, but that, in a way, it has also won. It wanted him
to tell the world of its existence, and that is what he is going
to do. The scene shifts to months later, as Dr. Flyte lectures
on television about the Ancient Enemy. As a cowgirl and an
old geezer watch the television screen in an out of the way
tavern, a figure sitting further down the bar starts to chuckle
softly. It is Deputy Wargle, and he looks at the girl as he
repeats his catchphrase, “Hey, do you want to see
something?” The end credits roll accompanied by a Patsy
Cline ballad.
Despite the rather cliched horror film wrap-up with
Wargle, Phantoms is a very impressive film. It wastes little
time unleashing its imaginative plot, and it provides many
unique, creepy moments, particularly in the first half. To its
detriment, the second half is weakened by a non-stop barrage
of foul language interspersed with scenes of machine gun fire
that go on far too long. On the whole, Koontz edits his novel
very well, although he inexplicably changes the names of the
doctor and her sister from Paige in the book to Pailey on
screen. The special effects are masterful, effectively rendered
in half-light and half-darkness. The explanations given in the
script seem plausible and concise, compared to the book
which occasionally wanders into numerous sidetracks with
additional characters eliminated from the film. The sound
effects are even more impressive than the visual, and
whenever we hear the Ancient Enemy speak, his voice is an
ever-changing amalgam of the voices of the many people he
has absorbed. If any audience member attended this film
without foreknowledge of any of the plot, he would have
been treated to the cinema’s equivalent of a wild, thrilling and
imaginative roller-coaster ride. In an era in which so many
horror films seem alike, this one ventures off into
unchartered territory, demonstrating the potential for similar,
free-wheeling Lovecraftian adventures in the future.

PERFORMANCES

Although Phantoms is largely a special effects film, it

also contains a first-rate cast, headlined by Peter O’Toole,
who is very convincing as Dr. Timothy Flyte. In the past,
O’Toole has been known to overact, but he manages to hit
the perfect tone here, making the strange events seem
plausible. The scene in which he summons the Ancient
Enemy to appear, playing to its hubris, is breathtaking and
truly masterful. The character of Flyte does not survive in the
book, but Koontz wisely alters that in the film version. Liev
Schreiber, however, is a bit too campy as Deputy Wargle,
although he does bring some fun to the part. The survival of
the drone Wargle at the end of the film makes little sense
since he was infected. It is just a cheap curtain-closing
gimmick. In the novel, it is clear the Ancient Enemy is totally
destroyed, although he leaves two disciples, Gene Terr and
Fletcher Kale, characters eliminated in the film. If Koontz
wanted to leave Wargle as a mischief-making disciple, he
shouldn’t have included the scene in which he became
infected. Ben Affleck is excellent as Sheriff Hammond. The
screenplay added the bit in which Hammond left the FBI
because he accidentally shot a kid. Affleck is superb in the
final confrontation with the facsimile image of the dead kid,
assumed by the creature in the storm tunnel. Affleck also
interacts well with Joanna Going and Rosa McGowan. The
ensemble acting between the leads is first rate. Most of the
other characters, however, are wasted. The scientists in their
contamination suits are simply indistinguishable from the
soldiers and each other. The scenes of them searching
through the town are poorly staged, no doubt confusing the
audience and weakening the film just at which it should be
picking up steam. It is almost a relief when the Ancient
Enemy wipes them out.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The basis for Dean Koontz’s Ancient Enemy is

undoubtedly Nyarlathotep, one of the key figures in the
hierarchy of the Old Ones. Lovecraft provided Nyarlathotep
with an alternate name, the Crawling Chaos, in The Rats in
the Walls and Nyarlathotep. In the novel Phantoms, when the
Ancient Enemy is first questioned about its name, it replies,
“Chaos.” In the film, when General Copperfield asks Dr.
Flyte about the “thing,” the professor replies, “Chaos in the
flesh.” The natural state of the Ancient Enemy is similar to
petroleum jelly. The natural state of Nyarlathotep resembles
yellow slime. Like the Ancient Enemy, Nyarlathotep has the
ability to assume different identities and over a thousand
different forms. Lovecraft portrays one of these in The
Haunter of the Dark, a large bat-like or moth-like creature,
similar to the monstrosity that killed Wargle. The drone dog
in the story is reminiscent of the Hounds of Tindalos, foul
creatures conceived by Lovecraft’s friend, the writer Frank
Belknap Long. Koontz essentially confirms the Lovecraftian
origins of his novel by naming one of his characters Captain
Arkham, an air force specialist in potential contact with non-
human intelligence. This character, however, does not appear
in the final film. In the novel, Koontz suggests that there are
other companions to the Ancient Enemy, but this concept
was also excised in the final script, leaving the impression that
it was the only surviving member of its species. Another
interesting point is the Ancient Enemy’s desire to be the
subject of a new gospel. It seems to want Timothy Flyte to
become its Abdul Alhazred, urging him to write a modern
day Necronomicon, a fascinating idea. On the whole,
Koontz’s adaptation of this Old One is enterprising and
brilliant, particularly using Nyarlathotep as the reason behind
puzzling mass disappearances in history. At one point he
quotes an Indian name for the Old One which is a brilliant
parody of Lovecraft: “He Who Can Be Anything Yet is
Nothing.” In an afterword to his novel, Koontz adds a few
lines explaining that the vanishings mentioned in the course
of the novel are well documented, historical events.
Incidentally, the 1950s film Caltiki included a similar link to
the Old Ones and to the disappearance of the Mayan
civilization in 610. Oddly enough, some critics failed to pick
up the Lovecraft connection to Phantoms, while others hit
the nail on the head. One writer even titled his review “The
Doom That Came to Snowfield,” cleverly spoofing
Lovecraft’s The Doom That Came to Sarnath.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“The first thing we need to know is what we are dealing

with here, what kind of threat it is, biological, chemical or
other?” (Copperfield to Hammond) “Well, I’m leaning toward
other.” (The sheriff ’s reply)
“It only thinks it is all-powerful. It’s lived too long
without fear, millions of years it slept where no one could
touch it, nothing could kill it. That is what makes it
vulnerable.” (Hammond to Flyte)
“I’m here, your witness. If I’m to tell the world, I need
to see all of you, not just a drone. You wonder what’s going
on in there. They are preparing a weapon…. What they don’t
understand is that death is for mortals, not for gods. Even
after all they’ve witnessed tonight, they still don’t believe.
They think you are only an animal, only a thing. Show
yourself. Gods have nothing to fear, or do they?” (Flyte,
leaving the mobile lab, addressing the Ancient Enemy)
“Ladies, you wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man, would ya?
That’s a dumb question. Ouch! Heh, Heh, Heh. Do you want
to see something?” (Wargle to Jenny and Lisa, before
changing into a squid-like monster)
 Re-Animator (1985)
AKA H. P. Lovecraft’s Re-Animator
Rating: *****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Miskatonic University & Medical School

Empire Pictures. Written by Dennis Paoli, William J.

Norris & Stuart Gordon based on the six-part novella
Herbert West—Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed
by Mac Ahlberg; Edited by Lee Percy; Music by Richard
Band; Produced by Brian Yuzna; Directed by Stuart Gordon.
Original version, 86 minutes; Foreign version, 94 minutes; R-
rated theatrical version, 84 minutes; Extended version, 95
minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Jeffrey Combs..............Herbert West (student & mad scientist)

Bruce Abbott...............Dan Cain (Miskatonic University
intern)
Barbara Crampton.........Megan Halsey (Dan’s girlfriend &
Dean’s daughter)
Robert Sampson...........Dr. Allan Halsey (medical school dean)
David Gale..................Dr. Carl Hill (professor who is
beheaded)
Gerry Black.................Barney Mace (morgue guard)
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon...Dr. Annie Harrod (emergency room
specialist)
Peter Kent...................First revived corpse
Barbara Pieters.............Nurse
Al Berry......................Dr. Gruber (brain research scientist)
Ian Patrick Williams.....Swiss professor
Bunny Summers...........Swiss doctor
Derek Pendelton...........Swiss policeman
Gene Scherer...............Swiss policeman
James Ellis..................Psycho ward guard
James Earl Cathay........Psycho ward guard
Annyce Holzman..........Opening scene heart failure victim
Velvet Debois..............Female corpse
Lawrence Lowe............Failed operation corpse
Robert Holcomb...........Accident victim corpse
Mike Filloon...............Gunshot wound corpse
Greg Reid....................One-armed corpse
Velvet Debois..............Slit wrist corpse
Jack Draheim...............Tall skinny corpse
Robert Pitzele..............Bald corpse

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

When this amazing film was first released, many

expected it to be dismissed as a worthless splatterfest, but
even mainstream critics, led by none other than Judith Crist,
provided rave reviews. The enthusiasm of the filmgoing
public was equally strong, and Re-Animator became one of
the most influential genre films of the 1980s, a masterpiece
of black comedy as well as horror.
The picture begins with a sequence in a Swiss hospital.
A woman doctor and a bearded professor are attempting to
break into the laboratory of the eccentric brain research
scientist, Dr. Gruber. Wild cries and screams are heard from
behind the locked door. Two policemen are summoned, and
they smash their way in, discovering Gruber writhing on the
floor, with his assistant Herbert West hovering over him.
They drag him off, and Gruber leaps to his feet, bellowing in
pain. He finally collapses, apparently dead. “You killed him!”
the woman doctor exclaims to West. “No, I gave him life.”
The scene cuts quickly to the credits, as a jittery, intense
musical score blares out, highly reminiscent of the opening
music of Psycho (1960). The theme music of Re-Animator
audaciously tweaks the famous score for string orchestra by
Bernard Herrmann, finally evolving into a rather clever
parody, adding woodwinds and percussion. The credits are
highly stylized as the background is filled with medical
sketches of animals and humans that sweep to and fro behind
the names of the cast and crew. As the infectious music
winds down, the setting of the story, the Miskatonic
University Hospital and Medical School in Arkham,
Massachusetts, is established.
A comatose woman is rolled into the emergency room.
Intern Dan Cain starts to work feverishly, rhythmically
pumping on her chest cavity. Dr. Annie Harrod, chief ER
physician, applies electroshock to stimulate the patient’s heart,
but without result. Dr. Harrod pronounces her dead, and has
to call off Cain who continues to work on her. “A good
doctor knows when to stop,” the experienced physician
advises. The hard-working intern removes the body, wheeling
it down to the morgue. He is startled when the medical
school dean, Allan Halsey, approaches Dan from behind. The
dean is giving a tour of the facilities to Herbert West, a new
Miskatonic student who has just returned from overseas
studies in Switzerland. Dr. Carl Hill, performing a autopsy in
the morgue, is intrigued when he overhears that West studied
with the late Dr. Gruber, his European rival. Hill trades barbs
with West, who reveals that the European medical
establishment considers Hill’s work to be derivative of
Gruber.
That evening, Cain has a rendezvous with Megan Halsey,
daughter of the medical school dean. Cain had advertised for
a roommate to share expenses of his small house, and West
shows up, interrupting their tryst. He asks to see the
basement of the building, and when he sees that he can use it
for a laboratory, he offers Cain a large down payment.
West proves to be a phenomenal student, brilliant but
cold and eccentric. He enjoys baiting Dr. Hill, and during his
lectures, he keeps snapping his pencils as a distraction. He
particularly mocks Hill’s assertion that the brain can only
survive for six to twelve minutes after an individual’s heart
has stopped beating.
Later Cain discovers, when he picks up Megan for a
date, that Dr. Hill is also infatuated with her. Back at his
house, Megan wonders about West, who is so quiet that Cain
is never sure if he is home or not Megan decides to search
for Rufus, Cain’s missing cat She sneaks into West’s room,
and finds the body of Rufus in West’s small refrigerator.
When she screams, West arrives, upset that intruders are in
his room. He tells Cain that he found the cat dead and stored
the body in his refrigerator, planning to inform his roommate
as soon as he saw him. He sarcastically says that it was a
better idea than leaving a note, “Cat dead, details later.”
That evening, Cain hears a odd shriek emanating from
the basement. He sneaks down there, only to find Herbert
West engaging in a strange battle with a mad, wild-eyed
Rufus. Cain strikes the cat down with a baseball bat, and
demands an explanation from West. He is dubious when his
roommate claims that he revived Rufus from the dead.
Picking up the cat’s mangled corpse, West injects it with a
glowing serum, and the cat returns to life once again, howling
piteously. This time, Megan is attracted by the noise in the
cellar, from which she runs screaming after seeing the
malformed Rufus.
The next day, Cain goes to see Dean Halsey, explaining
that Herbert West has invented a formula which can bring
dead animals back to life. Halsey is outraged, considering the
claim to be bogus and absurd. He expels West. When he
hears that his daughter had also witnessed an experiment,
Halsey forbids Cain to see her again and cancels his
scholarship. That afternoon, the dean heads to the University
Hospital to insure that Cain is pulled off active duty. Megan,
having learned of her father’s plans, follows him, protesting
his decision. Meanwhile, Cain has smuggled West into the
hospital morgue, disguising his friend as a dead body. They
inject one of the cadavers with the serum. At first nothing
happens, but upon a second injection, the body arises with an
uncontrollable frenzy. West and Cain are unable to restrain
him. When Halsey enters the morgue, the reanimated corpse
kills him. West eventually destroys the raging corpse with an
electric drill. West suggests that it acted violently because it
had been dead too long. He proposes reviving Halsey. Cain is
stunned, but he concurs. Revived, Halsey starts to choke both
Cain and West. At this precise moment, Megan sneaks into
the morgue and is shocked to see her father’s mad behavior.
Mace, the security man usually posted outside the morgue,
comes in after Megan. Halsey sinks into a corner, blathering.
West claims that something snapped inside the dean when he
entered the morgue, and West blames him for mutilating the
bloody cadaver on the floor. Mace calls the Arkham police.
Halsey is confined to the psycho ward, under the care of
Dr. Hill. When Megan visits her father, ranting in a
straitjacket, Dr. Hill takes the opportunity to make advances
to her. After operating on Halsey, Hill goes to visit West. He
announces that Halsey is undoubtedly dead, yet he is
conscious and moving. He threatens West with criminal
exposure unless he turns his discovery over to him. The
intern reacts mockingly to this blackmail attempt. Hill
attempts to hypnotize West, but when his back is turned the
student decapitates him with a shovel. Then, the young
scientist is unable to resist injecting his regeneration fluid into
the head. Oddly enough, for the first time the revival seems a
complete success as Hill is rational when he awakens. West is
unaware that Hill’s body has also revived, and it knocks him
out.
Cain returns home and finds the basement laboratory in
shambles. West, barely coherent, explains that Hill stole his
notebooks and the formula, that is, after West had killed and
revived him. Cain whirls in utter disbelief at this news.
Meanwhile, in a surreal sequence, the decapitated Hill learns
how to gain control over his uncoordinated body. Hill
projects his mental commands to Halsey, ordering him to
break out of his cell and kidnap Megan. He equips his body
with a wax model head, disguising it with a surgical mask,
while his real head is tucked in his medical bag. He then goes
to the morgue, where Mace, his nose buried in an issue of
Boudoir, barely notices his unusual appearance. The guard
decides to take a break and leaves his post. The dead dean
arrives, carrying his unconscious daughter. Hill instructs his
body to strip Megan, and he ogles her as his body carries his
head over the most interesting portions of Megan’s anatomy.
She awakens, and reacts in horror. West interrupts his
attempts, berating him for being nothing but a dirty old head.
Cain frees Megan. Hill remarks that they have fallen into a
trap, and it turns out that Hill has injected all the corpses in
the morgue with the glowing potion. The deranged head is
able to control them by hypnotic control. West, Cain and
Megan are quickly overwhelmed. Megan appeals to her father,
who lets out a growl and assaults Hill, squeezing the head and
butting it against his skull. In the struggle, West gives the
headless body a double injection of the serum, and it quivers
and collapses. Mace hears the melee, opening the morgue
door, and Halsey tosses the head past the guard, and it
bounces off the corridor wall. No longer under Hill’s control,
the corpses run wild, and pandemonium breaks out. Mace
runs off to raise the alarm and West appears to be
overwhelmed in the confused tumult. Cain tries to escape
with Megan, but a vicious corpse latches onto Megan’s neck.
Cain gets a fire ax and chops off the arm of the creature.
Megan seems lifeless.
The hospital is in total confusion as Cain carries the
lifeless body of Megan into the emergency room, bringing
the film full circle by duplicating the opening scene. A team
of people work on her desperately, but to no avail. When Dr.
Harrod pronounces her dead, Cain begs to be left alone with
her. He prepares an injection of the elixir. The screen blacks
out, except for the glowing fluid which gradually disappears
as Cain pushes the plunger of the syringe. Megan screams,
and the main theme is reprised as the end credits appear.
Re-Animator has been described by some as the only
mainstream splatter film ever made. The picture simply
doesn’t seem like a gore film since none of the splatter effects
seems intrusive, or merely added for arbitrary shocks. The
tone and tempo of the movie are so wacky yet compelling
that the horrific events seem entirely logical, even the bizarre
scene in which Hill’s ghoulish head leers lasciviously at
Megan’s naked figure. The humor likewise is blended into the
storyline so completely that it never feels forced or random.
Credit for these amazing traits must be fully attributed to
director Stuart Gordon for this exemplary cinematic
nightmare. Every aspect of the picture seems just right.
Consider the scene with the revived cat in the basement. The
tension is heightened by Richard Band’s “meow meow”
music, and by the cinematography, lit by a single swaying
lamp as in the climax of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Add to
this the choreography of the actors, and the convincing
special effects, and you have a flawless scene of absurd terror,
of dreadful hilarity. The film does have its flaws as well. The
introduction, for example, is a bit awkward and does not
cleanly fit in with the rest of the story. Why was West not
detained? What was Dr. Gruber’s association with West’s
formula? Did he help to develop it? Did he die a natural
death, giving West the occasion to test his theories? In the
main body of the film, it seems clear that West had never
tested them on a human subject, so this puzzling introduction
raises too many contradictions. It seems like it was grafted
onto the film at the last minute. On the other hand, the
remainder of the script fits like clockwork, with the tension
and crosscurrents in the relationships of the characters
providing much of the film’s drive. The bond between West
and Cain, for example, is their mutual obsession to overcome
death, at any cost. In West, this drive is all consuming, but in
Cain it is commensurate with his passion for Megan. Hill and
West are also mirror images, but Hill’s ego is dominated by
his unrequited sexual longing for Megan, whereas the
repressed West has completely subliminated his entire
persona exclusively into his work, a rather unnatural and
inhuman mentality. As Combs plays him, West sees all life as
a mere chemical process, with no room for consideration of
the soul or for love. Even Megan is a fully realized character,
not a mere object of the hero’s affection. Note her divided
loyalties between Cain and her father, particularly evident in
the last half of the film. Her erotic commitment to her lover
appears solid, yet it wanes when her daughterly devotion is
aroused by her father’s condition. Halsey is no stock figure
either, but a man in awe of his underling, Dr. Hill, a figure he
has exploited to build his school’s reputation, and to whom
he is considering sacrificing his daughter’s happiness. Yet, in
death, he finally rejects this concept as not only wrong but a
betrayal of Megan. The ebb and flow of these intersecting
and conflicting lines of allegiance is rather impressive in a
droll black comedy and adds an immeasurable spark to the
proceedings.
There are a number of alternate editions of Re-
Animator, including a standard 86-minute unrated version, a
slightly grosser 86-minute edition and 84-minute R-rated
version. An extended 94-minute version played in Australia,
but the violence is toned down in this version. The editing,
pacing and sweep of the film work best in the standard
version. A sequel to the film was undertaken five years later.
 PERFORMANCES

