Out of Mind: The Stories of H.P. Lovecraft

The film is not really a documentary.

The movie was voted as the best film of the festival by a large margin. (And there were some excellent entries this year.)

As far as I am concerned this is the best Lovecraft adaptation I have ever seen.

The film is an adaptation of a number of H.P. Lovecraft's storys intercut with some very realisting looking film footage of "HPL". (Actually an actor who does a remarkable job with the part.)

The film is an exploration of Lovecraft's motivations behind the stories, why he wrote, and what he thought of his own efforts -- intertwingling with his own stories and themes. (Especially the dreamlands stories of Randolph Carter.)

All of this sounds kind of hokey, but it works. Through the Dreamlands, the film mixes modern day and Lovecraft's 20s, among others. (One scene has Lovecraft meeting a modern fan and wondering why his face is on a t-shirt.)

If you can find this playing somewhere, by all means see it! It is an impressive piece of film making.

I'm a Lovecraft fan for a couple of years now, reading the most of his books and stories, and viewing several films based on them. This one is by far the most satisfying. The film leans heavy on the acting instead of monsters or great filmsets. They only use one monster which is the worst scene of the film since it looked like a bad operated rubber doll. They could've easily cut that out or better: make a suggestion of the monster instead of showing it. Other than that, it's a thrill to see this film because the acting is really good. Heyerdahl is spectacular as H.P. Lovecraft himself. The rest of the cast is also very convincing except maybe for the character of Warren who was making it more of a stage play. The storyline is actually a combination of a couple of stories from Lovecraft, and it really works very well within this film. Sometimes i caught myself smiling just because it was so much fun to see all those stories touched with such integrity. If you like mystery and fantasy: try to get a hold of the DVD.

Having seen most of the films in the genre of "HPL inspired" from Hollywood to the HPL film festivals, I can honestly say that this film was one of the most enjoyable. It brought HPL to life in a believable, respectful and moving way (most of us who know HPL may recall that no motion picture nor audio tape of him is known to exist; only still photos and his writings, so this was something of a treat).

The few "monstrous" special effects were too hokey for this film, however and could have been either done better or left out and thus left to the imagination. Other than that, it was nice to see the mixture of name-dropping and time-interweaving done in the style of HPL's stories. That is, mysterious, suspenseful and ultimately pulling back the curtain to reveal cosmic horror behind it all.

Memorable moments: - HPL trying to sound out "Cthulhu" to himself - HPL's dignified manner of holding himself and his careful articulation - HPL describing the Nightgaunts which came to him in nightmares since he was 6 years old.

If you like HPL (not if you're a fan of the ultra-gruesome, not-in-the-style-of-HPL crap films like Re-animator and From Beyond) then you'll truly enjoy this movie.

A fine little piece incorporating a few of Lovecraft's characters, storylines, and Lovecraft himself all in a manner consistent with Lovecraft's work. Heyerdahl is a remarkable likeness, actually. A minimum of characters and a maximum of atmosphere makes this a fine vignette.

Unfortunately, this documentary isn't all that well known. Truly a pity, because Raymond St-Jean as Director & scriptwriter shines, Serge Ladouceur's photography in the film is fantastic, & Christopher Heyerdahl as H.P. Lovecraft is *very* believable.

The film attempts to show the relationship of American gothic-horror writer,

H.P. Lovecraft, and the stories he wrote. Blending the most characteristic themes & characters [watch out for Cthullu!] from his novels/stories with his life, a whole new story is created in of itself. It almost seems written by Lovecraft himself.

I saw this movie in 1998 in Montreal at a friend's house, & have been trying to get a hold of it since! If you come across it, get it! [then email me & tell me where you found it, for I want it too]