Necronomicon

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.

'Necronomicon' is similar to films like 'The Twilight Zone', 'Creepshow', and 'Tales from the Crypt'.

The film tells the story of HP Lovecraft (Jeffrey Combs), who takes the Necronomicon from a protective fault, and reads it without permission or authority. As he reads, the film takes us on a journey, telling three stories.

The first story is about a man who inherits a dilapidated mansion with a secret. The man, Edward de Lapoer, is well played by the talented Bruce Payne. It is a story of undying love, regret and finding solace. The visuals were good. The second story is about a man, Dr Madden, with an unusual illness, who needs spinal fluid to survive. He is therefore constantly looking for fresh specimens. A woman who rents a room in the same building, is drawn to him - with dire consequences. This story also featured good visuals, with disgustingly good practical effects. I enjoyed David Warner as Dr Madden.

The film's final story is by far the best, and revolves around a cop who's partner gets abducted by a strange man called The Butcher. This installment is fast-paced, action-packed and suspenseful. It literally plays like a horrible nightmare. Signy Coleman was really good as the protagonist, Sarah, who had to face much more than she bargained for.

In general, this was a good watch, with insanely good practical effects and props. Some scenes were utterly disgusting, but the film nevertheless remained exciting throughout. The Necronomicon (or Book of the Dead) is present in all three stories.

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.

I was at first, very excited about this film due, to the fact that I am a huge fan of H. P. Lovecraft. But after seeing what amounted to a pathetic version of Creepshow, I was very let down. Don't get me wrong, some of the content was worthy enough to be associated with HP, but much of the film was cheesy and not very engrossing. If you wish to see a Lovecraftian style film, check out In the Mouth of Madness. It is INSPIRED by HP, but not related directly to one of his stories.

This movie was okay, considering Lovecraft's ideas are hard to portray on the screen. Each story stayed true to Lovecraft's horror, though the last was leaning towards the modern version of horror (gory, bloody, etc) The acting was much better than I expected, especially the last story. The sequences with Lovecraft are taking many licenses with his real self, but then again, his real personality doesn't need to be shown to enjoy his stories. I enjoyed the low budget, yet quality, effects as well.

(for the MSTies, watch for the Necronomicon door sequence near the end, amusingly similar)