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Despite what some critics have prewarned, I think the trailers look pretty good.
The upcoming Cthulhu feature film (not the silent HPLHS film) has a Seattle Film Festival screening June 14 at 6:30 PM and June 17 at 4 PM at the Neptune Theater; tickets are $10.
It releases nationally 15 October 07.
Much as I love Lovecraft's works, not enough action happens in one of his stories to make a good movie. Still, I'll give it a fair chance. It gives me something to look forward to in October.
Despite what some critics have prewarned, I think the trailers look pretty good.
The upcoming Cthulhu feature film (not the silent HPLHS film) has a Seattle Film Festival screening June 14 at 6:30 PM and June 17 at 4 PM at the Neptune Theater; tickets are $10.
It releases nationally 15 October 07.
Damn and no where near Seattle. Is there a release date for the rest of the states?
Fizz
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Despite what some critics have prewarned, I think the trailers look pretty good.
The upcoming Cthulhu feature film (not the silent HPLHS film) has a Seattle Film Festival screening June 14 at 6:30 PM and June 17 at 4 PM at the Neptune Theater; tickets are $10.
It releases nationally 15 October 07.
Damn and no where near Seattle. Is there a release date for the rest of the states?
Fizz
15 October
That does look good! I'm definently going to see it.
Yeah, I dunno. The trailer makes it look like a pretty typical horror movie. If it is an adaptation of Shadow Over Innsmouth, it could definitely be good, even though I would prefer it set in the 1920s/30s. Word of warning, though: Tori Spelling.
The upcoming Cthulhu feature film (not the silent HPLHS film) has a Seattle Film Festival screening June 14 at 6:30 PM and June 17 at 4 PM at the Neptune Theater; tickets are $10.
James, I, and a few others from the Paizo crew are going to try and break away to see this Thursday night. I'm sure we'll have a review for you all... but hopes are not high.
Yeah, I dunno. The trailer makes it look like a pretty typical horror movie. If it is an adaptation of Shadow Over Innsmouth, it could definitely be good, even though I would prefer it set in the 1920s/30s. Word of warning, though: Tori Spelling.
I was going to same the same about Tori Spelling.
This looks like a first effort, with a somewhat refined sense of art direction and cinematography for a low budgie. Alas my guess is that, aside from some intriguing graphic-novel type visuals, the wooden acting will probably sink it and the knockout punch of its climax will likely lack any snap. I could be wrong but I've found trailers tend to tell me what, if not far more than, I need to know about a film. Methinks I'll wait till the IFC airs it. The bar seems to be lower on horror films, and I ever so wish it wasn't. A good horror film is a precious and rare thing to find. Then again, what do I know? Much in the minority I found myself loving Session 9.
I dunna noo.
The last few HPL's have been the big suck, except fer Reanimator which sucked in it's own way, but was funny enough to not suck.
Brian Yuzna's stuff was so twisted it all kind of worked, though it was hardly accurate. It's like my rule for cover songs... either do it better than the original in a manner that's faithful to it, or make it completely your own. Yuzna succeeded with the latter.
Agreed, the other attempts at HPL cinematic adaptation have been painfully impotent.
Couldn't watch the trailer...it's in flash only (that I could find), and basically keept cutting out, loading, cutting out, loading, etc.
But that doesnt' matter. Only one thing matters first and foremost; is it rated R. If it is, I'll give it a shot. If it isn't...what's the point? HPL's stuff was pretty much all "rated R" for any number of things (mainly nudity, depravity and outright twisted-sickness creatures). Anyone know if it's rated R or not?
Couldn't watch the trailer...it's in flash only (that I could find), and basically keept cutting out, loading, cutting out, loading, etc.
But that doesnt' matter. Only one thing matters first and foremost; is it rated R. If it is, I'll give it a shot. If it isn't...what's the point? HPL's stuff was pretty much all "rated R" for any number of things (mainly nudity, depravity and outright twisted-sickness creatures). Anyone know if it's rated R or not?
I hear you, but Poltergeist wasn't R and it still had more chills than many of your modern day R-rated horror films with their cheesily unscary CGI bogeymen.
"Oh look, honey... we're being attacked by a videogame grim reaper."
"Make it stop, Harry! Make it stop!"