Jeffrey Combs has been highly praised for his distinct

and vibrant characterization as the title character in Re-
Animator, a unique role that seems to blend the screen
personalities of Colin Clive and Dwight Frye from the
original Frankenstein series. Comb’s manic intensity is
exceptional and larger than life, but his interpretation of the
cunning weasel has subtle nuances. No doubt director
Gordon helped him retain his remarkable sense of control,
never slipping into camp humor or outright silliness. His
performance is so etched with audacious wit, morbid whimsy
and nervous energy, that it literally propelled Combs into
stardom, at least in the horror genre. Equally impressive is
David Gale, a character actor who resembles Fritz Weaver.
Gale was a veteran of many daytime soap operas such as The
Edge of Night, The Secret Storm and Search for Tomorrow.
Once considered for Dark Shadows, Gale undoubtedly would
have been a fan favorite if he had been chosen, since his
Grand Guignol style would have made him a natural. It is no
doubt a unique challenge for an actor to play most of his
scenes as a living, disembodied head. Many performers were
featured in similar roles in such films as The Man Without a
Body (1957), The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958), The Head
(1959), The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1959), The Living
Head (1959), They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1963) and The
Frozen Dead (1967), but none of them endowed the role
with the flair, panache and total exuberance that Gale brings
to the part. Bruce Abbott plays the most normal of the film’s
characters, yet his growing obsession reveals him as another
individual living on the brink. Barbara Crampton is another
energetic member of the cast, and she retains an innocent
charm despite the revealing situations into which her
character is placed. The over-the-top scene in which she is
lasciviously nuzzled by the detached head of Dr. Hill is a
unique screen moment, one which no doubt would have
repelled HPL himself. Yet this uninhibited and daring scene
works due to its surreal nature. The complete cast walks a
very fine line, yet it never comes across as offensive, which is
an amazing feat. Suffice it to say that the success of Re-
Animator owes much to the dedication and commitment of
each player, from the stuntmen to the leads.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Herbert West—Reanimator was originally serialized in

six issues of the magazine “Home Brew” under the title
Grewsome Tales. The individual titles of each entry are: 1.
From the Dark; 2. The Plague Demon; 3. Six Shots by Moon-
light; 4. The Scream of the Dead; 5. The Horror from the
Shadows; and 6. The Tomb-Legions. Although ranked low by
many Lovecraft scholars as hack writing from his ghouls and
graves period, the series has a certain colorful zest, although
hampered by an awkward structure, since each segment has a
recap of the earlier parts. Incidentally, the original story is
available on a CD recording read by none other than Jeffrey
Combs. The Re-Animator screenplay does a brilliant job
adapting various excerpts in vivid fashion, including the
scenes with the disembodied head. The span of the original
tale is sixteen years, but the film centers the tale to its initial
setting at the Miskatonic Medical School. Besides West, the
script uses the character of Dr. Allan Halsey, the old-
fashioned dean of the school who becomes one of West’s
victims. The identity of the first person narrator of the story
is never revealed, but the character corresponds perfectly to
Daniel Cain. The beheaded victim who is revived is Sir Eric
Moreland Clapham-Lee, killed in a plane wreck. The script
wisely adapted the name of the other victim of the crash,
Ronald Hill, changing the first name to Carl. So the payoff of
the film is directly developed from Lovecraft, in which the
detached head organizes the other victims of West to rise up
in revenge. Even the detail, in which a dummy wax head is
mounted atop his own torso, is derived from the text. Of
course, the main difference between the novella and the film
is the updating to the 1980s and the lack of female characters
in the original, but the addition of Dean Halsey’s daughter to
the scenario is inspired. One could quibble about the extent
of black humor in the original story, but the wild denouement
of Herbert West—Reanimator is certainly the equivalent of
the outrageous, but somehow farcical, mayhem portrayed on
screen.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Don’t know why they keep locked doors around here.

Nobody wants in, and ain’t nobody getting out.” (Morgue
guard Barney Mace to Dan Cain)
“Birth is always painful.” (West to Cain, as he
demonstrates his elixir on the twice dead cat)
“12 cc’s being administered, the dosage lessened in
accordance to the freshness of the subject. Five seconds!”
(West to Cain, as he works on the body of Halsey) “Five
seconds!” (Cain repeats) “Come on, I’ll show you, fifteen
seconds, I’ll show you. Seventeen seconds, reanimation has
set in, the eyes opened. Doctor Halsey, you once did me a
favor by letting me into your medical school. Doctor,
welcome back to life!” (West to the awakening corpse)
“Hill took my serum, my notes, everything…. I had to
kill him.” (West to Cain) “What! He’s dead?” (Cain) “Not any
more.” (West, sheepishly)
“I must say, Doctor Hill, I’m very disappointed in you.
You steal the secret of life and death, and here you are
trysting with a bubble-headed co-ed.” (West to Hill’s head, as
it ogles Megan)
 The Resurrected (1992)
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Graves and Ghouls
Old Ones (Allusions)

Scotti Brothers Pictures. Written by Brent V. Friedman

based on the novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.
P. Lovecraft; Photographed by Irv Goodnoff; Edited by
Russell Livingstone; Music by Richard Band; Produced by
Mark Borde & Kenneth Raich; Directed by Dan O’Bannon.
108 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Chris Sarandon............Charles Dexter Ward (chemist) Joseph

Curwen (18th century sorcerer) Dr. Ash (identity assumed by
Curwen)
John Terry..................John March (Providence private
detective)
Jane Sibbett................Claire Ward (Ward’s wife)
Robert Romanus..........Lonnie Peck (March’s assistant)
Laurie Briscoe..............Holly Tender (March’s receptionist)
Ken Cameroux.............Ben Szander (Pawtuxet police captain)
Patrick Pon.................Raymond Cheng (servant hired by
Ward)
Bernard Cuffling...........Dr. Waite (asylum director)
J.B. Bivens.................Asylum orderly
Robert Sidley..............Asylum orderly
Scott Ateah.................Dave (another orderly)
Todd Masters...............Male nurse
Des Smiley................Janitor
Eric Newton................Lucius Fenner (Ward’s Pawtuxet
neighbor)
Joan O’Donahue...........Anna Bishop (another Pawtuxet
neighbor)
Tom Shorthouse..........Pawtuxet gas station owner
Jim Smith..................Williamson (wholesale butcher)
Philip Hayes...............Pawtuxet policeman
Judith Maxie...............Dr. Lyman (Ward’s psychiatrist)
Charles Kristian...........Ezra Ward (Ward’s 18th century
ancestor)
Megan Leitch..............Eliza Ward (his fiancée, seduced by
Curwen)
Serge Houde................Physician
Deborra Hope..............Television reporter
Deep Roy...................Monster in the catacombs
Keith Hay...................Pit monster
Greg Alien..................Pit monster

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

This innovative film, based on Lovecraft’s novel The

Case of Charles Dexter Ward, dramatizes many sequences of
the book in magnificent fashion. The plot is presented as a
detective story, with private eye John March hired to
investigate the mysterious activities of Charles Dexter Ward.
The first third of the picture, in fact, unfolds like a Raymond
Chandler story, with voiceover narration by a world weary
detective. (Incidentally, there is a fascinating and brilliant
short story by Jack Yeovil called The Big Fish which is a
sequel to both Chandler’s Farewell My Lovely and Lovecraft’s
The Shadow Over Innsmouth). The pacing more or less eases
the viewer into a rather traditional pattern, which makes the
long, frightening sequence in the Curwen catacombs seem
even more intense and shocking. In other words, the payoff
of the film is so much more powerful than the buildup that it
catches many viewers off guard in a fashion similar to
Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). Dan O’Bannon, co-author of
Alien (1979) and director of such films as Return of the
Living Dead (1985), helms The Resurrected with a sure and
steady hand, making the most of his limited resources.
Moreover, long segments of the film are pure Lovecraft, and
these scenes are its finest moments.
The picture opens during a stormy night at the Waite
Institute, a private Sanitarium in Providence Rhode Island.
Dr. Waite is alerted in his office that one of the patients,
Charles Dexter Ward, has escaped. He rushes to his cell,
discovering the mangled body of an orderly, massive
quantities of blood and an open window. On the pavement
below, Ward’s suitcase lies shattered on the pavement. There
is no trace of the escapee. The scene switches to the March
Detective Agency, where the haggard and weary private eye,
John March, is dictating into his tape recorder the facts in the
case of Charles Dexter Ward. The rest of the film is a
flashback in which March relates the details of the case.
Three weeks earlier, Claire Ward hired March after
learning that her husband, Charles Dexter Ward, is wanted by
the police for questioning about a charge of graverobbing.
She reports that her husband, a research chemist for a major
cosmetics firm, moved out of their home two weeks earlier to
conduct a scientific experiment. He previously had worked
out of the carriage house in which he had constructed a
laboratory. When Claire complained of the odor and noise
emanating from the lab, he moved his equipment to a
rundown farm house in rural Pawtuxet, which once belonged
to Joseph Curwen, one of Ward’s 18th century ancestors. Her
husband only learned of his inheritance of the property a few
months earlier when he was sent a trunk full of ancient
documents belonging to Joseph Curwen. Ward had recently
located and restored a portrait of Joseph Curwen, to whom
he bore an amazing likeness. Another disturbing
development, Claire reports, was the appearance of her
husband’s new assistant, a strange, bearded man known only
as Dr. Ash. Ward begged his wife to be patient and
understanding as he moved to the farmhouse, claiming his
experiment was of great importance. But since moving to
Pawtuxet, Ward had avoided all contact with his wife, and she
hadn’t seen him for two weeks until she heard that Lucius
Fenner, Ward’s neighbor in Pawtuxet, had called the police to
complain about him, and a delivery to the farmhouse of eight
boxes containing human remains was intercepted by the
authorities.
March drives out to Pawtuxet, and learns that all the
locals resent Ward, particularly since his farm reeks of the
odor of a charnel house. He approaches the Curwen property
in the guise of a fire inspector, but is rebuffed by an Asian
servant named Raymond Cheng. When he finally corners
Ward, the chemist tells him nothing, claiming that all
hazardous material has been removed from the property.
March learns the charges against Ward have been dropped
since he claimed never to have contracted for the shipment
of remains. When March attempts to interview Fenner, he
learns that the farmer had been killed, possibly by wild dogs
which have been plaguing the area.
The next day, Claire gives March a recorded phone
message she received from her husband in which he sounds
nervous and frightened, warning Claire to avoid any contact
with Dr. Ash. The detective escorts her at once to the
farmhouse, encountering a subdued Ward who only speaks in
a whisper, using antiquated language as he lurks in the
shadows of the room. He resists Claire’s suggestion to return
home with her, saying his experiment will be completed in six
weeks. After leaving, Claire insists that the man they spoke
with was not really her husband but an impostor. March
believes that Ward has gone insane, and should be committed
for observation. The police are summoned, and Ward is taken
into custody after threatening Claire with a knife. Ward is
placed in the Waite Institute, where Dr. Lyman, a crafty
female psychiatrist, is assigned to his case. The doctors are
somewhat stunned by their patient’s behavior, particularly his
abnormal cannibalistic cravings.
March locates an 18th century diary written by Ezra
Ward, and from it he re-constructs the history of Joseph
Curwen in Pawtuxet. He was a shipping magnate, smuggler
and amateur alchemist, much disliked by the citizens of
Pawtuxet. After stealing the affections of Ezra’s fiancée,
Eliza, Ezra began collecting evidence that Curwen was a
practitioner of the black arts. Ezra also uncovered evidence
of a huge complex of catacombs existing under the
farmhouse. When a hideous monster is fished out of the river
that winds through Curwen’s estate, the citizens of Pawtuxet
decide to raid the property on October 13, 1771. The diary
ends mysteriously after describing the commencement of the
raid.
March fears that something very dangerous exists on the
property when the mangled bodies of Raymond Cheng and
another of Ward’s neighbors are found in the vicinity of the
farmhouse. He obtains Claire’s permission to blow up the
building, but she insists on accompanying March when he
carries out the deed. Lonnie Peck, March’s assistant, also
comes along. In the cellar of the farmhouse, they discover the
entrance to the maze of catacombs. In one large chamber
that resembles a Mycenaean tomb, they discover Curwen’s
laboratory that was also used by Ward. Curwen’s notebooks
contain a grizzly, step-by-step process by which the dead can
be restored to life. It is a gruesome technique requiring large
amounts of raw meat and blood. March locates a vial with a
special elixir called reflux, which he tests on some ashes,
residue of human remains. A living hand finally emerges
from the decay, and the three are shocked to realize that
Curwen’s experiment actually works. They encounter a pit
containing a pulsating mass of abominations, living mistakes
resulting from the experiments. Claire finds her husband’s
suitcase filled with bones that she fears are his actual remains.
The being currently posing as Charles Dexter Ward must be
the revived corpse of Joseph Curwen. When their flashlight
fails, the trio are assaulted by semi-human monsters. Lonnie is
overcome and killed in the attack. March and Claire light
matches as they try to escape. March leaves explosives
throughout the catacombs as they retrace their steps back to
the surface. When they finally emerge and drive off, March
activates a detonation device, and the farmhouse and
underground catacombs erupt in a massive explosion.
 March heads to the Waite Institute to confront Curwen,
strapped in a strait jacket in a padded cell. He brings with him
Ward’s remains. Curwen confirms his actual identity. He had
arranged for his descendant to receive his own remains and
his notebook with detailed instructions to resurrect his
corpse. After his revival, Curwen then posed as the
mysterious Dr. Ash. When Ward began to back off from the
experiment, Curwen killed him, and assumed his identity.
Curwen taunts March, saying he will eventually be able to
convince his psychiatrist that he has recovered, and then he
will be permitted to go about his business. He boasts to the
detective about the extent of his powers, although he admits
that the appetite of the newly resurrected for raw flesh and
blood is over-whelming. Curwen breaks out of his strait
jacket, and prepares to kill March. When an orderly
intervenes, he is killed. March uncovers Ward’s remains and
pours the elixir over them. Ward’s skeleton begins to
reassemble, and this process starts to absorb the flesh directly
off of Curwen. There is not enough flesh to sustain two
bodies, so both Ward and Curwen disintegrate. March opens
the window and tears the bedsheets into strips, creating the
illusion of escape, and quietly slips out of the quiet asylum,
telling the male nurse as he leaves that all is well.
The flashback concludes as March completes his
narration, relieved to get all the details on tape. He realizes,
however, that his recording must never see the light of day, as
it would never be believed. The fate of Charles Dexter Ward
must remain a secret, at the very least to protect Claire and
make the rest of her life endurable.
The Resurrected is one of those films that improves
upon repeated viewings. Although shot in British Columbia,
the landscape seems appropriately New Englandish, although
more like New Hampshire or Vermont than Rhode Island.
The film has a number of flaws as well. Richard Band’s
musical score is dreary and forgettable. The plot also has a
number of loose ends, such as the fate of Raymond Cheng
and Anna Bishop. Were they murdered, or simply the victims
of one of the catacomb monsters on the loose? How did the
villagers of Pawtuxet acquire such a loathing of Charles
Dexter Ward in only two or three weeks? What happened
during the raid of October 13, 1771? How did Joseph
Curwen originally die? How did March know in resurrecting
Charles Dexter Ward, his own flesh would not be absorbed as
well as that of Curwen? In spite of these lapses, the film is
still an admirable achievement, and unfortunately, it did not
gain the level of critical success similar to Re-Animator. The
Resurrected also makes an interesting counterpoint to The
Haunted Palace. No doubt The Resurrected is closer overall
to the original novel, although it eschews linking up with the
Cthulhu Mythos, except for a brief implication by Curwen
near the picture’s climax. The Resurrected can stand on its
own, without prior knowledge of Lovecraft’s work, yet it
provides even richer entertainment for HPL aficionados. This
is one of the picture’s greatest strengths.

