Necronomicon

Theoretically speaking, this is one horror movie concept that couldn't possibly have gone wrong! "Necronomicon" is an anthology embracing three lesser known stories (at least, to me they were lesser known) by the legendary novelist H.P. Lovecraft, filmed by an interesting variation of directors, and moreover linked together through an inventive wraparound story that revolves on Lovecraft himself; as played by Jeffrey Combs (who else?). Heck, even the title vividly speaks to the imagination of us, true horror fanatics, as surely everyone will recognize the "Book of the Dead" either from previous Lovecraft adaptations/novels and, if not, certainly from Sam Raimi's splatter-classic "The Evil Dead". Basically, we've got every necessary ingredient to cook up a wondrously delicious horror smörgåsbord here, but somehow the end result nevertheless left a rather sour aftertaste in my mouth… Each and every separate Lovecraft short story is superb, and more than often embodies the true definition of sheer genuine & terror, but the teleplays are underdeveloped and never fully capture the dark and ominous atmosphere that Lovecraft had in mind when he wrote them. Considering the surreal themes and sinister setting, these should have been stories that spontaneously inflict nightmares and cause phobias amongst the viewers, but sadly it never comes to that. You feel emotionless the entire time. It's actually hard to explain … "Necronomicon" seemingly has it all, from solid subject matter over stylistic filming aspects onto nauseating gore effects, and yet something essential is missing.

The wraparound, as stated above, introduces Lovecraft himself sneaking into a dark & secret library chamber, because he heard the place hides a copy of the allegedly mythical book The Necronomicon. With the suspiciously eerie librarians observing his every move, Lovecraft reads to us three stories of the macabre. The Necronomicon is simultaneously the leading thread running through the stories, as all the protagonists come into contact with the book one way or the other. The first segment has a Swedish heir returning to the ancient family hotel by the seaside. He learns that his ancestor lost his beloved wife and child in a shipwreck, but managed to bring them back to life through forces hidden inside the hotel. Since Edward also was responsible for the dead of his girlfriend in a car crash, he hopes to discover the secret and bring her back from the other side as well. Obviously not the best of ideas … "The Drowned" is my personal least favorite story of the three, but I do have to acknowledge it's a stylish contribution. Director Christophe Gans ("Brotherhood of the Wolf") takes the maximum out of the marvelous seaside location and the morbid old hotel. The flashback, with Richard Lynch as the archetypal sea captain ancestor, is masterfully handled as well. However, Bruce Payne's stone-cold performance as well as the hideously abrupt anti-climax plummet the quality level enormously. The second story, entitled "The Cold", is my choice for best segment. It's about a sleazy journalist who knocks at the door of a large mansion and brutally confronts the lady of the house with the mystery of why so many people vanished after having visited this place. She has no option but to tell him about her mother's acquaintance with the brilliant previous tenant – Dr. Madden – who developed a unique but sinister method for preserving his youth and virility. One slight disadvantage, though, it requires a lot of human spinal fluid and must remain safeguarded in a cold environment. Personally, I'm a sucker for horror stories revolving on the quest for immortality (like "The Rejuvenator" and all the movies about Countess Bathory); especially when they feature an outrageously over-the-top mad scientist character, like David Warner in this case! "The Cold" has a marvelous story-within-story structure that nearly isn't confusing as it sounds and benefices from the most properly "finished" screenplay of all three stories. This is also the only segment that finds the exact right balance between juicy gross-out effects and high level of tension. Not bad for a Japanese director that allegedly couldn't speak a word of English on the set! The third and final story has director Brian Yuzna's trademarks all over it. "Whispers" is an indescribably nasty and sickening illustration of what pure hell is most likely to look like. This segment is lacking substantially, but you'll nevertheless stare with your eyes and mouth wide open, as it is a non-stop spitfire of pitch-dark and ghastly images. Unfortunately they are not really disturbing or scary … just very, very unpleasant! Two police officers are chasing a car down to a grim neighborhood and literally end up in a subterranean labyrinth of terror. Words even file to describe the atrocities they encounter there, including petrifying elderly folks, flying carnivorous demons and extraterrestrial butchers. I like a good portion of gore and bloodshed, but this particular segment was quite unbearable.

In general, "Necronomicon" is definitely a mixed bag. Those who claim that the 90's only brought forward derivative, inferior and non- atmospheric horror turkeys should check it out because it's certainly one of the better efforts of the decade. Still, like that other 90's Lovecraft adaptation "The Resurrected", this movie can't hold a candle to some of the earlier – albeit admittedly loosely interpreted – movies based on the writer's repertoire, like "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond". I'm sure many people will beg to differ, but I think even Lucio Fulci came closer to capturing the real mindset of Lovecraft when he looked for inspiration for "City of the Living Dead" and "House by the Cemetery".

