Dagon

A man, his girlfriend and their two wealthy friends get caught in a storm off the coast of Spain. The man is forced to go to shore to seek help, but stumbles across a town with a legacy both dark and treacherous.

As I've said before, Stuart Gordon is the undisputed master of H. P. Lovecraft adaptations, this one coming from the short story "Dagon" and one other tale (to flesh it out). He captures the imagery perfectly -- the storms, the fear of the water, the importance of an arcane faith (without making it cheesy) and of course the tentacles.

The acting is quite good, especially from the star (who was also the star of "Dreams in the Witch House")... Ezra Godden, I believe his name is (forgive me if I'm wrong). He plays a much nerdier character than in "Dreams", so much so that I might not have even noticed it was the same actor. The other characters are also good. All of them. The bum, the girlfriend, the townsfolk... I have no complaints.

The scenery was very drab, and I mean that in a good way. It was a dirty, isolated town that really portrayed the feeling of helplessness. I read in another review that Gordon moved the story from New England to Spain to capture this feeling, as modern America really has no such place left. Spain seemed natural, and fit the theme perfectly. Besides, an ancient cult does tend to have more of a "European" rather than "American" flavor to it (unlike witches, which are right at home in America).

I really have to protest about the CGI in this film, though. Some scenes use amateur computer graphics, which come across looking cartoonish. This upsets me any time I see it in a film, but even more so with Stuart Gordon. I have seen what he can do with old fashioned makeup and special effects. I've been impressed. Why has he resorted to this technique? While I would say this is the least of the Gordon-Lovecraft films I've seen, it's still a fine job. It's probably the only film you'll ever watch where you find a fish attractive. Well, besides "The Little Mermaid", of course. Ariel's pretty dang sexy.

I love Lovecrafts work, I grew up with them and yes I'm fully aware that's probably not the best reading material for the young!

It's prime material for movie adaptations, but they always tend to be terrible. Sure there have been exceptions like Necronomicon (1993) and the Re-Animator franchise but for the most part they've been plain awful.

Dagon is a rare exception and is fantastic on near every level. Spanish made it tells the story of two couples of after a boating accident are forced to seek help at a nearby island which holds a horrific secret.

Cue the great visuals, strong performances and a near flawless story. I watched this immediatly upon release and have thankfully had the chance to watch it multiple times since then. It's a pure unadulterated horror nightmare which I think is highly underrated.

It looks Lovecraft, it feels Lovecraft, it IS Lovecraft.

The Good:

Looks great

Mostly loyal to the source material

Genuinely atmospheric

The Bad:

Could have done with being a tad longer

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Proof! The problem is the filmmakers not the material

Movies are just better with tentacles

I was at the same screening the previous fellow was at an it was very obvious to me what kind of film we were seeing. It was a classic B-Movie Horror film with all of the camera movements, dialogue, makeup and effects of a good B-movie. This film does not, at any time, present itself as anything other than being an homage to the B-Movie Genre. The trailer preceding the film, which showed horror film trailers by Mario Bava, were an indication of what we were in store for. It's seems to be so easy for people to completely miss the point. (I am not a regular fan of this genre nor did I know who Mario Bava was so I am not a blind loyalist.) It was a fun film, it was entertaining. Actually, there were some very striking underwater shots.There also were moments that were extremely creepy and there was a lot of value for the budget they had. Good gore. I also know that the director, Stuart Gordon, is a guy who is well aware of what the film is and what its intended audience is. After all, it is very easy to pick friday the 13th or any of these films apart if one wants to appear superior. Is that the point? If you want to see a good horror film in the style of "Night of the Living Dead" and that style of film, "Dagon" is worth renting.

Dagon was the first horror movie I've seen in a few years that both had a good plot and kept me on the edge of my seat. After reading most of H.P. Lovecraft's short stories on which this movie was based, I can safely say that this is the only movie based on Lovecraft that is true to the atmosphere and plot structure of his stories. The special effects are not overdone and there is minimal (and yet effective) "splatter," unlike the movie "Necronomicon," which is also based on Lovecraft. The horror and suspense of the movie relies on xenophobia, fear of the strange and unknown, and this plays into the movie's surprise ending where the hero must question his own path.

I'd also like to add that this movie was filmed in a coastal village in Galicia, Spain, and the scenery is both realistic and haunting.

All in all, this movie should be a pleasure to both fans of H.P. Lovecraft and the horror genre.

Start of the movie is awful. You are greeted with dated CGI and very irritating main characters. Then at 20-30 minutes in, when you already lost almost all hope for this movie to be good, movie surprisingly turns into a thrilling and adrenaline filled survival horror for good half an hour. It's not scary or anything, but it's weird, creepy and even stylish at moments. From there on you are left with last third of the movie which is for sure better than the beginning, but still not what you would necessarily call good. "Dagon" is a movie surely made with love and care for Cthulhu mythos, but it doesn't completely hit the mark. I give it 6.5/10 and I recommend it only to the genre fans and Lovecraft fans, but to the latter I say, don't expect complete faithfulness to Lovecraft's work and style.