I agree that that box of sacrifices on the shore is a rather promising image, though. That kind of creepiness, with all the other people walking into the surf, is promising enough to me that I might just check it out regardless of what my first impression may be.
And I mean, come on: Tori Spelling. Not LOVECRAFT horror, but definitely horror of a sort.
And I mean, come on: Tori Spelling. Not LOVECRAFT horror, but definitely horror of a sort.
It's like someone made a runtier version of Kiss frontman Paul Stanley, bottled blonded him, and jammed silicon bags up into his chest meat. If you're reading this Tory, I'm sorry, and shame on you for googling yourself so thoroughly that you wound up on a D&D site, of all things.
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It's like someone made a runtier version of Kiss frontman Paul Stanley, bottled blonded him, and jammed silicon bags up into his chest meat. If you're reading this Tory, I'm sorry, and shame on you for googling yourself so thoroughly.
And I mean, come on: Tori Spelling. Not LOVECRAFT horror, but definitely horror of a sort.
She does have that "Innsmouth look."
They might draw some story elements from established books, but the feeling that I got from the trailer was that they are going to do the "HPL wrote about real world events as if they were fictional" and then set this in the present day.
I'm interested to see if they try to do the "barely stopped the unspeakable horror, even though we didn't fully understand it" route of some of his stories, or if they just say the Hell with it and actually depict Cthulhu's coming and the end of the world.
BTW, when it comes to the "we stopped it even though we never fully understood what IT was" story . . . X-Files was really good at invoking this particular aspect of HPL's stories.
She does have that "Innsmouth look."
Very true, wolf man. Very true.
She's playing a lamprey in my next film.
They might draw some story elements from established books, but the feeling that I got from the trailer was that they are going to do the "HPL wrote about real world events as if they were fictional" and then set this in the present day.
I'm interested to see if they try to do the "barely stopped the unspeakable horror, even though we didn't fully understand it" route of some of his stories, or if they just say the Hell with it and actually depict Cthulhu's coming and the end of the world.
BTW, when it comes to the "we stopped it even though we never fully understood what IT was" story . . . X-Files was really good at invoking this particular aspect of HPL's stories.
I don't mind when a story involves an element beyond human understanding. Joseph Campbell once explained that in all cultures one could never truly look upon and understand the face of god, only feel some sense of god, as if touching a wall in the dark and feeling the warmth behind it. that's why they had to speak with us they wore masks, especially the trickster gods like Loki and Raven... Or Zeus transforming into a lovely swan before getting it on. When the movie Contact with Jodi Foster employed this reasoning by having the incomprehensibly advanced alien race choose to appear as her deceased father so that she could have even a chance of understanding them everyone cried foul, the same way they did at the end of 2001 when the Spacebaby filled the screen. I thought it was entirely logical and poetically apt.
So if we get a sense of the elder gods, but don't see their statblock, I'm okay with it, as it has a chance through its gauzy approach to make it all feel so much larger than life. But then the story must be brilliantly told and the mood maintained pitch perfect. I expect neither from this particular filmic offering.
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Probably the scariest thing I've seen in years is the Japanese (i.e. original) version of "Ring". Nothing much happens, you see very little, and the big finale is someone crawling out of a TV. But scared the crap out of me - all very well done, low budget, ungory, but brimming with atmospere, foreboding and dread. HPL should be just like that. But it probably won't be. Here's hoping.
Probably the scariest thing I've seen in years is the Japanese (i.e. original) version of "Ring". Nothing much happens, you see very little, and the big finale is someone crawling out of a TV. But scared the crap out of me - all very well done, low budget, ungory, but brimming with atmospere, foreboding and dread. HPL should be just like that. But it probably won't be. Here's hoping.
I tend to like films that operate off mood, but I didn't like Ringu and I despised Blair Witch. I may have liked Ringu more if I had seen it before The Ring.
Do you own it? Because I have a copy and I would love for you to have it. Shipping across the pond might make it not worth it. If I can send it to your for less than a ten spot, let me know and it's yours, gratis.
thejade@bowiewonderworld.com
I bought Ringu based on a recommendation. I quite enjoyed the US remake and was told, "The first is even scarier."
