Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

(*H.P. Lovecraft quote*) - "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear."

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) is widely considered to be the forefather of modern-day horror-fiction.

Through interviews and stills - This "Fear of the Unknown" bio-documentary not only looks at the life and times of Lovecraft - But, it also discusses (in fair detail) the overall influence and impact that his "tales-of-the-weird" have had on horror fiction and fright films of today.

I think it's interesting to note that during his lifetime (as a writer) Lovecraft was not recognized for his work, at all, and he inevitably died in literal poverty.

Well made look at the icon with the standard construction of talking heads. For what it is, it's fine and the people talking are good fits. Nothing superlative, but nothing bad either. Probably more for fans as I'm not sure this would convert anyone.

Not sure seasoned fans will gain much here, but newcomers will surely get a good grasp on what drove Lovecraft to write. Was nice listening to modern authors and filmmakers give their views on him and some of the shared illustrations are the doc's highlights.

Fantastic documentary for anyone looking to learn a little more about Lovecraft. Steller choices of interviewees from filmmakers such as John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon to horror literary icons such as Ramsey Campbell and Peter Straub, and of course the ultimate Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi.

Highly recommended.

I saw this movie on Fantaspoa/2009. I was anxious to see it, as I am a Lovecraft fan, but I have to admit I got disappointed with this movie. Little information on it was new to me. In my opinion, this was a shallow documentary. It gives only an overview on the works that influenced him, and it covers a bit of his work. It tells more about his life and his career, even though not complete, and missing some points that I consider important. And it gives you some notion of his influence in other artists (writers, musicians, painters), with some testimonials. This really is a documentary for people who know nothing or very little of the author. But you should have read some of his stories, so that you know what this film is talking about when it mentions some characters/monsters. Considering that the books I've already read always tell a bit about his life, assuming those who read Lovecraft also read a little about his life/work/career, I guess this documentary doesn't add much.

On the good side, technically this documentary is very good. It doesn't get boring. Displaying places, narrating his life, and mixing that with the testimonials and images of his monsters as imagined by different artists, it keeps a good flow. It really is a professional work.