PERFORMANCES

Most of the performances in The Resurrected are low

key and matter-of-fact. They are uniformly good, but not
exceptional, except for Chris Sarandon, who delivers an
impressive, subtle and multi-layered reading of great power.
His performance has numerous highlights, including a
poignant recorded phone message by Ward moments before
he is killed, and the awkward, hesitant whisper when Curwen
first poses as Ward. Sarandon has had a distinguished career
playing offbeat and unusual roles, and his rendition of
Curwen/Ward ranks among his best. Sarandon had received
an Academy Award nomination for Dog Day Afternoon
(1975), played Jesus Christ in The Day Christ Died (1980) and
is the speaking counterpart for composer/singer Danny
Elfman as Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before
Christmas (1993). Sarandon was married for some time to
actress Susan Sarandon.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Not only is The Resurrected a reasonably literate

adaptation of Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,
it alludes to a number of Lovecraft’s other works, including
The Rats in the Walls (during the catacomb sequence) and
The Whisperer in Darkness (during Curwen’s initial
impersonation of Ward in the interview with his wife and
John March). The entire plot, of course, is seen through the
eyes of detective March, yet this device works particularly
well, especially during the second half of the film. The names
of most of the characters derive from the novel. Claire Ward
and John March are unique to the screenplay. Dr. Waite and
Dr. Lyman, for example, are directly from the book. Lucius
Fenner is derived from Luke Fenner, Curwen’s complaining
neighbor in the 18th century. Lonnie Peck finds his origins in
a member of Dr. Waite’s staff. In the novel, Curwen
employed foreign riffraff as servants, similar to the film’s
Raymond Cheng. Dr. Allan was the sinister figure
impersonated by Curwen after his resurrection. The altering
of this name to Dr. Ash is most witty, considering that
Curwen had just been raised from his own ashes. Ezra Ward
is the counterpart of the 18th century Ezra Weeden, whose
fiancée was Eliza. Many of the events in The Resurrected are
direct depictions of events in the novel, such as the 18th
century Curwen raid, the pack of wild dogs plaguing modern
Pawtuxet, and most importantly, the climax in the asylum in
which Curwen is destroyed. In the book, Dr. Willett caused
the destruction and dissolution of Curwen when he re-sorted
to use of an incantation to Yog-Sothoth. In the film, John
March used the reflux elixir on the bones of Charles Dexter
Ward to produce the identical result to destroy Curwen. Of
all Lovecraft films, The Resurrected is among the most
faithful to the original outline of the source text.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Opening title card,

quoting Job 14:14)
“I spent the better part of my life in Providence, but I
never ventured out to the Pawtuxet Valley. You always got a
strange feeling when you met someone from the valley, like
maybe they were hiding something.” (March’s voice-over
narration)
“Don’t you understand what’s going on down here,
Lonnie. He beat death!” (March to his assistant as they
explore the catacombs)
 “I think you found a way to live forever, but it’s messy.”
(March to Curwen at the asylum) “That is just the beginning.
I have struck depths that your little brain cannot fathom. My
researches have led me far beyond eternity. I have drawn
down demons from the stars. I have harnessed the shadows
that stride from world to world to sow death and madness. I
have designs whereby the earth, nay the very stars themselves,
can move at my command. Time and Cosmos belong to me,
Mr. March. The destinies of all things, the living and the
dead, are mine. But, as you say, it is messy.” (Curwen, boasting
of the extent of his necromantic powers)
 The Shuttered Room (1967)
Rating: **
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Dunwich
Whateley family

Seven Arts. Written by D.B. Ledrov & Nathaniel

Tanchuck based on the short story The Shuttered Room by
August Derleth & HP. Lovecraft; Photographed by Ken
Hodges; Edited by Brian Smedley-Aston; Music by Basil
Kirchin; Produced by Philip Hazelton; Directed by David
Greene. 100 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Carol Lynley...............Susannah Whateley Kelton (returning

Dunwich native)
Gig Young..................Mike Kelton (publisher & Susannah’s
husband)
Oliver Reed.................Ethan Whateley (hostile Dunwich
native)
Flora Robson...............Aunt Agatha (head of Whateley family)
William Devlin............Zebulon Whateley (blacksmith,
Agatha’s brother)
Celia Hewitt................Sarah Whateley (Susannah’s demented
sister)
Robert Cawdron...........Luther Whateley (Man who hitchhikes
with Mike)
Judith Arthy................Emma (Dunwich girl who loves Ethan)
Bernard Key.................Tail Whateley (Zebulon’s disfigured
son)
Rick Jones..................John Whateley (Susannah’s father)
Ann Bell.....................Mary Whateley (Susannah’s mother)
Charles Lloyd Pack.......Wilkes (Barge operator)
Ingrid Bower................Young Dunwich girl
Anita Anderson............Her mother
Peter Porteous..............Dunwich thug
Murray Evans..............Dunwich thug
Clifford Higgins...........Dunwich thug

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

The Shuttered Room is a film that merely uses the

trappings of a Lovecraft story to depict a creepy and
atmospheric setting. In actuality, segments of the picture,
mostly in the first half, are rather effective and rather good.
Unfortunately, it then switches more to a juvenile delinquent
plot which becomes repetitious and rather tedious. By the
time the plot returns to the main story, it robs it of any
supernatural or fantastic elements, rendering the story rather
hollow and empty by the conclusion. A few viewers may write
the film off as a total loss, but it does manages to capture the
flavor of Lovecraft in a few excellent scenes, however briefly.
First-rate cinematography and magnificent location footage
also help to salvage The Shuttered Room from being a
complete waste.
One of the best scenes opens the picture. A man and his
wife are settling down in beds when their daughter in a
nearby room starts crying. The man exclaims, “You’ve left the
door unlocked” as they rush to the child and lead off an
unseen, threatening figure into a shuttered room. The credits
follow, and the story picks up years later, as Mike Kelton
drives his wife Susannah to visit Dunwich, her home town.
(In this film, Dunwich is located on an offshore island. It
probably would have been more appropriate if the town was
called Innsmouth instead, since Innsmouth is coastal whereas
Dunwich should be located inland.) Susannah has very little
memory of Dunwich, which she left at the age of four, and
the idea of returning there frightens her. After they cross
over to Dunwich on a primitive ferry operated by an old
eccentric named Wilkes. His barge barely manages to
transport their car, the Keltons are treated to a rowdy
reception by a group of youths horsing around in a pick-up
truck. One of the group is hurt while being dragged behind
the truck on a wooden sled.
Mike asks Ethan, one of the gang, if he could direct him
to Zebulon Whateley, and Mike is told to visit a nearby
blacksmith’s workshop. After introducing himself, Mike
explains to Zebulon that he is married to his niece, Susannah
Whateley, who had been sent the keys to her old home, a
rambling house and corn mill, in Dunwich. Zebulon urges
them instead to return to New York, since the millhouse has
been abandoned for years. When Ethan learns that the
Keltons have inherited the mill, he rushes to see Aunt
Agatha, the matriarch of the Whateley family who previously
had promised the old mill to him.
Susannah is frightened when she sees the millhouse, but
Mike finds it to be charming. The living quarters are thickly
covered with cobwebs. As they start to explore, Ethan knocks
at the door with an invitation for them to visit Aunt Agatha.
He offers to guide them to her house, a remote stone
watchtower. The elderly woman greets Susannah kindly, but
warns her that the millhouse is dangerous, cursed, and the
presence of a Whateley in the house would imperil everyone
in Dunwich. Agatha tells her niece that her parents both died
after being struck by lightning. Mike is dubious of her talk
about “the Whateley curse” and ignores Agatha’s warning to
leave Dunwich at once.
The Keltons decide to stay overnight at the millhouse.
Mike goes to the general store to get some supplies as
Susannah tidies up a few rooms to try and make them livable.
When left alone, Susannah senses a presence that makes her
feel uneasy. The camera shows an eye that appears at a
knothole in the wall. She decides to take a walk. When Mike
returns, he finds a drunk intruder in the house and ejects him.
Meanwhile, Ethan and his friends start to stalk Susannah on
her stroll. When she notices him, she starts to run. She
becomes trapped on a long, narrow pier. Ethan grabs her and
kisses her. When Mike arrives, the others back off, and Mike
knocks Ethan off the pier and into the water.
That night, Emma, Ethan’s girlfriend, sneaks around the
millhouse and steals Susannah’s pantyhose. As she admires
her memento, a mysterious figure attacks Emma and kills her.
Later Agatha comes across her body, and desperately scuffles
with the mysterious figure, escorting it back to the shuttered
room in the mill. She then slips into the residential section of
the house, and is relieved when she sees that the sleeping
Mike and Susannah are unharmed. She drops her gloves,
however, and Mike discovers them the next morning. He goes
alone to Agatha’s house to confront her. She admits to Mike
that the Whateley curse is a myth created by her to keep the
superstitious Dunwich residents away from the millhouse. She
then reveals to Mike the actual secret of the millhouse. As
Mike drives back, Luther Whateley blocks the road and asks
Mike for a ride. Luther complains that electricity lines pass
over the island, but provide no electricity for Dunwich itself.
He claims that someday he will dynamite one of the pylons.
The car is then ambushed by Ethan’s friends, and together
with Luther they beat up Mike. They gloat that Ethan will
rape Susannah during Mike’s absence.
Walking outside the millhouse, Susannah notices the
shuttered room, which puts out from top floor of the mill,
and she decides to investigate it. Ethan shows up, however,
and Susannah runs back into the house with Ethan pursuing
her. She heads into the mill portion of the house, heading
toward the shuttered room. Ethan is attacked by the
mysterious figure in the room, a chained, disheveled woman.
As they struggle, the startled man falls through a trap door,
falling to his death. Susannah and the woman stare at each
other in silence. Mike enters the room and embraces
Susannah, saying Aunt Agatha told her about Susannah’s
demented sister who has been confined in this room for
years, watched over by Agatha. Mike leads the stunned
Susannah away. Agatha arrives at the millhouse shortly after,
and sets it on fire. When he notices the smoke, Mike returns
to the building and unlocks the madwoman’s chains. She then
starts to claw at Mike. Agatha returns, saying she can handle
her more easily. She asks Mike to lead the way out, since the
smoke was becoming thicker. But as soon as Mike leaves the
shuttered room, Agatha locks it with herself and the
madwoman inside. “It’s best this way,” Agatha exclaims,
urging Mike to save himself. Soon the two women are
consumed by flames. Mike and Susannah drive off as the
huge structure starts to burn furiously. Mike and Susannah
stop their car and watch as the building crumbles as the
picture concludes.
One of the principle weakness of the film is the
unlikable nature of the degenerate residents of Dunwich,
except for Agatha. The reason for their intense hostility to
Susannah is never explained. Ethan, of course, believes he
should inherit the millhouse, but since it is abandoned and
rumored to be haunted, the property does not seem to be of
much value to him. At times Ethan is civil and well
mannered, and then abruptly he acts like a rowdy brute.
There seems to be no reason for his abrupt shifts. There is
even less motivation for the behavior of his friends. Agatha
warns Ethan to behave, but her words have absolutely no
effect. The rest of the story is likewise unbelievable. Since
Agatha is the most important person in Dunwich, wouldn’t
her daily visits to the abandoned millhouse be noticed? The
film also notes that it is a very difficult walk between Agatha’s
house and the millhouse. When winter sets in, Dunwich
would be covered in snow and ice, yet we are supposed to
believe that Agatha secretly continues her daily trek. It would
also seem that the shuttered room would be un-livable during
winter. If Agatha heated the room somehow, then smoke
would be seen emerging from the abandoned building. All
these factors make the story completely preposterous. Of
course, in the original tale, the occupant of the shuttered
room is inhuman, and could survive without the normal
things that an ordinary mortal would require. So, in fact, by
removing the supernatural elements of the story, the entire
plot is rendered implausible and completely absurd. If the
scriptwriters had not attempted to give the film a rational
solution, it would have been a much better film, genuinely
creepy and significant. The island setting used in the film is
visually magnificent. The final fire appears to be absolutely
convincing. No doubt the filmmakers bought an actual old
millhouse and torched it for the finale. Seldom has the cliché
of a fire destroying a haunted house seemed so effective;
however by this point of the story, nothing could save it.
When released in England, the film was retitled Blood Island.

PERFORMANCES

Carol Lynley and Gig Young deliver solid, believable

performances. Unfortunately, the script fails to have them
concentrate on the mystery of the millhouse. Instead, their
attention is more focused on their conflict with Oliver Reed
and this weakens their work considerably. Reed serves as the
red herring bully through most of the film, and it is a waste
of both his talents and screen time. Flora Robson is
magnificent as Agatha, and is deserving of what little praise
the film garners. As for the other cast members, they seem far
too British to be convincing as Americans. This film was shot
in England, and it fails to convince one that it is coastal
Massachusetts for even one instant, except for perhaps
Charles Lloyd Pack who could pass for a cranky New
Englander in his short scene. Judith Arthy is particularly weak
and unconvincing. Her line about wishing to go to the airport
to watch planes take off and land is simply foolish. Her
British accent is also incredibly thick. On the other hand, she
is very good in the scene when she is stalked and killed by the
madwoman. A few sources list Carol Lynley as playing the
madwoman, but the actress who actually appears in the role is
Celia Hewett, a bit player who appeared in about a dozen
films in her career.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

The Shuttered Room is one of the sixteen works crafted

by August Derleth based on fragmentary notes, concepts and
ideas by H. P. Lovecraft. Derleth tried to copy Lovecraft’s
style and concepts faithfully, but very little actual Lovecraft
prose appears in these posthumous collaborations. They
sometimes are merely disconnected sentences from
Lovecraft’s numerous letters to Derleth, in which he outlined
various plot ideas for stories to his friend. The short story
The Shuttered Room was originally published in 1959,
consisting of thirty pages in length. It is unique for linking
two of Lovecraft’s most popular settings, the town of
Dunwich and the degenerate seaport village of Innsmouth,
home to a race of aquatic half-breeds. Basically, the story
involves a half-human, half-amphibian creature who is
imprisoned in a shuttered room in an old house attached to a
mill in Dunwich. This being is unwittingly released by Abner
Whateley who recently returned to Dunwich when he
inherited the property. The creature at first feeds off of
wildlife and later attacks people. Eventually, Abner confronts
and destroys the creature when it returns to visit the shuttered
room, the only “home” it had actually known. Of the
Lovecraft/Derleth efforts, The Shuttered Room is one of the
most effective, and in essence seems very faithful to genuine
Lovecraft, referencing events and characters in both The
Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The
script of the film, unfortunately, eliminates the key
ingredients that make the story authentic Lovecraft. It keeps
the window-dressing, and uses some of characters and the
basic framework of the story, but then in the denouement the
script alters the heart of the film from that of Howard
Phillips Lovecraft to that of Charlotte Brontë and Jane Eyre
instead.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“When you opened that door, it was like I was standing

in front of a refrigerator. I didn’t want to walk in case I froze
to death.” (Susannah to Mike after he unlocks the millhouse)
“There has been enough misery in the Whateley family,
and this island has seen it all. That is why you were sent away,
to be reared elsewhere to save you from it. You mustn’t tempt
fate by tarrying here.” (Aunt Agatha to Susannah upon their
meeting)
“There is hope for you, Mr. Kelton, because you are not
a Whateley. But there is no hope for Susannah if she spends
even one night in that house.” (Agatha to Mike)
“I promised your mother to care for her always and to
keep you from learning the truth.” (Agatha to Susannah, after
she sets fire to the millhouse)
 The Spider Labyrinth (1988)
AKA II Nido del Ragno
Rating: ****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Old Ones

Reteitalia Splendida. Written by Riccardo Arragno,

Cesare Frugoni, Tonio Cervi & Gianfranco Manfredi;
Photographed by Nino Celeste; Edited by Sergio Mointanari;
Music by Franco Piersanti; Produced by Tonio Cervi;
Directed by Gianfranco Giagni. 87 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Roland Wybenga..........Alan Whitmore (professor of Oriental

languages)
Stephane Audran...........Mrs. Kun (hotel owner & cult leader)
Laszlo Sipos................Elihu Roth (eccentric Hungarian
professor)
Paola Rinaldi...............Genevieve Wise (Roth’s assistant)
Claudia Muzi...............Maria (hotel chambermaid who is
killed)
William Berger.............Blasko (police commissioner)
Attila Lote..................Sewer dweller
Arnaldo Dellacqua.........Polgar Moricz (bookdealer)
Bob Holton.................Rev. lan Bradley (head of Intextus
Committee)
Bill Bolender................Chancellor Hubbard (university head)
John Morrison.............Intextus committee member
Margareta von Kraus.....Celia Roth (woman posing as Roth’s
wife)
Massimillano Pavone
Valeriano Santinelli

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Often overlooked by critics and fans, The Spider