I did not enjoy it on any level. Every character is a psychic who just seems to know specific things about specific ghosts. That's even worse than Stephen King's exposition character. He always employs a character who can mysteriously supply hazy answers to what the threat actually is and how it may be stopped. I prefer when writers do the work to find believable routes for how people come to certain knowledge and location in a story. I preferred "Uzumaki" or Spiral to Ringu. Regrettably it's best moment was the still shots at the end but they actually creeped me.
Much as I love Lovecraft's works, not enough action happens in one of his stories to make a good movie...
Arrrgh! You young whippersnappers can't sit for more than three or four minutes if there aren't explosions, deafening music, and unconscionably violent villains (and heroes).
'Good movie' and 'good action movie' are not necessarily synonymous.
Just kidding -- mostly :)
Arrrgh! You young whippersnappers can't sit for more than three or four minutes if there aren't explosions, deafening music, and unconscionably violent villains (and heroes).'Good movie' and 'good action movie' are not necessarily synonymous.
Just kidding -- mostly :)
I don't have much use for a lot of action in a great horror film. Polanksi never needed it, but then the man could maintain a balance.
But then the story must be brilliantly told and the mood maintained pitch perfect. I expect neither from this particular filmic offering.
I agree with you. Hollywood tends to be about "summing it up," having a kind of short hand for what they want to do. Lovecraft isn't really about a summation, but if you did do it, it breaks down to "madness" and "not fully seen alien horrors." The problem is, if you overplay the first part, its hard to follow the story, and if you overplay the last part, its easy to loose the "horror" aspect of the alien creature.
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If you haven't seen Stuart Gordon's Dagon, you're missing out. You should be able to find it for 99 cents at the ostensible BlockBuster. It's the "Shadow Over Innsmouth" story told in the present day, somewhere near Cuba (Havanna is mentioned as being only a couple hours away). Very superior in atmospherics (atmosfearics? ha, ha...) and cinematography.
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I tend to like films that operate off mood, but I didn't like Ringu and I despised Blair Witch. I may have liked Ringu more if I had seen it before The Ring.
Do you own it? Because I have a copy and I would love for you to have it. Shipping across the pond might make it not worth it. If I can send it to your for less than a ten spot, let me know and it's yours, gratis.
thejade@bowiewonderworld.com
Very kind - however, US DVDs are a different format to European ones - it will probably play, but it might not.
I bought Ringu based on a recommendation. I quite enjoyed the US remake and was told, "The first is even scarier."
I did not enjoy it on any level. Every character is a psychic who just seems to know specific things about specific ghosts. That's even worse than Stephen King's exposition character. He always employs a character who can mysteriously supply hazy answers to what the threat actually is and how it may be stopped. I prefer when writers do the work to find believable routes for how people come to certain knowledge and location in a story. I preferred "Uzumaki" or Spiral to Ringu. Regrettably it's best moment was the still shots at the end but they actually creeped me.
Sure you didn't get Ringu 2 or Ringu 0 by mistake - they are really awful. The rather chilling thing about Ringu (absent from the US version so I am told) is the end with the heroine driving off to see her dad (final shot of her driving to see him) to show him the tape and save her son. "Father, there is something I need you to do for me." Very cold.
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Some other Lovecraftian titles (atmospherically Lovecraftian):
In the Mouth of Madness
Event Horizon
Dark City
The Thing on the Doorstep
Dreams in the Witchhouse
There's actually many others, Return to Dunwhich and the Re-Animator films, are among the best. Many of these films didn't do so well, and if you're not a Cthulhuphile, you'll fail to appreciate much of what's in them (cf the awful reviews of JC's In the Mouth of Madness).
A movie I'll mention and dare say I really enjoyed, but might get blasted for owning, the Japanese Necronomicon animated film. This cartoon is not for children, you are forewarned. As far as the graphic quality of it, if you don't mind reading about the things which occur in this film, it's only a cultural hurdle to view them in animated form. I would say it's a definite for Cthulhuphiles, but many others...might better stay away...
Sure you didn't get Ringu 2 or Ringu 0 by mistake - they are really awful. The rather chilling thing about Ringu (absent from the US version so I am told) is the end with the heroine driving off to see her dad (final shot of her driving to see him) to show him the tape and save her son. "Father, there is something I need you to do for me." Very cold.
