H.P. Lovecrafts Necronomicon

Lovecraft's stories don't translate well to film. Much of their effect comes from the personal horror the characters feel at what they're seeing, and it would take a true filmmaking genius to bring something like that across; if such a person has existed they have not taken aim at Lovecraft's works. The other problem is that it's hard to stretch his short stories out into movie length. Those who try, usually introduce elements that distract from the true flavor and atmosphere of the stories. "Necronomicon" falls into that trap, despite preserving the short stories as separate segments. The first story, which combines elements of "The Strange High House in the Mist" and "The Shadow over Innsmouth", among others, is the most successful at preserving the evil and terrifying atmosphere of Lovecraft's works. The second is a direct adaptation of "Cool Air", a story whose one cool concept doesn't adapt well to a segment of this length. The third segment (actually based on "The Nameless City" and not "The Whisperer in Darkness" as some here have said) winds up being a hamhanded gorefest with no finesse and only a casual relationship to Lovecraft's work. It's not as though gore wasn't an element in Lovecraft's stories, with characters being "torn to ribbons" and all; but it always takes the form of horrifying and unspeakable things that happen and is never present for cheap thrills' sake as it is here. If you're a fan of Lovecraft's stories, you'll probably want to see it. You might not like it very much, but you'll want to see it anyway. If you really like cheesy horror films, it'll entertain you. But if you want a good horror film or a good adaptation of H.P.Lovecraft's works, keep moving.

I rented this film because I'm a fan of HP Lovecraft's writing, and two of the directors have done things I liked (I enjoy several of the films either produced or directed by Brian Yuzna, I loved Shusuke Kaneko's 1995 Gamera film, I've yet to see anything by Christophe Gans), I found it to be rather disappointing. Despite some interesting special effects (by Tom Savini and Screaming Mad George, among others), I had a hard time maintaining interest. The second and third segments of the film are nothing like the Lovecraft stories they're supposed to be based on (Gans' segment isn't based on a particular story, but the Cthulu cycle as a whole). The final segment of the film, directed by Brian Yuzna, is probably the best. The framing segments with Jeffrey Combs as Lovecraft were kind of amusing, but overall, I'd only recommend this film to hardcore fans of Yuzna, Gans, or Kaneko.

I was at first, very excited about this film due, to the fact that I am a huge fan of H. P. Lovecraft. But after seeing what amounted to a pathetic version of Creepshow, I was very let down. Don't get me wrong, some of the content was worthy enough to be associated with HP, but much of the film was cheesy and not very engrossing. If you wish to see a Lovecraftian style film, check out In the Mouth of Madness. It is INSPIRED by HP, but not related directly to one of his stories.

Brian Yuzna's Necronomicon features a wraparound in which Jeffrey Combs portrays H.P. Lovecraft, circa 1932. Prosthetic makeup, in combination with Comb's naturally high voice, results in what is probably the best portrayal of H.P.L. we're likely to see. However, those familiar with Lovecraft's life will be amused (or perhaps annoyed) to see him depicted as an occult believer/action hero who gains access to a copy of the Necronomicon through subterfuge. A somewhat similar liberty was taken by novelists Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson in their 'Illuminatus' trilogy; and, of course, Robert Bloch based a character in 'Shambler From The Stars' on Lovecraft. (With H.P.L's permission, however.)

Necronomicon is a melange of Lovecraftian characters, stories, and themes. The Deep Ones, Cthulhu, the strange high house in the mist at Kingsport Head and, of course, the dreaded Necronomicon itself are all reasonably well treated. H.P.L.'s short story 'Cool Air' provided some inspiration for one of the film's segments.

Lovecraft's stories - notoriously short on dialog and female characters - do not easily lend themselves to direct cinematic adaptation. Consequently, Brian Yuzna deserves credit for extracting many essential elements from the Mythos and presenting them in a way contemporary horror audiences can appreciate. Necronomicon may offer a bit too much gore for some tastes; but as far as I'm concerned, even loose adaptations of Lovecraft's work are better than none at all.

Like the other horror trilogy I saw recently, "Tales From The Darkside", "Necronomicon" gets progressively better as it goes along. The first story is unspeakably boring, but the second is an improvement (and features a notable performance by David Warner), and the third one comes closer to a convincing depiction/vision of what Hell might look like than perhaps any other horror film ("Hellraiser II", for example). Spectacular gore effects are a highlight throughout. (**)