Labyrinth is one of the finest of all films inspired by
Lovecraft. Filmed in Hungary in both an English language
and Italian language version, it is one of the most eerie,
atmospheric and effective horror films of the past two
decades. In many ways, The Spider Labyrinth seems like a
blend of the directorial style of Alfred Hitchcock, especially
his mid-career efforts, and that of Roman Polanski,
particularly The Ninth Gate (1999). It is a subtle film, heavy
in atmosphere, in which even the buildings and urban
landscapes take on a sinister character as they do in Vertigo
(1958). Of course, some 21st century viewers are
unresponsive to motion picture efforts that are suggestive
rather than explicit, and that stress ambience, but to others it
represents cinematic poetry of the highest order. Indeed, by
its conclusion, The Spider Labyrinth becomes unambiguous,
revealing the hideous Old One whose existence is the heart
of the story. The last scene, perhaps, seems a bit too
traditional, wrapping up the film in a rather clichéd manner
reminiscent of many horror pictures. Nevertheless, the Italian
film industry seemed responsive to HPL earlier with such
efforts as Caltiki, and with The Spider Labyrinth, it has again
tapped into an impressive amalgamation of Lovecraft’s ideas
and style in a successful cinematic interpretation.
 The film opens in Dallas, Texas, at the home of the shy
but brilliant young Professor Alan Whitmore, one of
academia’s foremost experts on ancient Oriental languages.
He is summoned one morning by the three members of the
committee of the Intextus project, a university study for
which Whitmore serves as coordinator. The inquiry centers
on recent finds of 3rd century B.C. artifacts that suggest a
previously unknown religion that was active throughout the
ancient world. One of the key scholars working on the
project, Professor Roth from Hungary, has suddenly gone
into seclusion and has not responded to any attempts at
communication. Chancellor Hubbard relieves Whitmore of
his classroom duties and asks him to journey to Budapest to
reestablish contact with Roth and obtain his final report and
documentation.
Whitmore is met at the airport by Genevieve Wise, a
beautiful young woman who works as Roth’s assistant. She
drives him to Roth’s home, where he is met by a woman who
introduces herself as Celia Roth, the professor’s wife. She
explains that the professor recently had a stroke and has been
acting strangely. Admitted to his study, Roth seems hesitant
about accepting that Whitmore is who he says he is. The
American hands him a personal letter from Chancellor
Hubbard. Still acting in an elusive manner, the professor slips
Whitmore a notebook and asks him to return later in the day.
At this point, a small, black object about the size of a softball
is tossed through the window. Whitmore goes to the window
and looks out upon the empty yard. When he turns around,
Roth has vanished. Celia Roth enters the study and instructs
him to leave. Genevieve meets him outside and escorts him
to his hotel, an odd establishment operated by a strange,
elegant woman named Mrs. Kun. Retreating to his room,
Whitmore examines the notebook. Roth had written, “There
is no time left. They have entered my mind. They prevent me
from continuing. The great cobweb is closing every passage.
It is a labyrinth without exit.” Whitmore also finds a group of
snapshots of a small, ancient tablet. He notes the name
Polgar Moricz on the back of one of the photographs.
That evening, as a thunderstorm breaks out, Whitmore
walks back to Roth’s house. An elderly man dressed in black
stops the American, advising him of great danger. When
Whitmore arrives at the house, it is blocked off by the police.
Demanding to know the reason, he is allowed in where he is
questioned by Police Commissioner Blasko. Roth has been
found hanging in his study. The rope, white and sticky,
resembles the strands of a giant cobweb. When Whitmore
inquires about Celia Roth, he is informed that the professor
was not married. Genevieve offers to assist Whitmore in
completing his research, but the American is wary and
hesitant about accepting her offer.
Returning to his hotel room, Whitmore is interrupted by
Maria, the chambermaid, who warns him to leave as soon as
he can if he values his life. Mrs. Kun catches her talking with
the American and orders her to leave the guests alone. In the
middle of the night, Maria is awakened in her room by a
voice that she believes to be Whitmore. As she attempts to
locate him, she finds herself in a room obscured by hanging
white sheets, an attic drying chamber. She is suddenly
attacked by unseen people hiding behind the sheets, and she
is finally stabbed to death by a mysterious spider woman,
humanoid but not quite human, with strange pincers for
teeth. She also moves about in a jerky, erratic fashion.
Hearing Maria’s screams, Whitmore leaves his room to search
for the screamer. He comes across Mrs. Kun, rocking an
empty cradle in a darkened room. She tells him that since the
death of her young son, she finds solace by maintaining this
room as a shrine. Taking note of a spider-shaped scar on her
wrist, he asks about her faith in God, but Mrs. Kun dismisses
him, mocking his naiveté.
At lunch the following day with Genevieve, Whitmore
asks her about the bookdealer Polgar Moricz. She lends him
her car, but the American in unable to find the bookshop,
driving endlessly in circles as if lost in a maze. Meanwhile, the
spider woman invades the bookshop, slaughtering the
proprietor. Whitmore finally abandons the car and walks,
stumbling across the bookstore as if by accident. Upon
entering, he find Moricz dead, entangled in a cobweb. He
notices a relic, the ancient tablet from Roth’s photos. As he
takes it, the man in black who spoke to him on the street
enters the shop and urges the American to follow him at
once. He takes him through the sewer, where he lives. The
man is knowledgeable about the religion that is the topic of
the Intextus project, but he tells Whitmore that it isn’t an
extinct faith, but an active, deadly cult. He calls it a contagion,
recruiting new followers to serve their hideous god. Followers
of this belief are called “weavers,” and they can be identified
by a spider-shaped scar on their wrists. He shows Whitmore
the way to safety, and remains to insure that he isn’t followed.
The spider woman appears and tosses a round black object
toward the sewer dweller. It is an egg, and a large black spider
hatches out of it. The sewer dweller shouts his defiance at the
spider woman, and she spits out the threads of a spider web
from her mouth. Moments later the man in black falls prey to
her attack.
Whitmore climbs out of the sewer, and is picked up in a
police car driven by Blasko. First he tries to explain what has
happened, but he stops when he notices the mark of the
weavers on the police commissioner’s wrist. The American
jumps out of the speeding car, and seeks out Genevieve’s
apartment. Finding it empty, he collapses on the bed.
Moments later, Genevieve arrives and embraces the sleeping
man. He awakens and they make love, but he fails to notice
the mark of the weavers on her wrist. When morning arrives,
Whitmore finds himself alone in bed. As he dresses, he
discovers the ancient tablet is missing from his pocket. The
spider woman attacks him, and he fights her off, killing her by
cutting her throat. Her body transforms into that of Celia
Roth. A spider’s egg rolls across the floor. Whitmore hears
Genevieve’s voice beckoning him, and he follows it to a ritual
chamber where the members of the cult are awaiting him.
They place him on an altar, and he is tied down as Genevieve
explains, “The god’s name cannot be known.” A tabernacle is
opened, revealing a macabre human baby, presumably the son
of Mrs. Kun. The child starts to cry, and it becomes
transformed into a giant spider, yet maintaining its human
face. The Old One then hovers over the screaming
Whitmore. The spider from the egg burrows itself into his
arm, as it forms the mark of the weavers.
There is a quick cut to Whitmore, now back in Texas.
He reports to the committee at his university. One of the
members, Rev. Ian Bradley, informs him that Roth sent them
a package before his death, with detailed photos of the
ancient tablet. Bradley steps out of the room to get the
packet. When he returns, the bodies of Chancellor Hubbard
and the other committee member are crumpled dead in a
corner. Bradley is stunned, as he is suddenly approached by
Whitmore, his face now resembling the distorted
countenance of the spider woman. A freeze frame halts the
action, and the end credits appear over this still.
Except for this rather predictable close, The Spider
Labyrinth is a masterful screen adventure. It clearly
demonstrates that Lovecraftian concepts can be adapted to
the screen in a fresh, dramatic and interesting way if the
material is treated with respect and developed thoughtfully.
The film incorporates many ideas characteristics of HPL,
from the shy, retiring scholar/hero to the forbidden historical
text and the cabal of radical followers dedicated the Old
Ones. Yet some viewers, totally unfamiliar with Lovecraft or
his works, can still fully appreciate the entire picture.
Every aspect of the film is admirable. The music score,
highly reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann, is haunting and
compelling. The cinematography is highly accomplished, with
many memorable moments, from a magnificent overhead
shot of a spiral staircase to moody and eerie shots in the
sewers of Budapest. The film’s deliberate pacing shows
exceptional, authoritative control on the part of the director.
The flow of the action is brilliantly edited. For instance, the
lengthy scene of Whitmore driving around befuddled
through the confusing network of narrow streets could easily
become tedious if not handled in such a craftsmanlike
fashion, recalling similar scenes in Vertigo or The Man Who
Knew Too Much (1956). Gianfranco Giagni also infuses
many scenes with a sense of surrealism. In the restaurant, for
instance, he creates a claustrophobic and hypnotic effect by
cutting back and forth between Whitmore and the somewhat
ominous diners around him. The special effects, including the
carefully prepared sound, are presented with great impact.
The film manages to improve with repeated viewings, a
trademark of an authentic cinematic masterpiece. The Spider
Labyrinth is an effort definitely worth seeking out, and it
could easily become a cult classic once it is more widely
known.

PERFORMANCES

Except for Stephane Audran and William Berger, most

of the players are not particularly well known, even in
European films. Audran, married for many years to the
French director Claude Chabrol, has been one of the finest
actresses of French cinema, acclaimed for her work in
Bluebeard (1963), Les Biches (1968), Le Boucher (1970) and
Babettes Feast (1987). She is exceptional in this film,
particularly in the creepy nursery room scene. Berger, on the
other hand, is a workmanlike actor who is best known to
American audiences for his appearance in the epic mini-series
The Winds of War by Dan Curtis. The nominal star of the
film, Roland Wybenga as Alan Whitmore, provides a
splendid, well-modulated performance, and it seems unusual
that an actor of his considerable talents did not become a
star. Paola Rinaldi, however, is merely adequate as Genevieve,
and her scenes never manage to take off, except for her
unseen siren call that lures Whitmore to his encounter with
the Old One.
 FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Although the Old One worshiped by the cult in The

Spider Labyrinth is never named, its identity can be accurately
established through an examination of the literature of the
Cthulhu Mythos. It is Atlach Nacha, originally conceived by
Clark Ashton Smith in his 1934 story The Seven Ceases. The
Old One is described as follows: “A darksome form, big as a
crouching man but with spider-like members…there was a
kind of face on the squat ebon body, low down among the
several-jointed legs.” Later, other Lovecraft writers such as
Colin Wilson, Keith Herber and Michael Szymanski expanded
on the characteristics of Atlach Nacha. Supposedly the Old
One can be found in a great underground chasm in the
Andes Mountains in Peru. In the film, the portrayal of Atlach
Nacha corresponds perfectly to Smith’s spidery deity in both
size and description. It should be noted that the head of
Atlach Nacha included spider-like eyes and pincers nestled in
the hair on top of the human face, a most remarkable and
astounding feature that passes by on screen too quickly to be
fully studied.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“Why not consider light instead of darkness?” (Alan

Whitmore to Mrs. Kun, after finding her in the darkened
nursery) “What are you saying, professor? There is no God.
There’s nothing.” (Her response)
“We are studying a very old religion, different people, far
away from each other, that worship the same divinities. Like
an enormous cobweb, they seem connected to each other.”
(Alan Whitmore to Genevieve)
“So Roth was killed because he discovered the existence
of their sect?” (Alan Whitmore to the Sewer Dweller) “No,
much more than that. He discovered that their gods are no
myths, but they are living creatures, real, and their names have
been transcribed in that table which you found…. They don’t
want the names of their gods to be known.” (The Sewer
Dweller’s reply)
“The world doesn’t have to know about us, so that the
cobweb will become bigger.” (Genevieve’s voice to
Whitmore, as he is led to the chamber with the Old One)
 The Unnamable (1988)
Alternate Title: H. P. Lovecraft’s The Unnamable
Rating: ***
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Miskatonic University and Library
Necronomicon

Yankee Classic Pictures. Written by Jean-Paul Ouellette

based on the short story The Unnamable by H. P. Lovecraft;
Photographed by Tom Fraser; Edited by Wendy J. Plump;
Original music by David Bergeaud; Produced by Jean-Paul
Ouellette, Terry L.Benedict, Dean Ramser, Michael Haley
(associate) and Paul White (executive); Directed by Jean-Paul
Ouellette. 87 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Charles King...............Howard Damon (Miskatonic student)

Mark K. Stephenson.....Randolph Carter (folklore student &
author)
Alexandra Durrell.........Tanya Heller (student who likes
Howard)
Laura Albert................Wendy Barnes (popular girl, Tanya’s
friend)
Blane Wheatley............John Babcock (president of college
fraternity)
Eben Ham...................Bruce Weeks (captain of rowing team)
Mark Parra..................Joel Manton (friend of Carter &
Damon)
Lisa Wilson.................First student studying in library
Nancy Kreisel..............Second student studying in library
Delbert Spain..............Joshua Winthrop (18th century
sorcerer)
Colin Cox...................Mr. Craft (18th century minister)
Paul Farmer................Mortician at Winthrop funeral
Paul Pajor...................First gravedigger at Winthrop funeral
Marcel Lussier.............Second gravedigger at Winthrop funeral
Katrin Alexandre...........Alyda Winthrop (the “Unnamable”)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

This low budget but well-intentioned motion picture has

much to recommend it despite the fact that the plot bogs
downs entirely in the middle of the film. At that point, it
becomes a typical “teenagers trapped in a haunted house”
story with a customary sprinkling of both gore and nudity.
Fortunately, the picture regains its direction by the climax.
What is even more important, this picture was followed by a
sequel that managed to hit the right note with only a modest
increase in budget, and became one of the best portrayals
Lovecraft’s concepts on screen. So this movie gains stature by
setting up its more satisfying successor and makes the viewer
more tolerant of this film’s flaws and lame run-of-the-mill
development. The characters, especially that of Randolph
Carter, also elevate the film above other teenager horror
pictures. For the Lovecraft fan, there is also a liberal
sprinkling of Lovecraft references throughout the story,
including use of names like “Howard” and “Mr. Craft.”
The story opens 1704 in Arkham, Massachusetts at the
rambling home of the sorcerer Joshua Winthrop. It is a
stormy night, and Joshua is trying to console his unseen
daughter, Alyda, who is wailing with fear in a locked attic
room. Her wild shrieks become more frenzied. Joshua tries to
calm her, saying it is his wish that one day she will ‘walk in the
light of day and sit at the tables of men.” Joshua opens her
locked chamber, and in a fit, she attacks and kills him. The
next day, the local minister, Mr. Craft oversees the burial of
Winthrop. The mortician and gravediggers are frightened by
the condition of the old man’s body, and the minister orders
that the house be entirely sealed at once. He then prays that
whatever horror is in the house be trapped there for eternity.
Winthrop’s body is moved to a stone sarcophagus in a small
graveyard in front of the house.
The scene shifts to the same graveyard at twilight over
two hundred and eighty years later, where Randolph Carter is
telling the tale to two other students. “And that was the tale
told by Cotton Mather, the clergyman author in his volume
on New England legends,” he says. “My story begins fifty
years later.” He describes how a local youth broke into the
Winthrop house and was horribly frightened by the image of
“the unnamable” that was visible on the window through
which it had stared for many years. Randolph Carter, a
folklore scholar at Miskatonic University, is a published writer
of horror stories. Science major Joel Manton, mocks Carter’s
mention of things “unnamable” and says there is nothing that
cannot be described scientifically. Howard Damon, a
freshman, has just met Carter and is intrigued by his stories.
Carter insists his tale, The Attic Window; is based on fact,
and that the actual house is the one just beyond the
graveyard. Joel challenges his friends to spend the night there.
Howard is un-decided, but Carter declines and Howard
follows him back to the school.
Joel finds the front door unlocked at the Winthrop
house, and starts to explore using a candle, He hears a sound,
and suspects it is Carter and Howard trying to scare him. In
the attic, he locates the window with the image of “the
unnamable” and lets out an involuntary scream. As he backs
off, he hears labored breathing. The unnamable smashes into
the room and attacks Joel, tearing him to pieces. The next day,
Howard seeks out Carter who is doing research at the
Miskatonic Library. He is upset that Joel never returned to the
dormitory. Carter surmises that his friend is merely hiding,
waiting for them to come to the house where he plans to
scare them. Two female students, Wendy Barnes and Tanya
Heller stop by their table. She thanks Carter for his research
tips. Howard stares longingly at Wendy with a case of puppy
love. He seems oblivious to the fact that Tanya is interested in
him.
Settling at another table, Tanya tries to discuss Howard,
but Wendy advises Tanya never to date a freshman, even if
she is one herself. John Babcock and Bruce Weeks, two
popular fraternity students, start to chat with them. They
invite the girls to look over the neighborhood haunted house
that evening. Wendy accepts, as long as they promise to pull
no frat pranks. Reluctantly, Tanya also agrees.
That evening, the two couples enters the Winthrop
house. Bruce quickly notices sneaker tracks on the dusty
stairway, and says that someone else has recently explored the
place. Tanya discovers that the front door has mysteriously
locked behind them, and they proceed to the living room.
The house, which appears to be of moderate proportions
from the outside, becomes huge and rambling on the inside.
At the same time, Carter finishes his library studies and heads
toward his room. Howard runs into him, saying that Joel’s
parents just called the dorm, saying Joel was due home that
weekend but never arrived. Carter now agrees that it might
not be a joke and they must check out the house.
At the house, John is telling ghost stories to the others.
Tanya wants to leave, but Wendy suggests they first scout out
the rest of the house. They slowly survey room after room
until John and Wendy separate from the other couple to
embrace and kiss. Wendy asks her new boyfriend if he has
any influence in selecting the new homecoming queen. As
they caress, Wendy turns over and sees the head of Joel Man
ton on the floor. She screams and runs off. John, however,
becomes trapped by the unnamable who claws at him.
Bruce discovers John on the floor, and warns the others
to stay back. His friend dies in his arms. Wendy panics, and
the three of them run off. Tanya reaches the front door, but
cannot open it. She finds she is alone. As she hesitates, the
front door opens, and Tanya faints as a shadowy figure
appears. It is Randolph Carter, followed by Howard, who
tends to the stricken girl. Carter looks around and finds
everything quiet. Upon reviving, Tanya exclaims that
something killed John Babcock, and that two other students
are missing. Carter suspects that it is a frat prank. Tanya and
Howard search, but Carter is drawn to look at the dusty
volumes on the bookshelf. The scholar discovers that one of
them is the legendary and ancient Necronomicon. He
examines the book, certain that it is the key to the mystery of
Winthrop house.
Upstairs, the unnamable has caught Bruce, and bashes
his head on the floor. The camera reveals that the unnamable
walks on hooves. Tanya takes Howard to the spot where they
left John’s body, but it is now missing. Tanya begins to
wonder if the event is a joke after all, until she bumps into
Joel’s headless body. She backs away, and becomes separated
from Howard when a door closes and jams. He goes to get
Carter. Howard then runs into the hysterical Wendy, who
becomes convinced that Howard is the phantom killer. She
attacks him with a small scythe, and knocks him down, calling
him a madman. As she brings the blade down to Howard’s
throat, the unnamable suddenly appears behind her and
breaks her neck. It drags her body off, leaving the
unconscious Howard alone.
Carter discovers an annotation by Joshua Winthrop,
which describes the birth of his daughter, an unnatural
abomination. The sorcerer had found a spell in the
Necronomicon that would imprison her within the walls of
his house. The spell is too feeble to be permanent, so
Winthrop also planted trees around the house upon which he
planned to invoke another spell. These trees would continue
to bind Alyda after the wood in the house had rotted away.
But Winthrop cannot cast this spell until the trees have grown
and he feared that he would not live until the trees have
grown large enough for him to complete the task. Carter
decides that he must conjure the ancient spell to save his
friends and contain the unnamable. When he tries to leave the
house, Carter finds the door cannot be opened. He surmises
this must be due to Winthrop’s original spell. People can enter
the house but cannot leave it. He reads aloud a few words
from the Necronomicon, and the door opens.
Outside, Carter approaches Winthrop’s sarcophagus and
tries to push the stone lid aside. He discovers it leads to an
underground catacomb, and he brings the Necronomicon
with him into the dark passages. There, he starts to chant the
spell noted by Winthrop to summon the tree spirits and
permanently confine the unnamable. The dazed Howard
slowly regains his senses. He hears Tanya’s screams, and
rushes off to find her. Crawling in the dark, she had stumbled
across John Babcock’s body. The unnamable appears
moments later, and they run up into the attic and try to
barricade the door.
Meanwhile, Carter continues his spell, but now in
English. Unexpectedly, his words start to take effect. The
trees begin to shift and grow. He is startled and tries to leave
the underground catacomb, but the sarcophagus lid falls in on
top of him. In the attic, the unnamable finally breaks into the
room, emerging for the first time into the full light. The
creature is obviously female, with wings, horns and goat-like
white fur. The unnamable is smaller than Howard and Tanya,
but her claws are extremely sharp. The creature snarls and
attacks Howard, knocking him to the floor. Tanya strikes at
the creature with her flashlight, hurting its’ arm. The
unnamable cries out in pain, but strikes out again at Howard
as he regains his feet. Suddenly, branches of the trees crash
into the room. Another voice is heard, that of Joshua
Wintrop, calling out, “Alyda! My child. I have come for you. It
is time to come home.” The branches envelope Alyda and
carry her out the window.
Howard and Tanya race to the front door which is now
open. After leaving the building, they embrace, but Howard
fears that Carter must also be dead like the other students. A
hand emerges from the ground beneath them and grabs
Howard’s ankle. He struggles and fights as the ground seems
to open up, but they realize it is Carter trying to emerge from
the underground chamber. The tree branches close up the
hole through which Carter has emerged, dragging a fragment
of tombstone with it. Carter says he saw the unnamable being
dragged underground by the trees. He managed to retain the
Necronomicon. Slowly, the trio walk away from the Winthrop
property, as the music of an inept rock song is heard on the
soundtrack, dispelling the effective mood of the climax.

