The Whisperer in Darkness

True passion beats millions of dollars, every time. Filmed in black and white and deliberately made to look old, set in the times of around the 1920's when Lovecraft wrote, this is one of the most authentic adaptations of one of his mythos stories ever seen. The atmosphere is perfectly spot-on, but it can probably be truly appreciated only by those who have read Lovecraft before and are familiar with his work.

Like so many of his stories, of course this one features the university town of Arkham, MA, home to the famous Miskatonic University which hosts, locked away in its library, the dreaded Necronomicon and other ancient tomes of forbidden lore. Familiarity with this background is not necessarily required for understanding this movie, but it is mainly a movie for Lovecraft fans.

The acting is amazing, especially for the character of Henry Akeley, conveying his brave fight but inevitable descent into terror, despair and madness.

The story is about some reports of strange creatures that surfaced in a wooded area after a big flood. It begins with the investigative professor in an asylum. What struck me as very interesting is the name of the asylum, Arkham Sanitarium. "Arkham" is the exact same name of the small town that the 1965 horror movie, Die Monster Die, also begins with. Coincidence?

The cinematography is poor, but expected in a $1,000 budget movie . The main actor, Ken MacGregor, reminds one of a high schooler doing a poor job of acting scared. A few times in the movie, it feels like one is waiting for grass to grow. If this movie was shown back in the 1960s, it would have been scary, but for the 2010s era, it is a bit dull, although watchable, if you are really bored.