I rented this film because I'm a fan of HP Lovecraft's writing, and two of the directors have done things I liked (I enjoy several of the films either produced or directed by Brian Yuzna, I loved Shusuke Kaneko's 1995 Gamera film, I've yet to see anything by Christophe Gans), I found it to be rather disappointing. Despite some interesting special effects (by Tom Savini and Screaming Mad George, among others), I had a hard time maintaining interest. The second and third segments of the film are nothing like the Lovecraft stories they're supposed to be based on (Gans' segment isn't based on a particular story, but the Cthulu cycle as a whole). The final segment of the film, directed by Brian Yuzna, is probably the best. The framing segments with Jeffrey Combs as Lovecraft were kind of amusing, but overall, I'd only recommend this film to hardcore fans of Yuzna, Gans, or Kaneko.

I just KNEW this would be bad, but I had no idea how bad it would be. "Necronomicon" is a composite film made up of three separate shorts based on Lovecraft stories... and I use the word "based" VERRRRY loosely here. The first tale begins as a strange adaptation of "Rats in the Walls" and then seems to make a right turn through "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", "The Dreams in the Witch House" and "The Call of Cthulu" without coming off very coherently at all, although the surreality of it is kind've cool. The second feature is a somewhat more coherent version of "Cool Air" which is more or less true to the original, though featuring a female lead along with a typically wonderful performance from David Warner. Lastly we're presented with something purporting to be "The Whisperer in Darkness" but ends up as some nonsensical dream/nightmare conglomeration that aspires to be Fulci but fails. By the end of this piece I had no idea what was going on! In the meantime, Jeffrey Coombs hams it up as usual in a series of linking cut scenes portraying HP meddling with arcane tomes in a bizarre temple or something--William Castle, eat your heart out! A very hit and miss affair that fails to interpret Lovecraft even more spectacularly than most of the others before it.

Lovecraft's stories don't translate well to film. Much of their effect comes from the personal horror the characters feel at what they're seeing, and it would take a true filmmaking genius to bring something like that across; if such a person has existed they have not taken aim at Lovecraft's works. The other problem is that it's hard to stretch his short stories out into movie length. Those who try, usually introduce elements that distract from the true flavor and atmosphere of the stories. "Necronomicon" falls into that trap, despite preserving the short stories as separate segments. The first story, which combines elements of "The Strange High House in the Mist" and "The Shadow over Innsmouth", among others, is the most successful at preserving the evil and terrifying atmosphere of Lovecraft's works. The second is a direct adaptation of "Cool Air", a story whose one cool concept doesn't adapt well to a segment of this length. The third segment (actually based on "The Nameless City" and not "The Whisperer in Darkness" as some here have said) winds up being a hamhanded gorefest with no finesse and only a casual relationship to Lovecraft's work. It's not as though gore wasn't an element in Lovecraft's stories, with characters being "torn to ribbons" and all; but it always takes the form of horrifying and unspeakable things that happen and is never present for cheap thrills' sake as it is here. If you're a fan of Lovecraft's stories, you'll probably want to see it. You might not like it very much, but you'll want to see it anyway. If you really like cheesy horror films, it'll entertain you. But if you want a good horror film or a good adaptation of H.P.Lovecraft's works, keep moving.

Brian Yuzna's Necronomicon features a wraparound in which Jeffrey Combs portrays H.P. Lovecraft, circa 1932. Prosthetic makeup, in combination with Comb's naturally high voice, results in what is probably the best portrayal of H.P.L. we're likely to see. However, those familiar with Lovecraft's life will be amused (or perhaps annoyed) to see him depicted as an occult believer/action hero who gains access to a copy of the Necronomicon through subterfuge. A somewhat similar liberty was taken by novelists Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson in their 'Illuminatus' trilogy; and, of course, Robert Bloch based a character in 'Shambler From The Stars' on Lovecraft. (With H.P.L's permission, however.)

Necronomicon is a melange of Lovecraftian characters, stories, and themes. The Deep Ones, Cthulhu, the strange high house in the mist at Kingsport Head and, of course, the dreaded Necronomicon itself are all reasonably well treated. H.P.L.'s short story 'Cool Air' provided some inspiration for one of the film's segments.

Lovecraft's stories - notoriously short on dialog and female characters - do not easily lend themselves to direct cinematic adaptation. Consequently, Brian Yuzna deserves credit for extracting many essential elements from the Mythos and presenting them in a way contemporary horror audiences can appreciate. Necronomicon may offer a bit too much gore for some tastes; but as far as I'm concerned, even loose adaptations of Lovecraft's work are better than none at all.