PERFORMANCES

Mark Kinsey Stephenson’s performance as Randolph

Carter is one of the brightest aspects of this film. He seems a
screen natural, displaying poise, charm and a good sense of
humor. This was his screen debut, but he has only appeared
in a handful of films since then. The character of Randolph
Carter was one that often served as a prototype for HPL
himself. Stephenson conveys this in part by playing Carter in
the same vein as Nicholas Rowe in Young Sherlock Holmes
(1985). Charles King is adequate but not exceptional as
Howard Damon, the likable main character. His performance
seems to be influenced by the character of Potsie from
Happy Days, attempting to be both amiable and empty-
headed. The other players are all passable. Laura Albert is the
best, showing some range as the manipulative brat Wendy,
and she manages to be charming and arrogant at the same
time. She delivers the most professional performance of the
young cast. Alexandra Durrell is too bland in comparison in
the role of Tanya. Her puzzling accent is explained by having
her character raised in a boarding school in Switzerland and
Germany while her father served as a diplomat. Most of her
reading is lifeless and shallow. Another disappointment is
Delbert Spain as Joshua Winthrop, a part that called for some
charisma and dramatic presence. Spain walks through this key
part in a daze. On the other hand, Katrin Alexandre is very
impressive in her appearance as Alyda. She seems both savage
and vicious, yet oddly compelling. Her costume, designed by
R. Christopher Biggs, exceeds expectations The appearance
of the creature is the only aspect of the film that doesn’t
seem low budget, and much of that superb illusion is due to
Alexandre’s fiery performance.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

H. P. Lovecraft’s short story The Unnamable is only

eight pages long, but Jean-Paul Ouellette combed through it
very carefully, extracting every element possible into his
screenplay. The story only contains two characters, Joel
Manton and Carter the narrator, adults rather than students
with Manton being the principal of the local high school. The
story starts in the graveyard, after which Joel persuades Carter
to explore the old house. There they encounter the
unnamable. The Arkham setting, Carter’s horror story The
Attic Window, and the Cotton Mather reference to his
Magnalia Christi Americana are all present. The film remains
faithful to the basic concept of the original story.
 REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“How such an abomination could have been born? How

my wife suffered as it ate through her body to reach the light,
and then fled from that light as an animal from fire.”
(Notation by Joshua Winthrop read by Carter)
“Carter, Joel’s dead!” (Howard, racing into the Winthrop
library). “That’s to be expected.” (Carter, not looking up from
the Necronomicon)
“I wonder as to what unmentionable nourishment those
roots must be sucking from that tomb.” (Randolph Carter
while observing a tree in the graveyard, paraphrasing the
second line of the short story)
 The Unnamable II: The Testament of Randolph
Carter (1992)
Rating: *****
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
Arkham
Cthulhu (References)
Dunwich (References)
Miskatonic University and Library
Necronomicon
R’lyeh (References)

Yankee Classic Pictures. Written by Jean-Paul Ouellette

based on the stories The Statement of Randolph Carter &
The Unnamable by H. P. Lovecraft; Photographed by Greg
Gardener & Roger Olkowski; Edited by William C. Williams;
Original music by David Bergeaud; Produced by Jean-Paul
Ouellette, Alexandra Durrell, Russell D. Markowitz (associate)
& Kris Gee B. Cho (executive); Directed by Jean-Paul
Ouellette. 107 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

John Rhys-Davies........Harley Warren (Miskatonic professor)

Mark K. Stephenson.....Randolph Carter (folklore student &
author)
Charles King...............Elliot Damon Howard (Miskatonic
student)
David Warner...............Chancellor Thayer (Miskatonic
administrator)
Maria Ford..................Alyda in human form
Julie Strain.................Alyda in demon form
Kit Fredericks..............Alyda the unnamable in original form
Peter Breck..................Arnie Hatch (Arkham police chief)
Richard Dormier...........Officer Malcolm (Hatch’s second-in-
command)
Shawn T. Lim.............Robert Barger (physic student)
Kevin Alber...............Jack Herman (Miskatonic student)
August West...............Mary Wilkinson (Jack’s girlfriend)
Siobhan McCafferty......Debbie Lesh (policewoman)
Brad Blaisdell...............Ben Lesh (policeman & Debbie’s
brother)
Harper Roisman...........Dr. Evans (Arkham coroner)
Byran Clark.................Professor Thurber (biochemist)
Gary Pike...................Professor Mendez (medical expert)
Chuck Butto................Joe Choate (officer on guard duty)
Mike Gordon...............Joshua Winthrop (18th century
sorcerer)
Dennis Madalone..........Student thrown from window
Alexandra Durrell.........Tanya Heller (student in shock)

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

Known in England as The Unnamable Returns, this film

was completed four years after the original. The Unnamable
II shows a significant improvement in all areas. The larger
budget lifts the project from the appearance of a high grade
student film to a sophisticated project. There are a number of
small changes. The emphasis of the film has wisely shifted
from Howard to Carter. In fact, Howard’s name is altered
from Howard Damon to Elliott Damon Howard. One reason
for this switch seems to be consistency, since everyone else in
the first film was called by their last name except Howard.
The actor who plays Howard now uses his actual last name,
Klausmeyer, instead of King in the credits. Note also that the
leading actress from the first film, Alexandra Durrell, has only
a cameo onscreen but serves as co-producer. The more
substantial budget allows the use of established actors such as
John Rhys-Davies and David Warner in key roles. There is
also far more scenes of Alyda Winthrop who appears in three
different form—the original unnamable, the pure human
form and the pure demon form. The makeup and appearance
of the demon remains high-quality and totally convincing.
The demon is one of the rare film “monsters” that remains
terrifying even after considerable onscreen time. The picture,
although set in modern times, has a nostalgic air about it. For
example, Maria Ford, the human Alyda, is naked throughout
her opening scenes, but nothing is ever seen on camera. Her
nudity is disguised by her long, flowing hair, and she seems
more like an image from a Pre-Raphaelite painting than a
character in a modern day horror film. Jean-Paul Ouellette
wrote and directed this effort in a very polished manner, with
a genuine flair for including Lovecraftian allusions whenever
possible. His use of black humor, particularly in his scene
with Mendez, shows excellent timing. Another improvement
is the quality of the music composed for the film, particularly
the lyrical opening and closing credits. This picture may be
relatively low-budget, but it could serve as a textbook
example of how to fully utilize modest funding to its best
advantage in a modern motion picture.
The film opens with a close-up of the Necronomicon,
whose pages open right to left in Arabic fashion. The names
of the cast members appear in the center of its pages,
surrounded by Arabic text. The action picks up exactly at the
point where The Unnamable concluded. The police have
arrived on the scene and are removing the bodies from the
Winthrop house. The three survivors appear to be in
somewhat worse shape than they seemed at the end of the
first film. Tanya Heller is in shock, and she is evacuated to the
hospital with Howard. Randolph Carter is taken into police
custody to make a statement. The coroner, Dr. Evans, tells
the police chief that these killing appear to be beyond human
or animal origin. They appear similar to the victims of a
similar bloodbath that took place in nearby Dunwich years
earlier. This upsets Chief Hatch, who decides the incident has
to be covered up. Evans warns the chief that he would be
responsible if there are any additional deaths.
At the hospital, Howard has a vision of Joshua
Winthrop, the 18th century warlock who built the Winthrop
house. He issues a warning that, although the unnamable is
now bound, his spell can only hold that portion of the
creature that is his human daughter, Alyda, and the world will
not be safe unless she is destroyed. To do so, the missing
pages of the Necronomicon have to be located. Howard
telephones Carter and tells him about his vision. Carter is
studying the Necronomicon and intends to revisit the tunnels
underneath the Winthrop house.
Robert Barger and Jack Herman visit Carter’s room at
the dormitory. Barger is startled when he sees the notations
on his friend’s blackboard, notes from the Necronomicon,
which he recognizes as a complex formula in quantum
physics involving time and space. Herman tells carter that the
deaths at the Winthrop house are being blamed officially on a
pack of wild dogs.
Carter is summoned by chancellor Thayer, who warns
him not to go public about the unnamable creature that he
encountered, explaining that there are forces in Arkham that
must be left undisturbed. Carter is not intimidated, however,
and seems even more determined to pursue his investigation.
He seeks out Professor Warren, who is doing research at
Miskatonic library. The student shows Warren the
Necronomicon and relates the events at the Winthrop house.
Warren mentions that pages were removed from the book by
Cotton Mather, the famous Puritan clergyman, and these
pages are now stored under lock and key in the rare book
room of the university library. Carter entreats the professor
to join him in his quest to prove the existence of the
unnamable.
Howard, recruited from his hospital bed, joins Carter
and Warren as they set out on their mission. They plan to
enter Winthrop’s underground lair through the cemetery
adjacent to the Winthrop house. They find an entrance
through Winthrop’s tomb, and Howard remains on the
surface, monitoring his friends progress by use of an
intercom. After crawling down through a narrow passageway,
Carter and Warren hear a strange cry in the distance. They
emerge into a larger chamber where mysterious runes and
symbols are carved directly into the stone. The professor
determines that it is the writing of ancient R’lyeh, the
language of Cthulhu and the Old Ones. He tells Carter that
the cave is tremendously ancient, predating Joshua Winthrop
by thousands of years. They explore the next chamber where
they find the unnamable shrieking, imprisoned in a nest of
tree roots.
 Warren snatches a sample of skin from the unnamable
and examines it under a microscope, which he brought in his
field kit. He theorizes that the creature is actually a
simultaneous life form, a combination of human being and
demon from another dimension. It is an example of
Quantum physics “gone mad.” Carter wonders if the two
beings can be separated. Warren says it might be impossible
to locate the correct formula, but proposes that the demon
might have the power to voluntarily leave its host if it believes
her life is in danger. Using insulin, Warren injects the
unnamable to induce shock. Carter reveals her name is Alyda,
Greek for “winged woman.” The unnamable screams, and
her image becomes obscured by a glowing haze. When it
clears, Alyda has been transformed into a beautiful woman.
Warren and Carter counteract the insulin by giving her sugar.
The professor intones a passage from the Necronomicon to
lift the tree spell, and the roots break away, releasing the girl.
Warren opines that the demon has returned to its original
dimension. As the pair carry the girl off, a flickering glow
indicates that the demon is still nearby.
The professor instructs Carter to bring Alyda to the
surface while he stays behind to seal off the chamber. He
regrets that in his haste he neglected to take a photograph of
the unnamable. Carter agrees that no one will believe their
story. After Carter leads the girl away, the demon starts to
rematerialize. Warren senses danger and sets up his camera.
Howard is startled when his friend returns to the surface with
a beautiful, naked girl. Carter calls the professor on the
intercom and learns he is in jeopardy. Warren orders them to
bring Alyda to Professor Thurber at once. The demon attacks
the professor, who manages to take a photo before he dies.
Carter desperately calls Warren’s name on the intercom, but
the reply they hear is an inhuman howl. They make their
escape as the creature emerges from the ground in pure
demon form, larger and more ferocious. It stalks and kills the
policeman on guard duty outside the Winthrop house.
Howard drives them to the dormitory, hoping to find
some clothes for Alyda. She becomes increasingly drawn to
Carter, who seems uncertain how to respond to her. Barger is
amazed to see the cerebral Carter in the hallway with a
stunningly attractive girl. Jack Herman and Mary Wilkinson
show up to offer help, and Carter tries to explain the
situation. Alyda becomes more talkative, as if she is just
starting to recall her language skills. Mary helps to dress
Alyda, who has never worn clothes before. Carter plans to
take Alyda to the clinic so Professor Thurber can examine
her. Barger and Howard go to fetch Thurber, and they also
summon Professor Mendez to request his help.
After the others leave, the demon crashes into the dorm,
killing Jack and Mary. The creature picks up the scent of
Alyda and continues to track her. A squad car arrives, siren
blaring, just as a student is tossed out the window. The
creature then kills Ben Lesh, one of the officers, and his
sister, another officer, vows to destroy the demon.
Upon entering the clinic, Alyda warns Carter that she
senses her alter ego is near. When Professor Mendez arrives,
he is attacked from behind, but the ogre hesitates from
assaulting Carter, who urges Alyda to run. She refuses to
leave Carter, however, and together they escape out an
emergency exit with the demon raging after them. The police
chief arrives and surveys the damage at the clinic with
Professor Thurber, who is both horrified and fascinated by
the extraordinary wounds inflicted on the body of Professor
Mendez. Hatch asks Howard where he thinks Carter and the
girl have fled. He suggests the library, since that is where the
missing pages of the Necronomicon are stored.
The chief storms the library with several officers and
Howard. Carter acknowledges their shouts but warns them to
leave since the demon is on a rampage. He douses Alyda with
perfume to mask her scent, and they make their way through
the labyrinth of the library stacks. The police continue to
advance, but they are ambushed by the demon, who kills the
chief and Debbie Lesh, his gung-ho assistant.
In the rare book room, Carter locate the missing pages
in a storage cabinet. He tries to read the script and is amazed
to discover that Alyda can speak the language of R’lyeh.
Unable to read, she corrects the pronunciation of Carter as
he struggles to decode the pages. The creature smashes her
way into the room through a window, while Howard and
Melvin, Arkham’s last surviving policeman, try to break
through the door of the rare book room. The demon slowly
stalks Carter, who trips and falls, hitting his head. When the
demon reaches down to claw him, Alyda holds back her arm,
saying, “No, Carter is mine!” The creatures hisses and relents.
Alyda and the creature stand quietly for some time, observing
each other. The creature tenderly touches her cheek, and she
becomes transparent as the two of them start to rejoin.
Carter regains his senses and charges at them, knocking the
human Alyda clear. The demon Alyda disintegrates after
Carter throws a chair at her. As Howard and Malcolm enter,
they see the human Alyda in distress on the floor, with Carter
affectionately cradling her. When the last traces of the demon
vanish, Carter tells the girl that she is now free, but Alyda
begins to age dramatically. She bids farewell to Carter with
her dying breath. The scholar explains to the others sadly that
it was too late to save Alyda, since the two beings were
symbiotically entwined for so long that in essence they were
one. Carter observes the remnants of the chair and notices
that some of it had bonded with the demon.
In his room the following evening, Carter reviews his
written statement detailing the entire incident. He burns the
fragments of the chair in his fireplace. Howard tries to
console his friend, who shows him the photograph that
Warren took while dying, noting that the image of the demon
failed to register on the film. The two friends stare into the
fire as the end credits roll. Several atypical items appear in the
acknowledgements, including advisors on quantum physics
and a special attribution to the Lovecraft fan club at the
Miskatonic University Press in Rockport, Massachusetts.

