The Dunwich Horror (1970)

Don't know what the Old Gent from Providence would have thought...

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. September 17, 2008

buy the book

saw this movie in the early 70's on tv when i was a kid. i forgot about it until i found it recently in big lots for $2.99. i remembered little bits and pieces. oh yes, i didn't remember how B-O-R-I-N-G it was. ergh! i should have left it there. this version of the lovecraft story is about frightening as a roll of paper towels. go buy the book. really. July 29, 2008

Die Monster Die/The Dunwich Horror

A Good double feature and it arrived in time and in great shape, like all Amazon purchases. July 20, 2008

Lovecraft, Arkoff, and Haller, oh my!

Die, Monster, Die! (Daniel Haller, 1965)

Do I need to say anything more than "H. P. Lovecraft in the nuclear age" to get you to see this? I do? Okay--Boris Karloff acts in an H. P. Lovecraft adaptation ("The Colour Out of Space") produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff that reflects the predominant nuclear fears of the fifties and sixties. Does that help? It better, because that's really all I should need to say. You already know "The Colour Out of Space." If you don't, get thee hence to the library. And you should already be familiar with Samuel Z. Arkoff. If you're not, get thee hence to the video store. All you need to do from there is combine the two, and you have Die, Monster, Die!. You really can't go wrong. ***

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The Dunwich Horror (Daniel Haller, 1970)

These days, you can get The Dunwich Horror and Die, Monster, Die!, the two Arkoff/Haller Lovecraft adaptations, packaged on one chock-full-of-cheesy-goodness DVD, and lemme tell you, it's oh so worth it. This is the better of the two films, if only because Arkoff didn't rely on one big star to propel the film--he recruited a stable of the rising and falling of the day that includes Ed Begley (Sr.), Dean Stockwell, and Sandra Dee among its principles. Fans of prurience for the sake of prurience take note: this is, in fact, the one film in which Sandra Dee has a nude scene. (I use the term loosely--a quick flash of ******--but still, it's SANDRA DEE.)

Once again, I say: if I need to recap the plot for you, you need to go read Lovecraft. The Dunwich Horror is a slightly more faithful adaptation, thanks to the waning of the nuclear hysteria that was still in full rage when Arkoff and Haller collaborated on Die, Monster, Die!. Ever the bandwagon-jumpers, though, this movie is all about psychedelia. Lots of heavy filters here, man. I'm sure this movie is a blast to watch when stoned to the gills. A fun, fun movie. *** ½ May 27, 2007

DEAN STOCKWELL AND SANDRA DEE STAR IN THIS

increadibly amazing and mesmerizing film. I could not imagine a better actor, Stockwell is beyond my expectations, his eyes and mustache make you believe he is an alien. This kind of movie does not exist anymore, and will probobly never again, because nobody can make them like this anymore. If you are tired of the creepy little kid horror movies of today and tired of that con artist M Night Shalomanon (or whatever) and want something fresh and quite entertaining, buy or rent this, plus its a double feature. Wow and the Les Baxter sountrack is even better that the film! April 13, 2007

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