The Dunwich Horror
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Movie Reviews of The Dunwich Horror
Movie Review: "Somthing's bothering Rusty!"
Summary: 3 Stars
American International Pictures (AIP) and Roger Corman found great success translating (often times loosely) the works of Edgar Allen Poe to the silver screen with such popular films like House of Usher (1960), Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia (1965). This being the case, why wouldn't the terrifying, mind bending works of H.P. Lovecraft, creator of the Cthulhu mythos * (a shared world in which authors use as a setting for their stories, usually within the realm of horror, science fiction, or fantasy) among other things, fair equally as well? They did try, releasing such films as The Haunted Palace (1963), Die, Monster, Die! (1965), and The Dunwich Horror (1970), but found limited success. The films were entertaining, but if you've ever read any of Lovecraft's stories, what you see on screen is comparatively tame to the visuals created within your mind from the text of the written word. Directed by Daniel Haller (Die, Monster, Die!), who later found work directing television shows like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, and Knight Rider, the film stars former teen idol Sandra `Queen of the Teens' Dee (Gidget, A Summer Place) and Dean Stockwell (The Boy with Green Hair, Blue Velvet, Married to the Mob). Also appearing is Ed Begley (12 Angry Men), Lloyd Bochner (The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear), and Talia Shire (The Godfather, Rocky), who is actually credited in the film as Talia Coppola as she had yet to take the name of Shire from her impending marriage to composer David Shire.
The story begins essentially at a university as a lecture, held by Dr. Henry Armitage (Begley), a doctor of Philosophy, is letting out. One student, Nancy Wagner (Dee), is tasked with returning the Necronomicon (the book of the dead) back to its rightful place within the schools library (how in the world the University ever came to possess this I have no idea). As she's returning it to its secure location, she's approach by an odd looking man we'll later know as Wilbur Whateley (Stockwell), who has a great interest in the ancient tome, and not just for edification purposes. The two become acquaintances, but there's a feeling of Wilbur having ulterior motives with regards to his interest in Nancy, other than gaining unfettered access to the book. We later discover Wilbur, who lives in nearby Dunwich, has a history in the occult, leading all the way back to his great grandfather, who was killed by the peoples of Dunwich for his strange beliefs. Has Wilbur (the townsfolk refer to him as Weird Wilbur) taken up where his forefathers left off? He certainly has, but how do Nancy and the Necronomicon fit into whatever plans he has? And what's that thing locked away in the upper recesses of Wilbur's house? Based on all the strange noises it makes, I bet it's something very nasty (and slimy)...
Honestly, I have yet to see a well-rendered film adaptation of any of Lovecraft's works. Perhaps the closest came in the form of a film not even based off a Lovecraft story, but certainly inspired by his writings, in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (1995). The problem is in the idea of The Old Ones (these were creatures who came from outer space, inhabited the Earth long before man, and have since been banished to a different dimension), in that they are such hideous, vile, unfathomable creatures that to even catch a glimpse would result in complete madness and permanent insanity. How do you depict that on the screen, especially in and AIP film, not known for their extravagant spending (cheap special effects and psychedelic lighting only go so far)? Stockwell was hardly frightening (especially with his Mike Brady hairdo and mustache) and often looks like he just arrived from the set of a homersexual porn film. I think his character was meant to appear suave and smooth-tongued, but he came across as creepy, oily, and, well, just weird. That guy from the movie Manos, the Hands of Fate was a more menacing warlock. If Wilbur were any more laid back, he would have been tokin' a doobie. I had a really difficult time believing he was capable of doing some of the things he later did...as far as Dee's character, she spent much of the film in a state of enchantment, so not much going on there. There are some cheap thrills, seeing once teen idol Dee virginal character being violated by the forces of darkness (oh no, not Gidget!), but it seemed like that was played upon too much. And for the record, Dee does not get full on nekkid in this film as she's wearing a robe with slitted sides, and the camera spends way to much time ogling her, going up and down her sides as she lay on an altar (I thought I did see a nipple at one point, but it could have been a mole). Incidentally, Dee's real life defrocking came a few years earlier, as her marriage to teen idol Bobby Darin disintegrated and she was unjustly stigmatized with the air of being a divorcée (i.e. damaged goods) rather than a competent actress. The direction of the film is decent, and there are some creepy scenes, highlighted very well by Les Baxter's superior haunting score, but ultimately the film, while entertaining, was a little bit of a letdown for me as it lacked the truly nightmarish qualities one would expect from a Lovecraftian story. And who didn't see that ending coming?
The wide screen picture (1.85:1), enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs, looks very sharp and clean. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono comes through clearly most of the time. The only special feature on this DVD is an original theatrical trailer. By the way, the title for my review is probably the funniest line in the film, as stated by a farmer, about his dog, as the dog reacts to the unseen (but certainly heard) approach of a hideous, slobbering nightmare creature, which, subsequently devours the house (I think Rusty survived, though).
Cookieman108
* Lovecraft fans don't care for the term `Cthulhu mythos' as it wasn't coined as such by its creator.
Movie Review: Hip Lovecraft Lovin'!
Summary: 3 Stars
This handsomely filmed AIP Lovecraft offering has more to recommend it than not: colorful production, good cast and performances, and a pretty good script. The alterations made to Lovecraft's original story are acceptable, given production limitations. The Les Baxter soundtrack is hit-and-miss, the intrusion of rock music into the eeriness somehow out of place - as is the Mod Era look of the entire piece, which is partially effective (in the sense of connecting bizarre cults to a tie-dyed druggie generation), but as often as not feels discordant.Dean Stockwell plays handsome backwoods young man Wilbur Whateley, son of a deranged, mad old cultist (Sam Jaffe), whose wife Lavinia went mad giving birth to Wilbur. The townsfolk never took kindly to the Whateleys, and Wilbur gives them the willies. He's always off looking for arcane books of devil worship, presumably to continue his raving father's attempts to conjure-up some strange sky-demon.