PERFORMANCES

Mark Kinsey Stephenson is again wonderful as

Lovecraft’s alter ego, Randolph Carter. His character gains
considerable maturity through the events of the film,
particularly in his relationship with the human Alyda. At first,
Carter is a cool intellectual, apparently indifferent to the
opposite sex, but he is touched and drawn to Alyda, who
awakens in him human warmth and passion. The character
development of Carter is one of the most intriguing elements
in the film, and Stephenson handles the role expertly. Charles
King also gives an improved performance as Howard. His
scene on the intercom is very well played, as well as his
involvement in the library climax, which was excellent. He
finally becomes a worthy companion for Carter by the end of
the picture, and their last scene has an unmistakable “Holmes
and Watson” flavor.
John Rhys-Davies, exuberant British character actor who
played Indiana Jones’ ally in two films and Professor
Challenger in The Lost World (1993), is an ideal choice to
play Professor Harley Warren, Miskatonic University’s leading
intellectual. His enthusiasm is a major plus in the first half of
the film, and he is the perfect mentor for Randolph Carter.
David Warner, co-star of Rhys-Davies in The Lost World, has
only one scene in the picture, but it is well-crafted and well-
played. Warner’s character knows the dangers of the path that
Carter is following, but he also knows the harder he objects,
the more resolved Carter will become. It is this subtle shading
that makes his part so interesting.
Maria Ford renders a convincing performance as the
human Alyda, a role that could have become a stock character
in lesser hands. Ford is quite lovely and is able to convey a
range of moods such as anger, innocence, concern and
determination quite well. Her comic timing is also good,
particularly in the scene where Mary tries to dress her. Her
death scene, paralleling the conclusion of Lost Horizon, is
nonetheless poignant and quite touching. Julie Strain, the
athletic stunt woman and actress, is exceptional as the demon
Alyda. The scene in which she flies down to attack Debbie
Lesh in the library is spellbinding and excitingly staged. Her
interaction with Maria Ford at the film’s climax is also
impressive. Strain has successfully appeared as an action
heroine in a large number of films. The other supporting
players are laudable, particularly Siobhan McCafferty as
Debbie Lesh, the most aggressive member of the Arkham
police force. Her performance has a fine satirical edge. The
same is true of Peter Breck as Arkham’s world-weary sheriff,
a man who can handle any crisis except one of supernatural
origin.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

Jean-Paul Ouellette turned to one of Lovecraft’s earliest

stories, The Statement of Randolph Carter, as the premise
upon which to expand The Unnamable. The original is a
seven-page story with only two characters, Harley Warren and
Randolph Carter, who are exploring an ancient graveyard.
Warren sets up a telephone and leaves Carter on the surface
as he explores the underground chambers. Warren encounters
a monstrous horror and warns carter to flee. Carter listens to
his friend’s growing panic, until he lets out a terrible scream.
Carter continues to call Warren’s name, and finally hears an
unearthly voice over the telephone say, “You fool, Warren is
dead.” All the basic elements of this story are dramatized in
the film, except for the clincher, the unearthly voice on the
phone. Ouellette could have easily could have used this too,
since the demon in the film is able to speak, but the director
saves the first appearance of the demon’s voice for the climax
in the library instead. Other Lovecraftian elements in the film,
such as mention of the Old Ones, Dunwich, Great Cthulhu
and others, are sprinkled throughout the picture, making it
faithful to Lovecraft both in spirit and concept.
 REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“This town was cursed before the 17th century, and

there isn’t anything you or I can do to change that.”
(Chancellor Thayer to Randolph Carter)
“The Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazred…Oh! This is
the original Arabic text. There hasn’t been one of these
extant since Cotton Mather. That one disappeared from the
library…” (Professor Warren upon being shown the book.
His sentence is then completed by Carter) “…In 1688! This,
professor, is the self-same copy. I’d hate to calculate the book
fines due on it.”
“No one could have done this. Ramming something
through a person is possible, but you can never pull it out.
This would take superhuman strength [due to] the internal
suction of the body plus the adhesive quality of the blood.”
(Professor Thurber, stammering while trying to sound
professional while examining his colleague’s body)
“That’s the stacks. People get lost in there in the
daylight.” (Howard to Chief Hatch in the library)
 Witch Hunt (1994)
Rating: **
Key Lovecraft Ingredients:
None

HBO Pictures. Written by Joseph Dougherty;

Photographed by Jean-Yves Escoffier, Edited by Kristina
Boden; Music by Angelo Baldalamenti; Produced by David
Gale; Directed by Paul Schrader. 100 minutes.

ANNOTATED CAST LIST

Dennis Hopper.............H. P. Lovecraft (private detective)

Penelope Ann Miller.....Kim Hudson (glamorous film star)
Eric Bogosian..............Larson Crockett (ambitious senator)
Julian Sands................Finn Macha (black arts magician)
Sheryl Lee Ralph..........Hypolite Kropotkin (Lovecraft’s
landlady)
Christopher Fields........Morris Bradbury (police lieutenant)
Lypsinka.....................Vivian Dart (Hollywood madame)
Valeric Mahaffey..........Trudy (member of Hypolite’s coven)
Alan Rosenberg............N.J. Gottlieb (studio producer)
Lynn Tufeld.................Gottlieb’s secretary
John Durbin................Bracket! (screenwriter)
Gregory Bell................William Shakespeare (revived by magic)
Mark Habit..................Mark Twain (revived by magic)
Stanley DeSantis..........Sidney (barber who cheats on alimony)
Ellen Gerstein..............Sidney’s wife (Lovecraft’s client)
Steve Susskind.............Sidney’s customer in barber shop
Terry Camilleri............Minister who conducts Gottlieb’s
funeral
Zaid Farid....................Felix (pianist)
Clifton Collins Jr.........Tyrone (young hood working for Dart)
James Harper...............Winston (tough hood working for
Dart)
Robert Goodcrick..........Malcolm Purdy (studio head of
production)
Kirsten Kahler..............Cherie (one of Dart’s girls)
Nancy L. Charles..........Bea (one of Dart’s girls)
J. Patrick MacCormick..
Brown (brothel client)
Aaron Hey man.............Skinner (brothel client)
Julianne Morris............Tracey Pinkem (actress who is Kim’s
rival)
Jill Pierce....................Marie (woman who takes Kim’s car)
Alan Paul....................Senator’s aide
Phil Reeves.................Senator Tremble (committee member)
Christopher Darga.........Federal agent working for the
committee
Steve Vaught...............Police photographer
Debi Mazar.................Lovecraft’s manicurist
Victoria Duffy.............Dart’s maid
Michael Talifero..........Zombie
Richard Conte..............Actor on screen at drive-in
Cornel Wilde...............Actor on screen at drive-in
Ronald Reagan.............Committee witness in newsreel

SYNOPSIS AND ANALYSIS

This sequel to Cast a Deadly Spell is a decided letdown

on all counts. All of the returning characters from the first
film are recast, without a single improvement. The basic
formula of crossing the film noir genre with the fiction of
Lovecraft is largely jettisoned as well, with a thinly disguised
allegory of McCarthy era politics making a weak substitute
for the Cthulhu Mythos. Instead of the fate of the entire
world hanging in the balance, the crux of the plot deals
merely with the political ambitions of a demagogue. It seems
inconceivable that Joseph Dougherty, the author of the deft,
mercurial script of Cast a Deadly Spell, would follow it with
the rather leaden screenplay to Witch Hunt. Take the
character of H. P. Lovecraft. In the first film, he was a typical,
colorful, down-at-the-heels gumshoe such as Philip Marlowe,
Mike Hammer or Sam Spade. Now he is transformed into a
suave private eye like Stu Bailey of 77 Sunset Strip or Dan
Tanna of Vegas, definitely not a good trade-off. Moreover,
his attitude has changed as well. In the first film, he
disapproved of “magic” in general, and he took personal
custody of the Necronomicon in order to weaken the
influence of magic. In Witch Hunt, however, he now has a
casual, almost indifferent, attitude to magic, and he seems
more upset by organized efforts to curtail it. In Cast a Deadly
Spell, magic is essentially malevolent, a trap to lure decent
people into wickedness and corruption. In Witch Hunt,
magic is neutral, with almost equal portions of white and
black magic. Since the people who are against magic are
presented as intolerant and villainous, it considerably alters
the film’s posture. This is even before considering the implied
analogy of magic with communism, an interpretation which
really muddies the waters. In Witch Hunt, detective Lovecraft
seems to have completely forgotten his experience in Cast a
Deadly Spell. This entirely undercuts the premise of Witch
Hunt as a sequel.
As the film opens, it is 1953 in the parallel universe in
which magic is a force in everyday life. Hypolite Kropotkin
has given up her dance studio to concentrate entirely as a
professional practitioner of magic. She has moved up to a
fancy, modern office building, but still sublets an office to H.
P. Lovecraft, private investigator. His new client is Kim
Hudson, a leading movie star married to studio mogul N.J.
Gottlieb. She hires HPL to find out if her husband is
cheating on her. When HPL learns that Hypolite works magic
for Gottlieb, he accompanies her to the studio where she
conjures up William Shakespeare as a new writer for the
studio. Lovecraft spots Finn Macha, an experienced devotee
of the black arts, who is serving as an advisor to Gottlieb.
Macha confronts Lovecraft, warning him that they will have
“business to settle” in the near future.
That evening, Lovecraft tails Gottlieb when he drives to
an elegant and exclusive brothel on Glendower in the
Hollywood Hills. When a raven alights on his car, however,
HPL falls into an enchanted sleep, awakening in the middle
of the following day. Meanwhile, Gottlieb and Kim have a
battle at the studio when she learns she is being replaced in
her latest film. After his wife storms out of his office,
Gottlieb becomes the victim of a magic spell, shrinking to a
height of only six inches. His dogs mistake him for a toy and
tear him to pieces. By the time Lovecraft arrives, the police
investigation is already in full force. Senator Larson Crockett,
an anti-magic crusader, has poked his nose onto the scene.
Crockett is heading a Congressional Committee that is
studying the influence of magic. Actually, he intends to use
the committee as a launching pad for a future presidential bid.
The studio minister conducts Gottlieb’s funeral. In his
quirky eulogy, he quotes Norma Desmond, the character
played by Gloria Swanson in the ultimate Hollywood noir,
Sunset Boulevard (1950). After the services, Kim Hudson
asks HPL to undertake an investigation into her husband’s
murder. She fears the police are targeting her as the prime
suspect. Hypolite and two members of her coven accompany
HPL as he takes Gottlieb’s car and attempts to reconstruct his
movements during the previous night. They trace him to a
beach house in Malibu, to which Gottlieb had brought
Senator Crockett and a call girl. Lovecraft also deduces that
Finn Macha tried to eliminate all evidence of the encounter.
Later the detective crashes the brothel, which is operated by a
sophisticated transvestite named Vivian Dart, and he is
eventually discovered and knocked out. This scene is
reminiscent of one in Farewell My Lovely (1975) in which
Philip Marlowe is taken prisoner in a high class whorehouse.
Lovecraft learns that Dart also employs Finn Macha. After he
is released, HPL follows Kim, who goes to a drive-in showing
The Big Combo, a classic film noir featuring Richard Conte
and Cornel Wilde. (In a minor slip, The Big Combo was
actually released in 1955, but then this is an alternate universe
in which the film could have been made two years earlier.)
Kim Hudson appears in the film onscreen, interacting with
Conte. Lovecraft intercepts Kim as she meets Marie, a
mysterious friend whom he suspects of being the hooker
who had been taken to the beach house. A sniper from
behind the screen starts firing upon them, duplicating the
climax from Boris Karloff ’s last memorable film, Targets
(1968). They scatter, and Marie escapes, snatching Kirn’s car.
 A few hours later, the police summon Lovecraft to the
waterfront to identify the body discovered in Kirn’s car. This
scene is another noir reference, this time to The Big Sleep
(1946). It appears Marie drove off a pier to her death,
thinking she was in the Tournament of Roses parade, another
murder by magic. The next day, Crockett sends for Lovecraft,
offering him a job as an investigator for his committee. HPL
refuses, and he also resists answering the senator’s questions
about Hypolite. When the committee meets, Crockett lays a
trap, accusing Hypolite of the murder of Gottlieb. Hypolite
refuses to recant witchcraft. Under the emergency powers
granted Crockett under the National Unnatural Activities Act,
the committee condemns her, sentencing Hypolite to be
publicly burned at the stake at a giant rally. Lovecraft goes to
Kim’s house, saving her from a suicide attempt. She felt she
had been exploited by the senator when she revealed that
Hypolite had given her husband a charm bracelet She now
feels responsible for Hypolite’s predicament. She reveals that
she really isn’t glamourous, that her beauty is only a magic
illusion, the result of a charm necklace given to her by Vivian
Dart.
Lovecraft confronts Dart, demanding to know her role
in the Crockett fiasco. Apparently, Macha staged the set up of
Crockett in order to gain a foothold of power. Now as
senator’s secret partner, he framed Hypolite as the capstone
for a new national crusade. Lovecraft goes to the rally and
sneaks backstage, observing Crockett as he pays off Macha.
Crockett explains to the detective that he has no real qualms
about magic, but uses it as a good target through which he
can gain a national platform. The senator then double crosses
Macha, and as Crockett’s aides drag him off, he places a curse
on the politician.
As Crockett addresses the enthusiastic crowd awaiting
the immolation of Hypolite, he undergoes a transformation
and splits into two people, the refined senatorial Crockett and
the vile, ambitious Crockett. The crowd walks out on him.
Senator Tremble, another committee member, orders the
arrest of both Crocketts, and Hypolite is set free.
Macha kidnaps Kim, bringing her to the Malibu beach
house, which also parallels the climax of Kiss Me Deadly
(1955). Lovecraft sets out to rescue her, accompanied by
Hypolite. He makes her wait outside as he enters the house.
Macha discusses the real reason why HPL doesn’t use magic.
He tried it once, in conjunction with Macha, and as a result,
an innocent girl was killed. Macha now offers Lovecraft a
choice. He can save Kim from being drowned in the bathtut,
but only through the use magic. HPL refuses, but Hypolite
intervenes, conjuring a raven to attack Macha, plucking out
his evil eye. Macha wanders out into the balcony in pain and
collapses. Lovecraft topples his body into the sea, watching as
he disappears beneath the roaring waves. After her rescue,
Kim decides to return to her hometown and abandon her
glamourous persona. In the closing narration, Lovecraft notes
that Crockett is now sharing a cell with himself in San
Quentin. He ponders on the cycle of dreams,
disappointments and the need to believe in something.
If Witch Hunt had been made as a prequel to Cast a
Deadly Spell, it would have made logical sense, but it is set six
years after the previous film, and the events of the two
pictures simple fail to relate. The shamus H. P. Lovecraft who
once confronted Yog-Sothoth simply wouldn’t say there is no
evil in magic, as he does in the introduction. A more
convincing sequel probably could have been devised. The
Necronomicon, for example, could have been stolen from its
hiding place, requiring Lovecraft to track it down. The
possibilities in that direction ample. Instead, by dropping the
Cthulhu element, it also weakens the noir aspects of the
story, which aren’t bad, but makes Witch Hunt seem like half
a loaf. The technical qualities of Witch Hunt are still quite
good. The cinematography and editing are good, and Angelo
Baldalamenti’s score is intriguing, even if it is reminiscent of
his scoring of Twin Peaks. The setting of Vivian Dart’s house
is the famous Ennis-Brown House, designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright and actually located on Glendower Avenue. The same
building served as the exterior for The House on Haunted
Hill (1958) and the interior for the Bela Lugosi and Boris
Karloff classic, The Black Cat (1934). This brooding
structure makes an unforgettable setting, and the scenes in
which Vivian Dart alters the appearance of the women to suit
the desires of her clients is another memorable moment.
Hopefully, HBO Pictures might someday return to the series
and further chronicle the exploits of private investigator H. P.
Lovecraft.

PERFORMANCES

Veteran star Dennis Hopper is well known for playing

eccentric and unpredictable roles. In this case, however, he
seems somewhat unconvincing as the detective H. P.
Lovecraft, unlike Fred Ward, who fit the part like a glove. He
seems too casual and laid back, lacking any intensity. The only
trait of his characterization that stands out is his wardrobe,
reflecting a fondness for ugly spotted suits. Hopper’s best
moment is his quick-witted ploy to topple over the zombie,
swaying back and forth to induce a fit of vertigo. On the
other hand, Hopper is a magnificent narrator, bringing color
and flair to even the most banal passages of his stream of
consciousness flow. The most memorable scenes in the film
are provided by the villains. Julian Sands, affecting an
eccentric Irish brogue, makes a sinister impression as Finn
Macha, one part charm, one part bluster and two parts thirst
for power. Eric Bogosian, the charming mad genius from
Under Siege II: Dark Territory (1995), is equally brilliant in
Witch Hunt. The witch burning rally is staged with genuine
exuberance, and it provided a great one man show for the
talented Bogosian as the two-faced senator. The split also
recalls a similar dividing by Bruce Campbell in Army of
Darkness. Finally John Epperson, billed as Lypsinka
(referring to his lively, drag “lip synch” routines) delivers a
terrific performance with an impressive rendition of “I Put a
Spell on You.” Unfortunately, Christopher John Fields is
completely miscast as Lt. Bradbury, whose first name is now
inexplicably listed as “Morris” in the cast list, undercutting
the tribute to author Ray Bradbury. The key role of Hypolite,
magnificently played by Amelia Walker in Cast a Deadly Spell,
is merely adequate as rendered by Sheryl Lee Ralph.

