Movies: H.P. Lovecraft

[jasonleaffan]

I've been enjoying some Lovecraft film and television adaptions recently and I'm interested to see if anyone has any recommendations. They don't have to be direct adaptions, they could just be inspired by Lovecraft.

This could also just turn in to a general Lovecraft discussion thread.

Click to read more...

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

My original answer:

Well, the obvious (and probably the best) Lovecraft adaptations by Stuart Gordon:

- Dagon
- From Beyond
- Re-Animator
and Castle Freak, but it ain't as interesting

Other than that, Color Out of Space was pretty cool too.

But I guess you've seen those already.

Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy is inspired by Lovecraft, but only The Beyond is really worth seeing. In the Mouth of Madness too.

Other films you might consider: The Mist, Videodrome, Event Horizon, Cloverfield, Annihilation, and probably Prometheus too.

And well... pretty bad adaptations: The Curse, The Unnamable, To Cast A Deadly Spell...

Very interesting question. I hope others have suggestions too. Could have been its own thread.

And you, @jasonleaffan what have you seen and like?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I don't know if I should answer here or there, but if you haven't seen the Gordon films, they're really a must. I think Dagon is the most lovecraftian of his films, and probably the best film, but people tend to prefer Re-Animator and From Beyond (both very good too). Bride of Re-Animator is very cool too, but stay away from the third film.

 

[jasonleaffan]

To the best of memory I've seen:

The Mist
Annihilation
Event horizon
Color out of space
Dreams in the witch house
The void
Cloverfield
Prometheus


I'm sure theres more I'm forgetting that I've watched over the years, and it's subjective as to was is inspired by Lovecraft and what isn't. For example yesterday I watched The New Daughter based off something I seen online about Lovecraft adaptions, but I don't feel that it was at all.

 

[jasonleaffan]

I don't know if I should answer here or there, but if you haven't seen the Gordon films, they're really a must. I think Dagon is the most lovecraftian of his films, and probably the best film, but people tend to prefer Re-Animator and From Beyond (both very good too). Bride of Re-Animator is very cool too, but stay away from the third film.

From Beyond is the 2017 film? I'll watch that and Dagon later on this evening/tonight.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Pranzo mentioned it, but I'd like to second the plug for In The Mouth of Madness which isn't Lovecraft but might be the best non-Lovecraft Lovecraft (and frankly better than some of the actual Lovecraft Lovecraft).

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

From Beyond is the 2017 film?

1986!!!!!

 

[jasonleaffan]

1986!!!!!

Sorry I was looking at The Beyond. Based off of the description, it sounded about right:

A groundbreaking mission sends robotically enhanced astronauts through a wormhole. When the mission returns early, the space agency scrambles to discover what their astronauts encountered

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Sorry I was looking at The Beyond. Based off of the description, it sounded about right:

A groundbreaking mission sends robotically enhanced astronauts through a wormhole. When the mission returns early, the space agency scrambles to discover what their astronauts encountered

Indeed. And not the The Beyond I was talking about either. If you watch it, please report, but it smells kind of funny (suspicious about the director).

 

[RandV]

From the general HP Lovecraft side there are some Lovecraft manga adaptions which work quite well:

 

[jasonleaffan]

Indeed. And not the The Beyond I was talking about either. If you watch it, please report, but it smells kind of funny (suspicious about the director).

Weird for a new film, it doesn't have a Wiki page and the director who also wrote the film is a SFX guy and this was his first feature length film.

 

[jasonleaffan]

I just finished watching Black Mountain Side, it's a 2014 Canadian indie thriller that's inspired by Lovecraft's At the mountains of madness. It was a decent slow burn and it reminded me a lot of John Carpenter's The Thing, but different.

 

[Super Hans]

Night Gallery had a lot of Lovecraft-themed stories and other darker themes that Rod Serling couldn't do in Twilight Zone.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

Whisperer in the Darkness is a really good period movie. Its a nice blend of Shakespeareing acting and the look and feel of a 1950's - 60's SciFi movie.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Might want to watch What Lies Below (Duemmler, 2020) on Netflix - I just commented on it in the last movie thread... Not very good, but undeniably lovecraftian.

 

[Osprey]

Does The Shape of Water count as Lovecraftian?

Sorry I was looking at The Beyond. Based off of the description, it sounded about right:

A groundbreaking mission sends robotically enhanced astronauts through a wormhole. When the mission returns early, the space agency scrambles to discover what their astronauts encountered

Whatever you do, just don't watch the Italian The Beyond! Roger Ebert agreed:

The Beyond movie review & film summary (1998) | Roger Ebert

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Does The Shape of Water count as Lovecraftian?

Absolutely. It's a romanced version, and kind of kitsch, but the humanoid fish that wants to get down with the ladies is very lovecraftian.

Whatever you do, just don't watch the Italian The Beyond! Roger Ebert agreed:

The Beyond movie review & film summary (1998) | Roger Ebert

You just couldn't go a whole post without putting your foot in your mouth.

 

[Osprey]

You just couldn't go a whole post without putting your foot in your mouth.

No, I put my foot in Roger Ebert's mouth. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Roger Ebert put his mouth where my foot is. Better. Either way, I stand by his opinion. Be upset with him, not me!

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

No, I put my foot in Roger Ebert's mouth. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Roger Ebert put his mouth where my foot is. Better. Either way, I stand by his opinion. Be upset with him, not me!

I hadn't even read the Ebert article you posted (I avoid him at all cost), but now that I did, I despise him even more than I did 10 minutes ago. It's a little funny that he craps on it for having its title changed on first release by greedy producers who thought (maybe rightfully so) that the American public was too dumb to go see an Italian film. But it's hilarious that 1) he craps on both Fulci and Hershey Gordon Lewis, but wrote 3 films for Russ Meyer (I love Russ Meyer, but come on... and the link between HGL and Fulci is dumb in itself) and 2) he takes a break from his article to laugh at The Beyond's plot, but signed both B... the Valley of the Dolls films! I'm not necessarily a big fan of the "those who can't" sayings about critics (having been one myself!), but in Ebert's case, it's always amazing to consider he can produce these opinions without blushing.

In the battle between Ebert and Fulci - like in every battle (see Vincent Gallo) - I prefer not to associate with Big E.

"Any idiot can understand Molinaro's La cage aux folles, or even Carpenter's Escape From New York, while The Beyond or Argento's Inferno are absolute films"
- Lucio Fulci​

 

[Hivemind]

One day.... one day

Guillermo Del Toro Will Fight to His Grave to Get ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ Made

 

[HanSolo]

Might want to watch What Lies Below (Duemmler, 2020) on Netflix - I just commented on it in the last movie thread... Not very good, but undeniably lovecraftian.

No, go ahead and skip it. Yes Lovecraftian but "not very good" is generous.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

No, go ahead and skip it. Yes Lovecraftian but "not very good" is generous.

Still had some fun with it, it has some old-school vibes even though it didn't deliver. And well, it's not like there was 100 000 films with lovecraftian themes or visuals.

 

[HanSolo]

Still had some fun with it, it has some old-school vibes even though it didn't deliver. And well, it's not like there was 100 000 films with lovecraftian themes or visuals.

It had promise but the further it got along the crappier it got.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Well I watched Glorious last night (McKendry, 2022), and though its never named, we briefly see Cthulhu and one of its sons (a vision that should have "petrified me into a living mummy" - and the son's brief appearance was actually pretty cool).

Not a good film. It misses on both horror and comedy, but being somewhat inspired by Lovecraft, it manages to be original.

 

[NyQuil]

Hellboy not mentioned yet but certainly Lovecraftian.