Pickman's Muse

This adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Haunter of the Dark" is a visually striking and eerily effective blending of the author's elements, and one of the best HPL films I've seen. Eschewing splashy gore effects, it focuses on building an ominous mood and revealing the slow decay of the main character's mental state as he glimpses "worlds unknown" and grinds his way down into violent madness. Beautiful cinematography and economic storytelling balance the claustrophobic environments of the artist's studio and the expansive mysteries of the abandoned church, while suggesting a darker and more malevolent cosmos lurking just beyond this false-front reality.

Key to the movie is the twitchy, introverted and hypnotic performance of Barret Walz. His self-absorbed and socially awkward character could easily alienate the audience, but instead betrays glimpses of vulnerability, loss, and yearning that underlies his visionary drive and artistic obsessions. He's supported by the terrific and colorful turns of a cast of accomplished character actors, including the avuncular Maurice McNicholas, fragile Edy Cullen, and the seething menace of Tom Lodewyck as fellow mad-artist Goodie Hines.

This movie is also a remarkable achievement on a limited budget. Dir. Robert Cappelletto has wisely focused on good storytelling over splashy effects, while still crafting a top-notch look and feel. The insidiously creepy aural landscape digs even deeper, with great sound design and a moody and effective score. Clearly more influenced by the suggestive horror of Val Lewton than today's splatter-tropes, this is a movie for anyone looking for more substance to their scares. A real treat for fans of Lovecraft's writings, as well as anyone seeking atmospheric, old-style horror thrills.

Pickman's Muse is a good film marred by a few serious flaws.

Pickman's Muse tells the story of an artist's descent into madness and draws a heavy influence from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. There are a few moments in the film that manage to catch a true sense of dread and mystery, but unfortunately it falls a little short of being a truly remarkable film, and a country mile short of being as effective as the stories which inspired it.

The script and direction are both adequate, with the latter occasionally being excellent - there are some truly striking shots in this movie, along with a good use of colour and lighting to evoke a strong atmosphere. Although it does suffer fairly severely from teal-and-orange syndrome, an effect that I'm getting a little tired of, there's enough variation in palette to keep things interesting.

The sound and music in the film is a very strong point. Music is generally subtle, ambient buzzing, and there's often some kind of repetitive or pulsating background noise, and effect that is mirrored in the lighting in a number of scenes. This fairly effectively creates an oppressive atmosphere and makes one slightly uneasy.

Unfortunately, the film is marred by acting which is in many cases quite flat. Most lines are delivered ploddingly and don't feel natural at all, and as a result it becomes difficult to relate to the characters on screen in any meaningful way. The script does little to help in this department. As I said earlier, it's generally adequate but there are some very predictable or cliché moments.

It's unfortunate that the strongest reaction this film manages to elicit is unease - there was a chance here to make a really disturbing piece, that echoed the darkness and madness of the source material, but Pickman's Muse doesn't quite make the grade.

Still, the film is a good watch with a decent central story, and it makes a refreshing change from most horror films on the market - Pickman's Muse focuses neither on gore nor on sudden shocks or cheap shots, but rather on a subtle, unsettling atmosphere. This is a type of horror film I'd like to see more of, but hopefully through better executed, more effective films than Pickman's Muse.