I don't recall that ending... but my version is just called Ringu. Fear on film is so subjective... like comedy. I'm probably just burned out. I was a horror junkie as a boy, feeding voraciously off creature double features in Boston during Saturday afternoons and then watching an extra creature feature at eleven that very night. Three in a day, every week... and it still wasn't enough.
The 80's brought slasher films. They weren't much but they were available and I was too young to care. Too many to name... Strange Behaviour, Happy Birthday to Me, Humungous... and occasionally something occult like The Fog. Prince of Darkness gave me the willies though, and I enjoyed the first two Nightmare on Elm Street films.
At this point a filmmaker has to snipe me directly behind the ear to get me to register the hit. Clearly I watch these films because I want to regain that sense of fear, but it so rarely comes, and the majority seem to care so little for mastery of craft. It's enough to just be genre because there isn't enough of it to feed the hungry flock. Thus fans of fantasy and sci-fi watch CGi dependent/story weak Sci Fi channel films because who else is really supplying their quarry? There are moments here and there, though, when a certain movie scene causes me to experience a rising sense of true dread, and I am very loyal to any such film capable of delivering a resonant chill.
Stuart Gordon's Dagon is garbage. All of his movies are garbage. The man has made a career out of ransacking the public domain of Lovecraft. I've met him professionally, and listened to him speak on Dagon in particular. His approach is low-brow and insulting.
I'm sorry. Many of my recent posts make me out to be an ass. Really, I'm not, but I hold Lovecraft in such high esteem and I don't feel like his work has ever been done justice.
Now if only Guillermo Del Toro will make At The Mountains of Madness, I can shut up for you nice folks...
Now if only Guillermo Del Toro will make At The Mountains of Madness...
Mmm...Niiiice....Del Toro doing anything Lovecraftian has my vote (particularly after seeing the Pan's Labyrinth screenies).
...Del Toro doing anything Lovecraftian has my vote
Oh yeah - he's already attached. It's a passion project for him, but it's in a long stack of scripts he's signed on to do.
And we've got Hellboy 2 coming up first (a little Lovecraft in there to tide us over).
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Stuart Gordon's Dagon is garbage. All of his movies are garbage. The man has made a career out of ransacking the public domain of Lovecraft. I've met him professionally, and listened to him speak on Dagon in particular. His approach is low-brow and insulting.
I'm sorry. Many of my recent posts make me out to be an ass. Really, I'm not, but I hold Lovecraft in such high esteem and I don't feel like his work has ever been done justice.
Now if only Guillermo Del Toro will make At The Mountains of Madness, I can shut up for you nice folks...
I really find Dagon to be among the best Lovecraft renditions. While Dreams in the Witchhouse takes a couple viewings to grow on you, and I don't really like his other films, I honestly enjoyed Dagon. I'm curious what particularly you disliked.
For me, it's the element of camp. The portrayal of the Deep Ones was too low budget for me and Ezra Godden in the lead role of Paul Marsh was underwhelming and overly comical. Stuart Gordon thinks that throwing some boobs and bad monsters at the audience is a recipe for good horror cinema, whereas I think it demeans the style and substance of Lovecraft's stories of elder gods and horrors from beyond.
My previous comment is no doubt littered with hyperbole. But at the end of the day, Dagon the movie was not scary for me. I'd rather watch John Carpenter's The Thing one more time.
My previous comment is no doubt littered with hyperbole. But at the end of the day, Dagon the movie was not scary for me. I'd rather watch John Carpenter's The Thing one more time.
Can't beat the scene where the blood jumps from the Petrie dish.
Kind of unrelated, but has anyone tried the XBox game Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth? I just bought it used, but haven't gotten around to playing it. Reviews were positive when it came out. It's supposed to be a pastiche of a lot of Lovecraft stories, Shadow Over Innsmouth being the most prominent. You actually have to play through the chase scene in the hotel from aforementioned story. It's probably closer to the role playing game than the stories, but sanity (and the loss of it) is supposed to have all kinds of impact: like your vision blurring, the screen greying out, talking to yourself, putting away your weapon without realizing, hearing the voices of people you've met, the controller vibrating randomly and then finally killing yourself once you hit your wit's end. Also, in keeping with the Lovecraft flavor, your character is quite fragile; definitely not a "run and gun" type of game.
