Dagon
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Movie Reviews of Dagon
Movie Review: Creepy Surrealistic Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Dagon is an extraordinary film worthy in some respects of David Lynch. The film's Spanish location at first put me off as did the thick accent of some of the actors. However I soon found that this choice in casting and filming was an initial step into the strange and foreign where everyday reality twists itself into the shape of the monstrous and grotesque.
Dagon is truly Lovecraftian in spirit as well as content and the gorgeous cinematography, the shambling demented forms, the gurgling voices and constant rain grip our lead as he tries to slog and shift his way through the demented world where he is trapped.
Francisco Rabal, who plays a tortured old drunk whose life has been destroyed by the sinister seaside village, is absolutely wonderful and turns in the best performance I have seen in any film in recent memory. While his speech can be difficult to follow, there is a wild power and authority behind the words that make the indecipherable pieces frightening in themselves.
Stuart Gordon has revealed himself to be a master filmmaker like Lynch or even Todd Browning. While I felt Reanimator was a little too campy when I saw it years ago, seeing Dagon makes me want to catch that again as well as anything else Gordon has done or will do. I'm simply awed by the artistry of this film.
And assuming you want to make it a double feature for a near-perfect Friday night with the lights out and plenty of popcorn on hand, you might want to pick up Sea Creature too. This film is not by Gordon but is very Lovecraftian in scope and followers of Dagon everywhere would do well to plop their tentacles on the couch and view it.
Movie Review: The Deep Ones are Everywhere
Summary: 5 Stars
"Dagon" is my favourite film adaptation thus far of Lovecraft's works.The Spanish location surprised me at first and I wondered how it was going to work as a substitute for HPL's New England settings. It did, and exceptionally well at that. The decadent and foreboding atmosphere blended very nicely with the (mostly) Spanish-speaking inhabitants to produce a tremendous sense of alienation and frustration on the part of the nerdy but likeable "hero." I shared his sense of having stumbled into a threateningly alien backwater from the first few minutes of the film.
Unlike the Sci-Fi Channel presentation of "Dagon," the DVD contains a number of additional scenes, some simply more "adult," others graphically gory (and very Lovecraftian, in my view). If you were turned off by the sanitised TV version, you might want to give the full version a try. It doesn't disappoint in "filling in the gaps."
All in all, I believe that hardcore fans of H.P. Lovecraft's books who have felt "cheated" by earlier film adaptations will be very pleasantly (??) surprised by this addition to the canon. "Dagon" creates and gives a distinctly foreign flavour to a new version of HPL's loathesome and murderously xenophobic Innsmouth and, in my opinion, goes a long way toward convincing us that the nefarious Deep Ones and their followers are indeed *everywhere*. Just be sure that the kiddies are in bed before you watch it.
Movie Review: Wonderful horror thriller!
Summary: 5 Stars
In a seashore by a town in Spain, a successful company owner named Paul with his lover are celebrating their success on a yacht. Until a storm wrecks their boat, leaving them to swim for shore as they seek help and his girlfriend disappears without a trace mysteriously. Weird things begin happening in the town at night as the townfolk are actually half-human aquatic monsters that worship a powerful demon god named Dagon as it needs a human sacrifice to satisfy it's hunger.
From the makers of "Re-Animator", "Dolls" and "From Beyond" Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon have done it again! they have put another fine H.P. Lovecraft adaptation to the screen. They bring their style of wit and atmosphere with some gruesomness as usual, this US/Spainish made horror thriller delivers the goods for fans of both directors and H.P. Lovecraft. The acting is quite good considering it's a low budget movie production and the direction by Stuart Gordon is fantastic, the monsters themselves look nifty despite looking like the ones from "Nightmare City" and Dagon itself is a neat creature.
This DVD has good extras like two audio commentaries, trailer, production artwork, and storyboards.
Also recommended: "Hellboy", "Re-Animator", "From Beyond", "In The Mouth of Madness", "The Mist", "Phantasm", "Evil Dead 2", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Hellraiser", "Candyman", "The Host", "Castle Freak", "The Curse (1987)" and "Versus".
Movie Review: 2 Tentacles Up! The Best Lovecraft Adaptation Yet!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love H.P. Lovecraft's writing. I've read his work for almost 30 years now, and am even working on a screen adaptation of one of his stories. What prompted me to write a script myself is the plethora of bad Lovecraft adaptaions to film that have been made over the years. Many go no further than using his name in the title, or "Adapted from...", with little or no resemblance to the actual story. This is probably due, at least in part, to an apparent trend of reluctance when it comes to putting any significant money into a project based on a Lovecraft work. Whatever, I'm sure the makers of "Dagon", based on "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", didn't have much capital either, but they made up for it with talent, location, production values, a superb musical score, masterful cinematography, and decent writing. The result is a slick, captivating, and very, very scary movie that would have had Lovecraft himself applauding. Sound and picture quality on the DVD transfer are first rate, as well. Trust me, if you or anyone you know feels they've seen it all as far as horror goes, see "Dagon". I thought I was jaded, too, but several times "Dagon" had me flinching, and generally kept me very uneasy throughout. It kind of made me feel like a queasy little kid watching a scary movie for the first time.Movie Review: Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Roley-Poley Fish Heads...
Summary: 5 Stars
I grew up reading H.P. Lovecraft and always longed for a decent movie-version of his terror tales. Usually, this has led to ridiculous attempts that bring only laughter. However, I've found Stuart Gordon's adaptations to be both entertaining and thrilling, even though the stories aren't exact Lovecraft yarns. DAGON is fittingly bleak, with an immediate sense of dreadful doom! The Dagonian offspring are slimey, wobbly, octopoid critters, perfectly matching the overall greyness of their dead village. Imboca itself is dank, barren, and totally uninviting. Paul (Ezra Godden) is the ordinary guy, thrust headlong into this squirming pit of eels! Barbara (Raquel Merono) is Paul's beautiful girlfriend, who disappears before we can even get used to her! Horror is everywhere, as Paul tries to find Barbara and save his own soul. DAGON succeeds in being a horrific plunge into darkness and nightmare, just like HPL's more chilling stories. No, the CGI isn't top-notch, but I can overlook this small problem in an otherwise satisfying film. Now, if only someone would make a decent movie about Yog-Sothoth, all would be well...