Dagon: la secta del mar

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.

Just watched Stuart Gordon's DAGON. Having enjoyed Gordon's 80's genre outings Re-animator, Bride and From Beyond I was looking forward to this latest opus.

Now the problems I have with the film aren't insurmountable but they do take away some of the enjoyment. Firstly Ash in evil dead was cool, that's a given but the guy in this (Ezra Godden) is like Ash lite and I never really bonded with him as a character basically coz he didn't have any. It starts with a really nice sequence that bodes well for a H.P Lovecraft adaptation but the middle third soon degenerates into a half assed prolonged chase . Now I was starting fidget just a touch but I thought I've paid for this it's got to get better and you know what? It does. WAhhaaay.

Once the Dagon Mythos is shown as back-story Told by an old fisherman in a ridiculously thick accent the Great Old Ones atmos kicks in.

The last third pulls the film up by it's Lapels from mediocrity to pretty damn good. I'll not spoil it but let's just say there's Boobies, Blood, Monsters, and one of the most painful gory protracted deaths I've seen in a long time.

This was like a welcome throwback to the early 80's when Ironic teenagers hadn't yet nudged and winked the credibility out of the genre.

Dagon tells an incredible story of terror , marine monsters and including fantastic touches. As it packs horror ,suspense , plot-twists, tension , chills , thrills with sensationalistic scenes . A shipping accident off the Galician coast of North of Spain sends the starring named Paul (Ezra Dodden) and his sweetheart Barbara (Raquel Meroño)to the decrepit fishing village called Imboca looking for help. As night falls, people start to disappear and things not quite human begin to appear. Paul finds himself chased by the entire people of Imboca . There he meets an old fisher named Ezequiel(Francisco Rabal) and a strange young girl (Macarena Gomez). Running for his life, Paul uncovers Imboca's dark secret but he is taken by the secret sect . The villagers worshipping the God Dagon and his unholy offspring are on the loose in the place .

Based on two short stories by the undisputed expert of the terror H.P. Lovecraft titled ¨Dagon¨ and ¨The shadow over Innsmouth¨ . The picture packs thrills, chills , terror , fantasy and lots of blood and gore . Furthermore , unrelenting twists and turns as when the starring discovers that the truth will not set him free instead it condemns him to a waking nightmare of impressive horror . B-entertainment with a fairly suspenseful and horrifying story about an ancient fanatic religious cult of followers of Dagon. This tale about a young couple who is involved into a twisted intrigue begins well and grows more and more until a downbeat finale . Good makeup on the freakish half-human creatures by DDT that subsequently won Academy Award for ¨Pan's labyrinth¨ . Dark and colorful cinematography by Carlos Suarez and atmospheric musical score by Carles Cases that includes Galiacian sounds . The flick is finely produced by the chairman of Filmax and Castelao Productions , Julio Fernandez who along with his brother Carlos Fernandez are two successful producers and experts on Horror genre , producers of hits as ¨The machinist¨ ,¨ Fragiles¨, ¨Darkness¨, Rec 1, Rec2 and many others. The picture is compellingly directed by Stuart Gordon who along with Bian Yuzna are important American filmmakers expert on terror cinema , both of whom working for Castelao , Fantastic Factory or Filmax . Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable film , though contains some flaws.

Four pleasure boaters are shipwrecked near a Spanish fishing village. At first glad to be so close to a town, the boaters soon discover that the village is full of freaky deformed people who worship a bizarre and evil sea-religion. Soon the villagers turn on the outsiders, and the perverse and horrible tale of the village's decline becomes clear.

I recommend this film to those who like cheap horror. It has all of the important elements of a B horror film: weird monsters, creepy people, unclothed damsels, exciting chases, gore, and a twist ending.

In addition, this movie has a really weird plot, stolen from Lovecraft's short story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth." If you like literary puns, you will enjoy the fact that our heroes become stranded in the Spanish town of Inboca. So, this movie is a lot more original than 90% of the horror out there. It isn't as scary as it is gross, weird and obscene. That is as the original author would have wanted it! Also, "Dagon" is notable for having the best human sacrifice scene since "Lair of the White Worm."

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