Director of Games
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Kind of unrelated, but has anyone tried the XBox game Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth? I just bought it used, but haven't gotten around to playing it. Reviews were positive when it came out. It's supposed to be a pastiche of a lot of Lovecraft stories, Shadow Over Innsmouth being the most prominent. You actually have to play through the chase scene in the hotel from aforementioned story. It's probably closer to the role playing game than the stories, but sanity (and the loss of it) is supposed to have all kinds of impact: like your vision blurring, the screen greying out, talking to yourself, putting away your weapon without realizing, hearing the voices of people you've met, the controller vibrating randomly and then finally killing yourself once you hit your wit's end. Also, in keeping with the Lovecraft flavor, your character is quite fragile; definitely not a "run and gun" type of game.
It is indeed all of these things. The game is pretty fun, and pretty hard to be honest. I have not finished it up to this point, but deadlines kinda got in the way. Maybe I should dust it off.. it was a lot of fun..
Jason
Dark Corners of the Earth is pretty cool. Next generation graphics have surpassed it, but tonally it's one of the better horror video games out there. It plays on Xbox 360 like a charm (if your 360 works, and mine doesn't).
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Kind of unrelated, but has anyone tried the XBox game Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth? I just bought it used, but haven't gotten around to playing it. Reviews were positive when it came out. It's supposed to be a pastiche of a lot of Lovecraft stories, Shadow Over Innsmouth being the most prominent. You actually have to play through the chase scene in the hotel from aforementioned story. It's probably closer to the role playing game than the stories, but sanity (and the loss of it) is supposed to have all kinds of impact: like your vision blurring, the screen greying out, talking to yourself, putting away your weapon without realizing, hearing the voices of people you've met, the controller vibrating randomly and then finally killing yourself once you hit your wit's end. Also, in keeping with the Lovecraft flavor, your character is quite fragile; definitely not a "run and gun" type of game.
I've never made it past this scene. In fact, the farthest I've gotten is the bottom of the building across from the hotel, where I was promptly backed into a corner and beaten to death. That was some five months ago. I have two problems with the game: I love the storytelling side, but I hate the combat side; I wish I could skip it and get back to the story and visuals. Second, I am flabbergasted at the following: when you die, in the hotel scenario, no matter how close you are to finishing it (bottom of the building across the street), you are forced back to the beginning and you have to watch the cutscene again...
and you have to watch the cutscene again...
Yeah, that is bunk. Just bad programming (sorry Bethesda!).
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Seeing this discussion of Cthulhu video games reminded me of a post I made in the 'Books' section a few days ago:
Speaking of Lovecraft, since there is no 'Video Games' section, have any of you played the game "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" for the Nintendo Gamecube? It's VERY heavily based on mythos elements and CoC in general. Your character even has a SANITY meter! You can learn to cast spells by invoking the names of some of the Great Old Ones (which drains some of your sanity when used), fight horrific creatures (which drain sanity when you even SEE them), and all sorts of other crazy stuff. When your sanity gets low, the walls will start to bleed, you can hear laughter coming from nowhere, and occassional shadows will flicker around the screen. When your sanity gets REALLY low, your character can fall through the solid floor of a room (only to snap back to his senses immediately afterwards), or, if you stand around idle long enough, your character will actually KILL HIMSELF!!!
It's so badass. Highly recommended for mythos fans.
Kind of unrelated, but has anyone tried the XBox game Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth? I just bought it used, but haven't gotten around to playing it. Reviews were positive when it came out. It's supposed to be a pastiche of a lot of Lovecraft stories, Shadow Over Innsmouth being the most prominent. You actually have to play through the chase scene in the hotel from aforementioned story. It's probably closer to the role playing game than the stories, but sanity (and the loss of it) is supposed to have all kinds of impact: like your vision blurring, the screen greying out, talking to yourself, putting away your weapon without realizing, hearing the voices of people you've met, the controller vibrating randomly and then finally killing yourself once you hit your wit's end. Also, in keeping with the Lovecraft flavor, your character is quite fragile; definitely not a "run and gun" type of game.I've never made it past this scene. In fact, the farthest I've gotten is the bottom of the building across from the hotel, where I was promptly backed into a corner and beaten to death. That was some five months ago. I have two problems with the game: I love the storytelling side, but I hate the combat side; I wish I could skip it and get back to the story and visuals. Second, I am flabbergasted at the following: when you die, in the hotel scenario, no matter how close you are to finishing it (bottom of the building across the street), you are forced back to the beginning and you have to watch the cutscene again...