FIDELITY TO LOVECRAFT

A full portion of Lovecraftian could have been easily

added to Witch Hunt if the scriptwriter really tried. For
example, the imagery of water is quite prevalent in the film:
the rain, the bathtub scene, the swimming pool and the
throwaway reference to the famous line “Water water
everywhere” from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the
Ancient Mariner. It would have been natural to depict Finn
Macha, a powerful wizard, as a devoted disciple of Cthulhu.
In the final scene as written, Lovecraft helps him topple off
the balcony into the sea. How much more effective it would
have been if instead the tentacles of Cthulhu reached up for
him and dragged him into the water as a spellbinding payoff.
It would have turned a bland climax into an exceptional one.
Instead, we are treated to only one Cthulhu Mythos reference
when Hypolite makes an allusion to one of Lovecraft’s most
famous stories, The Whisperer in Darkness. It proves far too
little as a follow-up to a film which had been an abundance
of riches for fans of Cthulhu cinema.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“It started off small. It wasn’t a conspiracy or anything,

it was just like a fad. Somebody bent a spoon, or levitated
their dog. Next thing you knew, it was starting to spread.
Pretty soon the whole neighborhood was doing it, and in a
little while, it was all over the place, like a Tupperware party.”
(Lovecraft’s opening narration, relating his new attitude about
magic)
“We gather together and close this circle to refute the
Whisperers in the Darkness.” (Hypolite to her coven)
“This is just another example of how magic has shot its
sinister tentacles into the motion picture industry. I give my
personal pledge that soon a new day will dawn on a witchfree
America.…If God doesn’t destroy Hollywood, He owes
Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.” (Crockett at a press
conference after Gottlieb’s murder)
“You know what they say about zombies, strong as hell,
but very bad lateral movement.” (Lovecraft to Dart’s security
men, as he starts to rock back and forth, causing the zombie
guard to topple over)
“Let me tell you something about the people, Phil. You
lock any ten of them in a room, they may not pick a leader,
but I guarantee they will pick someone to hate.” (Crockett to
Lovecraft)
Appendices
 Appendix A

Rare Foreign Lovecraft Films

In compiling this book, I uncovered a few foreign titles

of Lovecraft films that are largely unknown to American
audiences, and which are too elusive to track down for
viewing at the present time. In addition, these films
presumably lack English subtitles as well. Nevertheless, they
are examples of Cthulhu Cinema which deserve recognition
in this volume.

Insumasu o oou Kage (1992) Japanese telefilm based

on Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth and originally
broadcast August 25,1992. Written & directed by Chaiki
Konaka. Featuring Shiro Sano, Kimie Shingyoji, Michiko
Kawai, Renji Ishibashi, Naomasa Rokudaira and Yosuke
Saito. Reported to be a straightforward adaptation. The film’s
leading actor, Shiro Sano is reputedly a Lovecraft enthusiast.
Sano specializes in horror films and was last seen as Shiro
Miyasako in Godzilla 2000 (1999). Of the other cast
members, the best known are Renji Ishibashi, a screen
veteran, and Yosuke Saito, recognized by American audiences
as Dr. Okudo in Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994).

Chilean Gothic (1997/99) Short Chilean film

intended to be the first part of a trilogy of pictures based on
the works of Lovecraft. Chilean Gothic is based on Pickman’s
Model. Written and produced by Gilberto Villarroei. Directed
by Ricardo Harrington. Featuring Rodrigo Sepulveda, Luis
Alarcun, Fernando Gallardo and Cristian Campos.
Harrington and Villarroei are basically known for their work
in creating commercials and documentaries for South
American television. Chilean Gothic has played at numerous
film festivals throughout 1999 and 2000.

L’Altrove (1998/2000) Originally a thirty minute short

made in 1998, it was expanded to feature length in 2000. Also
known as The Beyond (but not to be confused with the
earlier Lucio Fulci film of the same title.) Written, produced
and directed by Ivan Zuccon. Featuring Michael Segal,
Emanuele German, Laura Coratti, Giuseppe Gobbatto,
Francesco Malaspina, Roberta Marelli, Claudio Viganelli and
Caterina Zanca. Based on various Lovecraft works, The
Nameless City, The Statement of Randolph Carter, the
fragment known as The Book and The History of the
Necronomicon. The film opens in the Elizabethian era as Dr.
John Dee works on his Latin translation of The
Necronomicon, hiring an Arab to translate a portion of the
Al Azif. The scene then switches to modern day, as
humankind fights a losing battle against the Old Ones who
have returned to take over the earth. A second film was
recently completed, a prequel, entitled Unknown Beyond.
 Appendix B

Amateur Lovecraft Films

The writings of H. P. Lovecraft have inspired numerous

amateur filmmakers, ranging from home based 8mm efforts
to some of the imaginative, higher quality endeavors listed
here. These attempts at adaptation are generally far more
faithful to HPL’s original text and are often made with an
added dedication and affection that is lacking in most
professional efforts. However, these attempts are usually
made with limited or almost nonexistent funding, attempting
to compensate with pure imagination and genuine
enthusiasm. A number of these efforts have been accorded
minor distribution on video through the efforts of a group
called Beyond Books in Portland, Oregon. This alphabetical
listing is merely a small sampling of amateur productions, the
tip of the iceberg, but it attempts to acknowledge some of
the finer and more unusual examples of amateur Cthulhu
cinema.

Cool Air (1999) A film by Brian Moore. Featuring Jack

Donner, Brian Moore, Vera Lockwood, Ducky Flyswatter and
Ron Ford. Original music score by Steven A. Yeaman. B and
W, 43 minutes. Perhaps the finest and most accomplished of
all amateur Lovecraft films, with splendid atmosphere, moody
cinematography and exceptional acting, particularly by Jack
Donner as Dr. Muñoz. The script closely follows the original
story, including the proper time period (the mid-20s). The
unnamed narrator of the original story is provided the
appropriate name of Randolph Carter, very well played by
writer/producer/director Moore. If you only get to view one
amateur film, it should be this one, a production of the
highest caliber.

Cthulhu Wore Tennis Shoes (1995) A film by Lesley

Matheson. Featuring Chris Exner, Michael Tice, Rebecca
Strong, Victor Wood, Cheryl Wong, Brian Neil Mclnnes,
Glenn Glazer and Ian Pagan. 5 minutes. A rather frivolous
but enthusiastic effort by the UCLA Enigma Science Fiction
Club. A student, lured by an offer of free pizza at a college
club meeting, is tricked into become a human sacrifice to the
Old Ones. Cthulhu appears as a blurred, shadowy presence
with multiple arms/tentacles.

From Beyond (1997) A film by Ken Avenoso and

Andrew Migliore. Featuring Greg Skelton, Jefferson Maxwell
and Solomon Grundy. Music courtesy of Richard Band. B
and W, 11 minutes. This is a very decent adaptation limited
mainly by the primitive special effects. The tricky camerawork
and the faithful script are the highlights.

The Hound (1997) A film by Anthony Reed.

Featuring Scott Hove and Steve Toth. Original music by Steve
Toth. B and W, 22 minutes. Claustrophobic and intense, The
Hound sticks very closely to the original Lovecraft text. The
scenes of the boat trip to the island and the grave robbing are
magnificent. The production achieves much of its power
through mere suggestion. Filmed in and around Ypsilanti,
Michigan.
 McLaren (1997) A film by Ted Purvis. Featuring Aviva
Orr, Larry St. John, Murray Dubow and Brayden Hawk.
Original music by Ted Leib. 8 minutes. A rather loose
adaptation of The Lurking Fear, apparently now set in the
Australian outback. A young woman seeks to reclaim the land
once possessed by her family. The effort features magnificent
outdoor cinematography. Produced in association with San
Diego State University.

The Music of Erich Zann (1989) A film by John

Strysik. Featuring Robert Ruevain, Robert Alexander and
Darryl Warren. Original music by André Caporaso. 17
minutes. A terrific adaptation of Lovecraft’s original story.
The unnamed narrator of the tale is here called Charles
Dexter Ward (Robert Ruevain). Caporaso’s atonal music,
representing the work of Erich Zann, is eerie and very
persuasive, securing the success of the effort. Robert
Alexander plays Erich Zann with an austere and remote
dignity. The special optical effects included in the climax are
weak, however well-intentioned. Considering the minuscule
budget, they are perhaps the best that could be expected. This
effort was funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council and
Chicago’s Columbia College.

My Necronomicon (no date, presumably mid-90s)

A film by Aaron Vanek. Featuring Page Hearne. 2 minutes.
An exceptional vignette in which a man procures a copy of
the Necronomicon, brings it to his room, reads an incantation
and screams as reality dissolves around him. Silent with
music.
 Nyarlathotep (2001) A film by Christian Matzke.
Featuring Dan Harrod, Christian Matzke, Michael Kristan,
Matt Little, David Meiklejohn, Galen Richmond and James
Cagney IV. Music by Derek Pegritz. B and W, 14 minutes. A
superlative effort that uses Lovecraft’s dream-like prose poem
Nyarlathotep in verbatim fashion by the narrator. The effort
is a period piece set in the early 20s, and it contains a number
of powerful and compelling images. When Nyarlathop
appears in the guise of a traveling magician (Dan Harrod), he
displays images on a screen of “waves of destruction,” clips
of nuclear carnage are inserted. James Cagney IV is the
grandson of the memorable screen great, and his character is
Cody Jarrett, a tribute to White Heat (1949). Highly
recommended on all levels. Filmed principally in Portland,
Maine and at the Desert of Maine in Freeport. Silent with
voiceover narration and music.

The Outsider (no date, presumably mid-90s) A

film by Aaron Vanek. Featuring Herb Lichtenstein, Kathryn
Grady, David David Katzman and Rebecca Magenuch.
Original music by Damon Gallagher. 6 minutes. This is not a
strict adaptation, but one in which a different story is grafted
onto Lovecraft’s original work. After the narrator weds his
beloved Anastasia, he is murdered when he catches her in a
tryst with another man. He later awakens in the crypt and
returns to Anastasia, unaware that he is a walking corpse until
he sees his reflection in the mirror. The narration and
makeup provide this effort’s strongest elements.

The Outsider (1993) A film by Andrew Hooks.

Featuring Laura Baudine. Music adapted from Vertigo by
Bernard Herrmann. B and W, 6 minutes. Hooks’ film is an
imaginative, expressionistic and genuinely creepy effort that is
very faithful to the original Lovecraft text. The story is
conveyed by stylized title cards that approximate grotesque
hand printing. The scenes of the long, decrepit stairways
through which the Outsider reaches the surface are errie,
breathtaking and surreal. Silent with music.

Return to Innsmouth (1999) A film by Aaron Vanek.

Featuring Ezra Hubbard, Larry Curwen, Edgar Reynolds and
Paul Palazzolo. Original music by Mark Fauver. B and W, 26
minutes. This is not really an adaptation of The Shadow Over
Innsmouth as much as a variation based on the last two
paragraphs of Lovecraft’s original story, in which cousins,
confined in an asylum, plot to escape together. With that
narrower focus, Vanek constructs an interesting Innsmouth
story that characterizes both the triumphs and limitations of
such efforts. The absolute dedication of the cast and limited
crew is evident in every scene of this sincere and striking
effort. Filmed in Portland, Oregon.

Simon Winston AKA Call Simon Winston (1974–

76) A film series by Charles P. Mitchell and Paul Sclafani.
Featuring Charles P. Mitchell, Paul Sclafani, Michael Greene,
Virginia Greene, James Smyth, James E. Ciccolilli, Felix M.
Ruiz, Jimmy Martino and William Chadwick. A series of four
20-minute shorts centering on the activities of Simon
Winston, a colorful but wacky psychic investigator whose
cases have Lovecraftian overtones, in eluding a spawn of
Cthulhu water demon. One episode had scenes filmed across
New England and Great Britain including the top of Mount
Washington and Stonehenge. Silent with voiceover narration
and music.
 Appendix C

Lovecraft on Television

The writings of H. P. Lovecraft had a continuing

influence on television fare. A number of shows, such as
Amazing Stories, Darkroom, Ghost Story, Tales from the
Crypt, Tales from the Darkside and Way Out, were
considerably influenced by HPL, particularly in tone and
general subject material; however the number of outright
adaptations was small and largely confined to one
anthropology series, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. The
enduring impact of Lovecraft is often subtle or clandestine.
In one case, a five year series was largely based on a rather
Lovecraftian cosmology. This appendix will only consider
regular series, not telefilms which are classified with the other
motion pictures. Neither will cartoon series, such as the
animated Real Ghostbusters, be included, even though a few
episodes contain the Necronomicon and other Cthulhu
Mythos references. The following examples will illustrate the
presence of Lovecraft on the small screen.

13 Demon Street (1960) This thirteen episode

anthology series was shot in Sweden and originally intended
for the American market, but it was never picked up and
received only limited distribution. Lon Chaney was the host
who introduced each episode, playing a condemned soul
forced to remain in the house on 13 Demon Street until he
finds an individual who commits a sin greater than his own.
One episode, “The Book of Ghouls,” was clearly inspired by
Lovecraft. In Vienna, an unemployed teacher of ancient
languages rents a room in the home of a retired professor
and comes across a strange diabolical book, similar to the
Cultes des Goules. He discovers a formula that would grant
extended life and untold wealth, but the ritual requires him to
commit murder. In the end, he winds up the victim, learning
too late that his kindly landlord is enacting the same ritual.
Vernon Young, Charles Nolte and Berit Lind star in this
episode directed by Curt Siodmak.

Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962–65) Together with its

better known half-hour counterpart, Alfred Hitchcock
Presents, this series is considered the greatest of the
television anthology programs. One of the most prolific
contributors to the show was HPL’s protege Robert Bloch, so
it is not surprising that Lovecraftian traces can be perceived in
his work. Two good examples are Bloch stories “Water’s
Edge,” with its hints of The Rats in the Walls and “Final
Performance,” with its suggestion of The Whisperer in
Darkness.

Babylon 5 (1993–98) J. Michael Straczynski conceived

this space epic in terms of a five-year continuous storyline,
more like an extended serial than an ordinary television show,
in which the episodes unfold, more or less, in continuous
fashion. It wasn’t until the end of the third season that
Straczynski revealed the underlying concept upon which the
series was founded, and the conception was genuine
Lovecraft. In distant times, our quadrant of space had been
ruled by powerful, fantastic races similar to the Old Ones. In
an epic battle, one of these races, known as the Shadows, was
confined to a hidden dimension on a planet called Z’ha’dum.
The Shadows manage to escape their prison every thousand
years or so when the stars are right, and they have to be
overcome and reimprisoned. The other races, however, have
dissipated and by the era in which Babylon 5 is set, only one
other race of Old Ones, the Vorlons, remain to contest the
Shadows when they emerge again. The Lovecraftian basis of
this cosmology, at least as conceived by Derleth, is rather
clear to any Cthulhu Mythos aficionado. Moreover, there are
many other similarities. The space ships of the Shadows and
Vorlons are living objects, with clusters of spidery
appendages. The Vorlons wear elaborate suits when they
encounter humans and other races, but in the episode
“Falling Toward Apotheosis,” the Vorlons are finally revealed
as large, floating, transparent, tentacled beings, like a mad
cross between a jellyfish and a squid, consistent with some of
HPL’s depictions of some of the Old Ones. In addition, the
series is littered with many other Lovecraft allusions. For
instance, in the episode “Passing Through Gethsemane,” a
gentle monk discovers that in an earlier existence he was a
serial killer named Charles Dexter, a reference to HPL’s The
Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The entire series is really a
treasure trove for fans of Lovecraft.

Dark Shadows (1966–71) This colorful gothic soap

opera, developed by Dan Curtis, featured vampires,
werewolves, reanimated corpses and other occult figures, and
the storylines were inspired by Henry James, Mary Shelley,
Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Charlotte Brontë,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goethe and others. In November of
1969, Dark Shadows em-barked on a three month plotline
based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, particularly The
Dunwich Horror. Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid),
temporarily cured of vampirism, is captured while attempting
to travel through time, by a group of otherworldly beings
known as the Leviathans. They possess him and recruit him
to breach the dimensional barrier and spearhead their
takeover of the earth. He is given a box, engraved with a
serpent-like creature called a Naga, that contains a strange life
force. Barnabas entrusts the box to a young couple, Philip
and Megan Todd, who operate an antique shop. A succession
of uncanny children and finally a strange charismatic adult,
Jeb Hawkes (Christopher Pennock), appear in the Todd
household. Equivalent to Wilbur Whateley, Jeb seeks to
unleash the Leviathans. Barnabas overcomes the influence of
the Leviathans and opposes Jeb, who turns him back into a
vampire. Warlock Nicholas Blair (Humbert Alien Astredo)
assumes leadership of the Leviathan cause. Eventually, when
Jeb and Nicholas quarrel, the warlock is destroyed by a
mysterious supernatural shadow. The plot winds up when Jeb
is pushed off Widow’s Hill, the show’s equivalent of Sentinel
Hill, by Sky Rumson (Geoffrey Scott), a disciple of Blair.
This synopsis is vastly simplified, as the storyline had many
other subplots, but the Lovecraftian inspiration for the entire
plot is unmistakable.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1994–2000)

This popular syndicated series had an episode in its sixth
season entitled “City of the Dead.” Traveling to Egypt,
Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) visits the court of Queen Nefertiti
(Gabriella Larkin), which is threatened by intrigue. The
Necronomicon appears in this story, housed in the Great
Pyramid at Giza. Fearing that it would fall into the wrong
hands, the queen hides the dangerous book in the City of the
Dead. Her estranged son, Ramses (Toi Itt), finds the book
and attempts to invoke its dark rituals to gain unlimited
power. Of course, a Lovecraft scholar could point to a clear
anachronism: the dreaded book was not written until 720, nor
given the Greek title Necronomicon until 950.

Monsters (1988–91) Lovecraft himself was depicted

on this show on January 6,1991 in the episode “The Space-
Eaters,” adapted and directed by Robert Megginson from a
short story by Frank Belknap Long. The short story, which
originally appeared in Weird Tales in 1928, depicts HPL as a
Brooklyn author who conceives of the Old Ones. He is
finally slain by them and his brain is devoured.

New Twilight Zane (1985–87) Oddly enough,

Lovecraft was never anthologized on the original Twilight
Zone (1959–65). The revived show, however, had several
HPL references. The most pronounced was in the episode
“Gramma,” written by Harlan Ellison based on a short story
by Stephen King, about a dying witch in Scarborough, Maine.
Her fearful young grandson discovers her copy of the
Necronomicon and reads aloud the names of the Old Ones.
The witch possesses the youngster before she dies. The
episode was directed by Bradford May and featured Barret
Oliver, Darlanne Fluegel and Frederick Long.

