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H.P. Lovecraft was truly ahead of his time when it came to creating twisted, deep horror that reached into the darkest parts of our minds and pulled forth things we could barely comprehend. And that which we don't understand, we fear. Lovecraft played up on fear of the unknown that nobody ever had and his works are influencing the genre more than ever right now. August 20th, 2011 marked the 121st anniversary of Lovecraft's birth.
Editor's Note: In Order To Learn More About H.P. Lovecraft: Just Follow These Link...To
H.P.Lovecraft Archives
H.P. Lovecraft's Life Photo Gallery
Here are five films that do his memory justice.
Re-Animator
Re-Animator is something of a cult horror flick and it's based on the Lovecraft story Herbert West-Reanimator. The film stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a med school student who takes a serious interest in re-animating dead tissue. Funny and gory, Re-Animator still holds a 92% at Rotten Tomatoes and is considered the best adaptation of Lovecraft's work.
In the Mouth of Madness
While not a direct adaptation of anything Lovecraft did, this John Carpenter horror pays tribute to the famous author, with countless references to his works and an overall similar theme to everything Lovecraft wrote, with insanity playing a big part of the narrative. Even the title of the film is a reference, a mish mash of Lovecraft titles The Shadow Over Innsmouth and At the Mountains of Madness.
From Beyond
Another adaptation of a Lovecraft story, again from director Stuart Gordon, who also helmed Re-Animator (and will show up once more on this list). The film also features Jeffrey Combs from Re-Animator, as well as Ken Foree from George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. The film revolves around a pair of scientists attempting to stimulate the pineal gland in the brain with a device called The Resonator. The scientists soon find themselves in another dimension and when they return, they return as shape changing monsters who prey on their co-workers.
The Call of Cthulhu
The only film adaptation of what is possibly the most iconic Lovecraft story, The Call of Cthulhu is a 2005 silent film made with Mythoscope, a blend of vintage and modern film techniques designed to give the film an older look. The film only runs 47 minutes but was met with praise and accepted into numerous film festivals. Paul di Filippo of Science Fiction Weekly called it the best Lovecraft adaptation to date and said the decision to make it a silent film was "a brilliant conceit."
Dagon
Stuart Gordon is back with another Lovecraft adaptation. Confusingly enough, Dagon is actually based on the short story The Shadow Over Innsmou and not the Lovecraft short story Dagon! Where the logic is in that, I don't know, but what I do know is that while Dagon was not as well-received as the other films on this list, it is considered to be part of that exclusive certain of quality Lovecraft adaptations. And I'm sure credit is due in no small part to the work of Stuart Gordon.
My Guest author is Dylan Duarte...He is a movie buff and professional writer. When he's not reviewing movies, he also writes about Halloween costumes. He can be reached at dylnduarte@gmail.com