Yeah, I can see how that's super frustrating. All the articles I've read on it (since I research games to death before I buy them) have like a set step-by-agonizing-step walkthrough of how to get through that scene.
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Yeah, I can see how that's super frustrating. All the articles I've read on it (since I research games to death before I buy them) have like a set step-by-agonizing-step walkthrough of how to get through that scene.
Ha! I downloaded that from GameSpy, I think, all it did was explain how I was screwing up, but it didn't help me get out the window any better while I was all but immobilized by fear--since I've been in sticky situations in Iraq, I'll say that I personally gain tremendous focus when confronted by certain death, but then again, insurgents are not fishmen...but that would be metagaming, which I never allow ;)
Yeah, I can see how that's super frustrating. All the articles I've read on it (since I research games to death before I buy them) have like a set step-by-agonizing-step walkthrough of how to get through that scene.Ha! I downloaded that from GameSpy, I think, all it did was explain how I was screwing up, but it didn't help me get out the window any better while I was all but immobilized by fear--since I've been in sticky situations in Iraq, I'll say that I personally gain tremendous focus when confronted by certain death, but then again, insurgents are not fishmen...but that would be metagaming, which I never allow ;)
Now I just imagine you going out on patrol and being steadily convinced that you see "the Innsmouth look" on surrounding locals. Or in a dingy backroom interrogation out of an episode of '24' screaming "WHERE IS THE SHOGGOTH?!"
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Now I just imagine you going out on patrol and being steadily convinced that you see "the Innsmouth look" on surrounding locals. Or in a dingy backroom interrogation out of an episode of '24' screaming "WHERE IS THE SHOGGOTH?!"Yeah, I can see how that's super frustrating. All the articles I've read on it (since I research games to death before I buy them) have like a set step-by-agonizing-step walkthrough of how to get through that scene.Ha! I downloaded that from GameSpy, I think, all it did was explain how I was screwing up, but it didn't help me get out the window any better while I was all but immobilized by fear--since I've been in sticky situations in Iraq, I'll say that I personally gain tremendous focus when confronted by certain death, but then again, insurgents are not fishmen...but that would be metagaming, which I never allow ;)
My XO (who just moved to Texas) was also the lead investigator in our CoC game; one of my fellow commanders (also just moved) played a banker-by-day intrepid-investigator-by-night; not to mention we ran through the whole ToEE (1E ) while posted somewhere in western Iraq... You're joking, but I guarantee the intel guys reviewing our radio patrol logs had some pinched foreheads as they tried to determine what the "Innsmouth Look" was...
Edit:
The 'tactical questioning' of an insurgent as to the whereabouts of the Shoggoths would make an interesting Delta Green scenario...
Now if only Guillermo Del Toro will make At The Mountains of Madness, I can shut up for you nice folks...
Yes! YES! YES!
Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth were more than enough to prove that this man must do a Lovecraft movie!
Seeing this discussion of Cthulhu video games reminded me of a post I made in the 'Books' section a few days ago:
Speaking of Lovecraft, since there is no 'Video Games' section, have any of you played the game "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" for the Nintendo Gamecube? It's VERY heavily based on mythos elements and CoC in general. Your character even has a SANITY meter! You can learn to cast spells by invoking the names of some of the Great Old Ones (which drains some of your sanity when used), fight horrific creatures (which drain sanity when you even SEE them), and all sorts of other crazy stuff. When your sanity gets low, the walls will start to bleed, you can hear laughter coming from nowhere, and occassional shadows will flicker around the screen. When your sanity gets REALLY low, your character can fall through the solid floor of a room (only to snap back to his senses immediately afterwards), or, if you stand around idle long enough, your character will actually KILL HIMSELF!!!
It's so badass. Highly recommended for mythos fans.
I remember reading an article about this game years ago. It showed a painting in the area your character explores with full sanity, and then showed what it looks like after your sanity goes down.
Twas wicked cool-looking.