Wilbur encounters wise old Dr. Armitage at Arkham University (Ed Begley), who is more intrigued by Whateley's family history than put-off by it. Armitage's assistant, pretty naif Sandra Dee, is quite taken by the charming Wilbur, and spends the weekend at his ancestral house. Crazy old Jaffe warns Wilbur that what he wants to do with the girl will come to no good, and it doesn't - he wants to impregnate her with his seed under the appropriate circumstances, and create Something Other. Dee's presence contributes to upsetting the Family Secret, long locked up in an attic room - Wilbur's invisible not-quite-twin brother, who breaks free, burns down the house, and wreaks havoc throughout Arkham until Armitage confronts Wilbur in a magic showdown.
The first half of the movie is quite good, and the second half, though uneven, is not bad. Wilbur's brother, once made (briefly) visible, is a pretty obvious spring-and-wire mask affair, but it isn't seen enough to detract from the rest of the piece. The movie's biggest problem is its anachronistic rock score, and repetitive pointless padding scenes of Wilbur performing incantations over Dee on a hilltop stone slab. The finale is abrupt and disappointing.
But the performances and the high quality of the production itself are worth watching, especially if you're a Lovecraft fan. The "demons" in this version are converted to more prosaic devil-worship, which isn't as effective as Lovecraft's vision, but probably more passable to an American audience of the time - not to mention, easier on the budget.
Movie Review: Don't know what the Old Gent from Providence would have thought...
Summary: 3 Stars
On the big screen adaptions of H.P. Lovecraft have been few and really nothing to write home about. Probably the reason why is that, unlike say Stephen King, HPL's characters are pretty much doomed victims. They have come into contact with power so alien and vast that their destruction is assured. Humans can't win. His protagonists are always male, bookish: scholars, antiquarians. Characters such as these were prevelant in horror fiction back in the late 19th early 20th century. Another strike is that the horrors in his fiction is not visceral but cosmic in power and scope. Ed Begley is fine as Professor Armitage, Dean Stockwell rather odd as Wilbur Whatley and Sandra Dee a character who never existed in any Lovecraft story as sex did not figure into his tales. The chilling effect of HPL's stories is that we are afforded only brief glimpses of the Great Old Ones that force to recoil in horror. Visual effects circa 1970 could not do them justice and even John Carpenter makes the mistake of showing too much in IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS -- probably one of the best Lovecraftian movies ever done. THE DUNWICH HORROR, having said all of that is still goofy and kinda fun entertainment. I tend to collect films based on HPL and will watch this movie from time to time. Among the AI films I still think Corman's THE HAUNTED PALACE (based loosely on a Poe poem and Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward") is probably the best of the lot. The HPL Society adaption of THE CALL OF CTHULHU is probably the best Lovecraft adaption of them all. Have to wait and see what happens with the upcoming AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. DIE MONSTER DIE is another Roger Corman adaption of Lovecraft, this time the classic HPL story "The Colour Out of Space". A meteor brings strange things when it arrives at the estate of Boris Karloff. Nick Adams also stars in this not bad film.Movie Review: Strictly for fans of Gothic horror
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Dunwich Horror" is a movie that claims to be based on horror maestro H.P. Lovecraft's work of the same title, but one can at best describe this movie as a very liberal adaptation of Lovecraft's work. The movie itself stars Dean Stockwell as the sinister Wilbur Whatley who wishes to reclaim his family's dark heritage and standing by summoning the Old Ones through [a] using the Necronomicon, a dark book, and [b] offering up luscious co-ed Sandra Dee as the virginal sacrifice.
Luckily for Sandra Dee [this movie proved to be a disastrous comeback movie for her btw, as it was so far off from her earlier successes such as Gidget etc], her college prof, Dr Armitage [Ed Begley in a commendably credible role] is determined to keep her out of harm's way.
The special effects are pretty cheesy given the year it was made [1970], but the atmosphere is sufficiently menacing, the sinister score is typical fare yet does go with the tone of the movie, and of course, the performances by the leads are pretty credible. Dean Stockwell's Wilbur Whatley is sufficiently mad and evil, and his eyes and moustache do much to portray menace, greed and lust [ also commendable were those complex hand gestures he mastered!]. Sandra Dee's role is more of a 'zombie' in this movie - her character is so drugged out by Wilbur that she moves about in a haze of imposed calm and doesn't really need to do much except play the pretty victim.
If you are a serious fan of true horror, this is probably not for you, but if you appreciate quirky Gothic-inspired horror cinema, then this will entertain.
Movie Review: All corny, 70s-style.
Summary: 3 Stars
Well, to keep this brief for those who are tire of long rants, I liked it. Rent it, if you are an HPL fan. It stays fairly true to the Call of Cthulhu story, but throws a ton of cheesy 70s style flower children prenteding to perform "unholy rituals" action scenes. Well, you get a few [...] shots, so, for some that may redeem these cheesy attempts at scary rituals, which ran amok in that era of horror films.
The guy from Quantum Leap does a decent job of being the moody, evil sorceror descendent, carrying on the "family business", and yo get to see a little skin from the one time wholesome actress, Sandra Dee. yes, that's right, Sandra Dee. She either wanted to change her image or needed some cash. At any rate, if this movie would have been made in more recent times, it would have been awesome.
It was nice, dark, and creepy, and is worth a watch, by old Hammer, Arkoff, and Corman horror buffs as well as he usual HPL fans.
Uh oh, I ended up making a short story long...oh well.
Elder god-o-meter gives it two tentacles up.