Night Gallery (1970–73) This series, hosted by Rod

Serling, paid the greatest attention to Lovecraft, featuring two
HPL adaptations, one Clark Ashton Smith Mythos
adaptation, and two comedic vignettes, one brief and one
lengthy. “Pickman’s Model” is the first episode, adapted by
Alvin Sapinsley and directed by Jack Laird. Bradford Dillman
stars as Richard Upton Pickman, the tortured artist whose
paintings of grotesque monsters, it is discovered, are actually
drawn from life. “Cool Air” was adapted by Serling and
directed by Jeannot Szwarc. Henry Darrow plays the tragic
scientist kept alive through will power and low temperatures.
Serling alters the narrator into a woman (Barbara Rush), and
this change works beautifully, making the story more
poignant. Both these adaptations are outstanding period
pieces. Just a cut below is “The Return of the Sorcerer,”
which served as the first episode of Night Gallery’s third
season. Halsted Welles adapted the Clark Ashton Smith story.
A timid Arab language specialist (Bill Bixby) is hired by a
fearful occult scholar (Vincent Price) to translate passages of
the Necronomicon. He discovers that his employer killed and
dismembered his twin brother (Price), a powerful sorcerer,
who revives from the dead and re-assembles himself to
unleash his revenge. Jeannot Szwarc again directs, but this
segment is almost ruined by Patricia Sterling who plays the
scholar’s somewhat mod companion. “Professor Peabody’s
Last Lecture,” penned by Jack Laird, is a lengthy pastiche in
which an arrogant mythology professor (cleverly played by
Carl Reiner) mocks the leading figures of the Cthulhu
Mythos. He finally reads from the Necronomicon, and after a
great thunderstorm arises, the professor is transformed into a
deformed monster. This tribute also features pronunciation
lessons on the names of the Old Ones. The students who
attend this lecture are named after Mythos writers, including
Hazel Heald, Robert Bloch, August Derleth and Lovecraft.
The final vignette, “Miss Lovecraft Sent Me,” is a comic short
about a vampire who needs a babysitter. There is nothing of
HPL in this tale other than the title.

The Outer Limits (1963–65) Although there were no

direct adaptations or Mythos references, many episodes of
this ground breaking series showed significant influence by
Lovecraft, such as “The Cry of Silence,” “The Invisible
Enemy,” “The Guests,” ‘The Zanti Misfits” and “Behold,
Eck!”

Rough Magik (2000–01) This is a thirteen episode

British television series currently in production. Written by
Stephen Parsons after his novel Night Scholars, the plot
involves a group who monitor the activities of the Old Ones.
Danger erupts during the Falklands War when dreams about
Cthulhu indicate that he may be awakening. The first episode
has been previewed at Sci-Fi film festivals and features Paul
Darrow, Gerrard McArthur, Tim Kirby, Justine Genton and
Michael Poole. It is directed by Jaimie Payne.

Star Trek (1966–69) The classic Star Trek had a single

entry with Lovecraftian significance, “Catspaw,” penned by
HPL’s old friend Robert Bloch. The Enterprise is trapped by
several very unusual aliens who are able to transform
themselves into any shape. They probe the minds of the
ship’s crew, tap their fears and create an old-fashioned
haunted castle on their planet with which to frighten them.
References to the Old Ones are included in this special
Halloween Star Trek episode.
 Suspense (1949–54) This show was the television
counterpart to the famous series that was the most famous
anthology show on radio. In fact, Suspense offered the first
radio dramatization of Lovecraft in 1945 with The Dunwich
Horror. Ronald Colman became the first major star to tackle
Lovecraft on the radio edition of Suspense. Reportedly, it
later offered the first adaptation on television as well, but
scant information is available on these shows, which were
broadcast live. Only a few of them survive on kinoscope, and
it has proven almost impossible to verify if, indeed, a
Lovecraft story was used. Reviewing all 260 episode titles,
none provides a conclusive match with HPL’s own titles.
Assuming that the show altered the title of any HPL tale that
might have been adapted, the likeliest candidates for this
treatment, including broadcast dates, are: “The Call”
(6/5/51), “De Mortius” (6/12/51), “The Others”
(10/27/53) and “The Haunted” (1/19/54).

Thriller (1960–62) Writer Robert Bloch again adds

Lovecraft lore in his adaptation of his story called “The
Weird Tailor.” A desperate wealthy man (George Macready)
wants to revive his dead son (Gary Clarke), so he spends his
entire fortune to purchase De Vermis Mysteriis by Ludwig
Prinn (Bloch’s own contribution to the forbidden Mythos
books, adopted by HPL in The Haunter of the Dark). In the
evil book, he finds a spell that can bring his son back, but it
requires the creation of a special suit, and the man recruits an
impoverished tailor (Henry Jones) to stitch the unholy
garment.
 Appendix D

Future Possibilities

For the past forty years, numerous Lovecraft projects

have been announced, only to be later abandoned and never
completed, often due to financing and the rising cost of
productions. Among these were the following: The Cry of
Cthulhu, a six million dollar film planned for 1979/80 by
director Wolfgang Glattes and producer David Kurd to be
shot in Germany; The Haunted Village, developed by
American International Pictures in the 1960s, to be based on
The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Rats in the Walls; also
planned by American International in the mid-1960s; and an
imaginative, multi-million dollar project planned by animator
David Alien in the late 1970s to be called The Primevals.
With the understanding that current productions may also
wind up stillborn, it is nevertheless heartening to know that a
large number of Lovecraft projects appear to be in the works
as of 2001.
Stuart Gordon has developed an ambitious script based
on The Shadow Over Innsmouth, with plans for it to be shot
on location in a coastal town in Maine. Gordon wants this
project to be a breakthrough film in terms of quality Cthulhu
cinema. While gearing up for this project, Gordon has
completed work on another film based on Lovecraft’s story
Dagon. Shot in Spain, this modestly budgeted story involves a
sailor, shipwrecked on an island that has risen from beneath
the sea, who discovers a ancient stone monolith containing
carvings of the Old Ones. Dagon is produced by Brian
Yuzna, who also has a third film planned in the Re-Animator
series. Entitled Beyond Re-Animator, this entry will follow
Herbert West’s experiments on capturing the soul. The
Haunter of the Dark is another viable project to be co-
produced by Moviebrats Filmworks and two German
companies. Originally conceived as an hour-long independent
feature, plans have since been expanded to a full-length
production, to be directed by Alexander Weimer.
It is evident that the writings of Lovecraft and the
numerous other authors inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos will
continue to inspire filmmakers, no doubt with higher quality
results in the 21st century. For example, Quentin Tarrantino
has expressed interest in developing his own Cthulhu project.
As a finale, I would like to suggest novels and stories that
might serve as the basis for future entries in the realm of
Cthulhu cinema. This list is presented in order of the greatest
potentiality. Of course, the stories of HPL himself deserve
the greatest attention, but for the sake of conciseness and not
to overstate the obvious, I am limiting myself to only the
most deserving two examples of actual Lovecraft.

The Shadow Out of Time by H. P. Lovecraft.

Possibly his greatest novel, but considered unfilmable. With
the endless possibilities of computer graphics, it may soon be
feasible to recreate the ancient cities of the Old Ones as
presented by Lovecraft. The main obstacle would be the
expense. It would be a challenge, but the results could be
spectacular if done right.

At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft.

The same comments mentioned above apply here, but the
Antarctic wilderness and mountains might be slightly less
difficult to execute.

The Great White Space by Basil Copper. This novel

may be the finest one written in the Lovecraft tradition,
telling the story of the Clark Ashton Scarsdale Expedition of
1933, which traveled hundreds of miles through a cave to
explore an ancient city of the Old Ones. The straightforward
story would work very well on screen, recalling The
Unknown World (1951), a non-Lovecraft film about a
subterranean expedition. Of course, the film’s visual payoff
would occur when the group reaches the Cyclopean city and
uncovers “the great white space,” the astral portal through
which the Old Ones travel. It could broaden the concept that
made Star gate (1994) so successful.

The Inhabitant of the Lake by Ramsey Campbell.

One of the most compelling of modern day horror writers,
Campbell’s Lovecraft-influenced stories have an authentic
creepiness that is unique. He expanded the Mythos, creating
Glaaki, a fresh addition to the dark pantheon, and a haunted
corner of England known as the Severn Valley. The
Inhabitant of the Lake would be a strong candidate for
adaptation, as its unfolding seems particularly cinematic,
requiring only a limited cast and locale. A sensitive artist
moves into an abandoned lakeside cottage to paint, and he
starts to have strange hallucinations of a strange force
emanating from the lake. Campbell’s best Lovecraft tale, and
one of the greatest of all Lovecraft pastiches is Cold Print,
but it would be very difficult to translate fot the screen.
 Lovecraft’s Book by Richard A. Lupoff. This is not
a horror novel, but an action/adventure story written in 1985.
The protagonist is Lovecraft himself, and it also features his
wife Sonia Greene as well as his friends Frank Belknap Long,
Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. In this fantastic
escapade, HPL is approached in the late 1920s by a German
publisher and friend of Hitler with a tempting offer. If
Lovecraft would write a propaganda treatise entitled New
America and the Coming World Order, he would ensure the
publication of a book of his short stories as well. The
thrilling climax involves a German sub off the Massachusetts
coast as HPL foils a Nazi plot. Lupoff ’s novel is a unique and
colorful piece that would definitely make a great TV movie.

Beneath the Moors by Brian Lumley. This novel,

written in 1974, is a wonderfully gothic mood piece about an
ancient city hidden underneath the Yorkshire moors.
Professor Ewart Masters, injured in an accident, recovers at
his nephew’s rural home, and he becomes fascinated by an
antique green figurine of a lizard-like monstrosity, leading to
a series of dream-encounters in the lost city of Lh-yib and
the horrors within. If Hammer Pictures were still in
operation, this project would be a natural for them. The
scope and nature of the story would make it easily adaptable
to the screen.

The Horror from the Hills by Frank Belknap

Long. This novel originally appeared in serial form for Weird
Tales in 1931. With a little imagination, it could be developed
into a viable film, a better candidate than The Hounds of
Tindalos. Long was inspired to pen the work after reading
about a vivid dream that HPL described to him in one of his
letters. The story deals with the manifestations of Chaugnar
Faugn, a hideous Old One, and the attempts to thwart it by a
band of colorful scholars inspired in part by Lovecraft, Clark
Ash ton Smith and others. The plot builds to a dramatic
crescendo to a confrontation along the New Jersey shore, in
which Chaugnar is sent back in time. It would make an
exciting film climax.

The Mind Parasites by Colin Wilson. A brilliant and

insightful author, Wilson once attacked Lovecraft in his
philosophical treatise, The Strength to Dream (1961). Later,
he not only revised his negative opinion about HPL, but
wrote Mythos literature including two innovative and startling
Mythos novels, The Mind Parasites (1967) and The
Philosopher’s Stone (1969). The second book is masterful,
but a bit too complex and meditative for screen treatment.
The Mind Parasites, however, would translate well to the
screen and would make a remarkable film. The story
concerns the discovery by Professor Gilbert Austin of a race
of invisible beings reminiscent of the Old Ones known as
the Tsathogguans, who prey on man from within, through
their minds. This concept was first developed by Long in his
story The Space-Eaters, and Wilson develops the idea in a
very powerful manner. The Mind Parasites could be crafted as
a nifty intellectual thriller in the style of the Quatermass
films.

The Barrens by F. Paul Wilson. This 1990 novella is

one of the undisputed masterpieces in the Lovecraft
tradition. Reminiscent of Algernon Blackwood’s exceptional
The Willows, The Barrens is an atmospheric journey of
terror through the vast Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey,
the same area which inspired the legends of the Jersey Devil
and the films The Last Broadcast (1997) and The Blair Witch
Project (1999), even though the latter was set in Maryland.
But the true haunted wilderness is the Pine Barrens, which
Wilson brings vividly to life.

The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein. An impressive

and rather elegant horror novel from 1984 based upon Klein’s
earlier story The Events at Poroth Farm. It relies not only on
Lovecraft, but Arthur Machen and Algernon Blackwood, as it
chronicles the strange, hypnotic events that affect a rural
farming community in New Jersey. (Again, New Jersey. What
is the attraction that this state holds for the Old Ones?) The
story would make a terrific film, particularly in the hands of a
director like Peter Weir, who evoked the dream-like
atmosphere so well in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975).

The Night SEA-MAID Went Down by Brian

Lumley. This is a section from Lumley’s novel The
Borrowers Beneath (1974), but it could be developed into an
excellent feature on its own. A floating oil rig is moored at
the wrong location in the North Sea, where their drilling
disturbs the sleep of one of the Old Ones. The cinematic
potential of this concept is obvious to any readers of the
book.

The Titan in the Crypt by J. G. Warner. What a

spellbinding movie this 1963 story could possibly make.
Although the story is brief, it is a rich enough concept, like
The Night SEA-MAID Went Down, to be extended to a
greater length to serve as an ideal telefilm, perhaps broadcast
the same night as Mardi Gras, since that is the setting of the
story. A drunken antique dealer named Tessier escorts one of
his clients to witness a strange ritual. He reveals a hidden
network of catacombs deep underneath New Orleans’
French Quarter. While the carefree carnival festivities go on
above, a darker ritual is staged below, culminating in the
appearance of the Crawling Chaos, Nyarlathotep. After the
narrator/intruder escapes, he finds sinkholes appearing
wherever he relocates. In an odd coincidence, a recent tv
disaster movie, On Hostile Ground (1999), was set in New
Orleans during Mardi Gras, when the city was threatened by
the appearance of unexplained sinkholes. What a shame that
the filmmakers were unaware of Warner’s story, which would
have provided the ideal touch that could have turned the
story into a macabre classic.

Crouch End by Stephen King. Since it seems that all

of King’s work eventually emerges on the screen, it may only
be a matter of time until Crouch End appears. Besides being
one of King’s finest short stories, it would translate very well
to film. The setting is England, as an American couple,
Leonard and Doris Freeman, are invited to supper, but
Leonard misplaces the address of his host. They become lost
in Crouch End, a quiet London suburb where strange things
happen ‘from time to time.’ Their creepy encounter with the
Old Ones would make a perfect opening section in a
proposed Lovecraft anthology film, a Mythos quintet with the
next four suggestions.
 The Howler in the Dark by Richard Tierney. A
superb and delightful vignette filled with gothic touches,
Tierney’s story would make an ideal second act for our
projected anthology film. Two mysterious Americans take up
residence in an ancient, partially ruined castle in England,
sparking curiosity and suspicion. A local schoolboy vanishes
near the estate, and so does the constable who searches for
him. When another American makes their acquaintance, he
eventually discovers their dark purpose, leading to a shocking
climax, including the identity of the howler in the dark.

The Pronounced Effect by John Brunner. A

glorious and very special story that is that most rare
commodity, a Mythos romance. A shy young woman takes
her father’s place at a Linguistics Convention to present his
thesis, and she has to endure the hostile and mocking verbal
assault of an arrogant professor, her father’s rival. She finds
unexpected support, however, from a dashing academician
from Miskatonic University, to whom she is immediately
drawn. Of course, this man is not quite who he appears to be.
This splendid tale would provide perfect contrast and balance
to the companion selections, and would serve as the heartfelt
centerpiece of our Mythos quintet.

The Deep End by Greg Luce. An old-fashioned little

thriller that would make a sensational third act in our sinister
cinema anthology. This is an Innsmouth tale transposed to
the northwest coast. Luce writes in a very pictorial style that
would be ideal for the screen, and his story is loaded with
numerous references that aficionados of horror films would
devour, including the most foolhardy midnight swim since
Jaws (1975).

HPL by Gahan Wilson. This tribute tale provided the

opening quote for this book, and, coming full circle, it helps
bring it to a close. Gahan Wilson’s story would make a perfect
close to an anthology film as well, particularly if Christopher
Heyerdahl could be persuaded to assume the role of
Lovecraft once more. A horror writer makes the discovery
that Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith are still alive. HPL’s
writings about the Old Ones have made them real, and they
save him from his 1937 deathbed. HPL conjures Yog-Sothoth
as a demonstration for the writer, and the Old One gently
reaches for Lovecraft, calls him “Father” and carries him off
into his dimension. An adaptation would work best with a
voiceover narration reading Wilson’s well-crafted prose.
 About the Author

CHARLES P.MITCHELL has served as director of

many Maine libraries and also as the chairman of the
Southern Maine Library District. He is the author of A
Guide to Charlie Chan Films (Greenwood, 1999) and A
Guide to Apocalyptic Cinema (Greenwood, 2001).
 Photos

H. P. Lovecraft.
Christopher Heyerdahl as H. P. Lovecraft in Out of Mind.
Fred Ward as “detective” H. P. Lovecraft in
Cast a Deadly Spell.
Dan Harrod as Nyarlathotep in human form in Nyarlathotep.
Jeffrey Combs as H. P. Lovecraft holding the Necronomicon
in Necronomicon.
Bruce Campbell battles his own dismembered hand in Evil
Dead II.
Vincent Price as Joseph Curwen in the immolation scene
from The Haunted Palace
A shoggoth as portrayed in The Crawling Eye
Poster art for Calitki
Poster art for The Dunwich Horror.
Lobby card for Die, Monster, Die!
Malcolm Danare and Claude Akins investigate the glowing
meteorite in The Farm.
Sam Neill contemplates a novel by Sutter Cane from In the
Mouth of Madness.
Dr. Madden (David Warner) in his ice bath from the
adaptation of Cool Air for Necronomicon.
David Warner as Chancellor Thayer of Miskatonic University
in The Unnamable II.
Lobby card for Enemy from Space.
Rare still of an Old One in the huge acclimatization chamber
in Enemy from space
Poster art for Re-Animator.