IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1995)

Yet another HP Lovecraft adaptation set to film. With legendary director John Carpenter directing you know this one is going to be quality. As expected the quality of the movie is amazing and immaculately shot, but maybe I am biased as I really do love John Carpenters work. Sam Neill as the main character does a stellar job, and while I haven't read any HP Lovecraft in many years from what I do remember of this story it tends to follow the original story quite well.

The story itself opens with main character John Trent (Sam Neill) committed to a lunatic asylum, and then the rest of the movie details John Trents descent from hot shot insurance fraud investigator, to taking on a case to find the whereabouts of acclaimed horror writer Sutter Cain, and insure the release of his next major chartbuster "In the Mouth of Madness". Cain is big business in the world of horror and his disappearance is also the subject of the a major insurance claim. In the process of undertaking the investigation Trent reads Cain's mind bending novels an sets off to find a town, Hobb's End which is referred to in Cain's books in the hopes of finding him. Unfortunately for Trent he finds himself getting a little too involved in Cain's writing and it begins to affect him mentally as lines between fiction and reality start to blur. I won't go any further into the plot than that but rest assured its a plot full of great twists and keeps the magical world that HP Lovecraft created alive and vibrant in movie form.

The is quite a few cool horror effects in this movie, but the movie itself  is more of a cerebal experience than flat out gore, meaning you do have to pay reasonable attention to what's going on (as opposed to other Lovecraft adaptations like Re-animator) but its a very rewarding experience which all I can do is recommend you check it out for yourselves!

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WITCHES / DUNWICH HORROR (2009)

This is either a remake or an adaptation of the HP Lovecraft tale made into movie "The Dunwich Horror", depneding on how you look at it. I stumbled upon this film by accident at my local flea market and it fell to the bottom of my "movies to watch" pile. Months later i picked up and put it in the player and upon reading the back of the DVD cover realised the connection to Lovecraft, and wished I'd watched it as soon as I bought it, although to be fair my copy was called 'Witches' not the "Dunwich Horror" from which it is based. I make no secret of the fact I love HP Lovecrafts work, and as a young adult have read everything of his I've been able to get my hands on, and I have to say as far as I can remember this seems to follow the story well and do it great justice.

Long time HP Lovecraft slave of the Ancient Ones, Jeff Combs is 20 or so years older than the last time I saw him in the "Re-animator" films but man it was great to see him back in action. The ladies are looking sexy, tasteful and elegant (great to see after all the exploitation horror I've been watching of late) and the connection is made rather well with the Chtulu Mythos and the universe he created. Some rather genuine readings of the incantations from the necronomicom and use of the symbols (sigils) used in the hallowed tome, across the opening credits (and in film) add a real air of authenticity to proceedings.  Everthing felt natural, like the directtor himself was a fan of Lovecraft.

The plot is rather complicated but a quick synopsis is that some young lady gives birth to a child in what I recall from the Lovecraft story to be the mythical New England the town of Dunwich and she of course is destined to open the cosmic  gates through her offspring family tree of freaks most of which are human and one of which is an earthly incarnation of the ancient god "Yog Sagoth". 'The Old Ones' (a race of Ancient Deity from beyond the stars) who will bring about the end of the world. The only way to stop the Old Ones from entering our dimension is to find a complete copy of the fabled book THE NECRONOMICON which contain the incantations to open and close the inter-dimensional gates.

The movie itself is complex and not one to watch dipping in an out or in a situation where one is easily distracted.... for it does require concentration but the results are well worth it. A fantastic tale of occult supernatural horror which stimulates the mind and fires up the imagination like few other story tellers can.

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HERBERT WEST RE ANIMATOR (1985)

I'm a great fan of the works of HP Lovecraft, so I try to watch as many of the adaptations of his works on  film as I can get a hold of, some them translate well onto film and others, sadly do not.

This one is very cool I have to say, I think as far as the time goes it does translate quite well onto the screen. It follows the trials and tribulations of one Herbert West, who is trying to unlock the building blocks of life itself with the hope of returning life to the dead.

Herbert West is creepy, sullen, introverted character played quite convincingly by Jeffrey Combs who studies at the Miskatonic University (HP Lovecraft fans will recognize the name) and develops a serum that once injected can bring the dead back to life. Said serum is then tested on a cat and succeeds in bringing the cat back. His first success becomes an obesseion as West and his Housemate Dan report the findings to the University and are subsquently removed from the university program. West then takes the bold step from animal to human and tests it on a corpse bringing the corpse back to a zombie-like state of life, an of course unleashes a whole lot more trouble than he bargained for.

The film is slated as a horror comedy, I don't see much humour in it, well maybe some black humour. Some pretty gruesome gore scenes and some that come off a little dated, but overall it is a well done horror flick in that glorious 80's style of horror, genuinely captivating and a great watch, true to the dark styles of HP Lovecraft.... definitely an all time fave of mine!

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The Call Girl of Cthulu (2015)

The Call Girl of Cthulu

Obviously this is not something to be taken too seriously. Probably best enjoyed with either a few drinks or the day after a big night when you don't have the mental capacity to watch anything more involved. It's also obviously an indy film and probably done on a shoe string budget. As far as films go its not too bad at all and an enjoyable watch... it follows the trials and tribulations of a young artist, Carter, looking to loose his virginity to a special woman. It just so happens the young lady he falls in love with is not only a hooker but also bears an ancient birth mark, identifying her as the chosen concubine of the ancient deity Cthulu (from HP Lovecrafts works) From there on in Carter has to win the girl and save her from an ancient order of Chtulu Cultists who obviously have other plans for her.

Like I said, don't read too much into it... just turn your brain off and enjoy. As much as I've said this movie is not a "thinker" its not a "stinker" either, it still doesn't insult the intelligence in the way that some (Troma type)  films tend to do. As far as the gore and horror content there's some pretty cool SFX and gore scenes to keep the gore-fiends happy, and a decent level of "perv factor" for those who are looking for a bit of "T and A" as a side for their horror needs. These guys are showing some great potential to keep making more movies and I'll genuinely keep an "eye out" for more of their films in the future

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THE CALL OF CTHULU (2005)

I make no secret of the fact I'm a big fan of the 1920's author HP Lovecraft.  I honestly feel this this film really captures the emotion and mood of HP Lovecrafts writings, which is a hard thing to do given the otherworldly nature of his writings... The movie is a silent film with no dialogue, and shot in grainy black and white.... the film footage is cut with text/sign board dialogue but this only serves to obscure the and mystify the occult worlds created by Lovecraft and suits his novella's perfectly. I assumed this film was made shortly after the book was written, but as it turns out it was made in 2005 to fit the look and feel of a film made in the 1920's the time when the story was created.


As a recreation of the golden age era of science fiction / occult / horror cinema and I think it perfectly harnesses the theory that the scariest things are that which cannot be seen.  Unfortunately the great beast that is the mighty Cthulu is later seen and it kind of wrecks things a little (the creature fx seem outdated... I would have liked a bit more effort spent on the Cthulu demon but realistically that is how he would have looked had this film been made in the 1920's anyway) but that's my only grip with an otherwise captivating and authentic look back at the past of film making,

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