In Search of Lovecraft

In the opening titles they give special credit to the special/makeup effects guy. WHY? The small amount of effects called for in this movie are all done pathetically bad. The acting is really atrocious, believe me it goes from bad to laughingly worse. The tedium in this script is unbearable,. It takes 50 minutes of running time to get to any action. When I say "action" I am not talking "Poltergeist" level action. Action is 5 minutes of the white witch mumbling nonsense syllables and Runic names while an empty rocking chair moves slowly back and forth. This movie is too tedious to recommend as a so-bad-it's-good movie. Avoid it. Really. Avoid it.

The horror of course being the horrid acting. The two exceptions being D'Souza and Keja. Without them I don't think I could have finished watching. Although, I guess they can't be completely to blame. The writer/director should take most of it. I was really hoping this movie would be at least somewhat good, being that I'm a huge Lovecraft fan and Nyarlathotep is my favorite deity.

It's very rare that I comment on movies, good or bad. We all have our own opinions - to each his own. However, I would like to at least give a heads up to fellow Lovecraft fans. If you need 90 minutes to waste... go find some wet paint and watch it dry. You'll thank me later.

Really, I'm being extremely generous in giving this movie a 3/10. It obviously deserves 1/10: the acting, directing, effects, and writing are all atrocious. However, there were a few good scenes (the old time 1930s scenes were kind of cool), one or two of the actors were passable, and the attempt to bring to life a Lovecraftian tale of horror is welcome, though it always seems doomed to ineptitude or mediocrity.

In the end, I'd have to say that this movie is only for people who can overlook seriously bad filmmaking. I'm talking worse than your average Troma movie here. And if you can take that, then have at it. Maybe you'll find something to enjoy here.

The acting in this movie is so incredibly horrid you will squirm with pain in your seat while you attempt to watch this movie. The lead reporter was so unbelievable and so detached from everything that when her co-actors deliver their lines that she forgets to react until she has to say her lines. Although it is understood that the camera work is from a portable shoulder camera, there is almost no consistency. The script continues to stress that the cameraman is one of the best yet the shot is constantly zooming in and out and changing targets. This lack of focus leaves the viewer with zero ability to become attached to any of the actors. There are a few moments during flash backs that are fairly well played out but definitely not worth the effort. Please do no waste 98 minutes of your life.

I have read everything ever written by Lovecraft including fragments and collaborations with other authors. It is sad that given the state of the art effects available today that no major studio can make a quality adaptation of any of Lovecraft's major works. Those that have been made thus far are either pure camp or pure crap. This film falls into the latter category. The acting is elementary school level because I have seen far better acting at high school productions. The plot borrows loosely from Lovecraft's "The Haunter of the Dark" by mentioning the tetrahedron stone and the Starry Wisdom Sect. Lovecraft's most important works always were set in New England with a few notable exceptions such as "The Horror At Red Hook". To film this story in San Francisco is to rob it of any chance of atmosphere. If you want to see a scary and suspenseful Lovecraft adaptation watch "The Dreams in The Witch House" which was an episode of "The Masters of Horror" television series. I believe it is available on Netflix for streaming. By the way, I gave this 2 stars instead of none because the Halloween interviews conducted by the reporter in the beginning of the film were somewhat amusing