Oh, and there is a Japanese version of The Shadow Over Insmouth that I'd really like to see. Innsmouth wo oou kage
I have no idea if it is good or not, but the picture makes me interested.
Which Lovecraft story would translate best to film?
I used ot work mfor a movie blog and I was sent a copy of the script for Guillermo del Toro' doomed movie adaptation of At The Montains of Madness. I was very very impressed. It was like The Thing but set in the 20's with Lovecraftian elements.
*Spoilers*... if it ever comes out.
The Shogoth's were a mass of tenticles that would absorb flesh and reconstruct it. My favortie scene in the movie would have been when a couple sled dogs ran off and the owner chases them.. once he finds them hesees thes eweird tenticles coming out of the ice and waving in the air. He finds one of the dogs cut in half on the ground.. when he gets too close the intestines for mouthes on the ends of them and they pretty much rip the guy to peaces.. it would have been an amazing movie. Lets hope with all the stuff on his plate he can get the time to do it.. maybe after Hobbit? *Crosses fingers*
I really hope that gets the greenlight, it sounds pretty cool. As for the Dunwich Horror trailer... It looks like one of those movies that will be really horrible but fun to watch, although it doesn't look very Lovecraftian. I just hope they don't fill it with that horrible 'jumpy' horror stuff. A dude with a chainsaw popping on-screen in a moment of tension is not horror!!!!!
I must say, I don't mind Stuart Gordon movies. They're suitably less Lovecraftian than Lovecraft, but I think that's important as Lovecraft's work is quite dated (I think that's half of the reason people like it so much). Stuart Gordon's style is more in-line with modern, especially his exploration of the connection between intimacy and horror; the scene in Dagon where the hero is with a woman that turns out to be half octopus is a great example. People in Lovecraft's time were constantly vulnerable due to disease, unemployment and war; modern people aren't nearly so in danger all of the time, so Gordon makes the familiar horrifying.
I saw Cthulhu (2007) today. I really liked it, although one has to go into it knowing that it won't be an exact adaptation of The Shadow over Innsmouth . Still a worthwhile Lovecraftian production if ever I've seen one. Great filmography, and decent acting. The only downside would be that you have to already be a Lovecraft fan to understand it. The first time someone reads a Lovecraft novel, they don't really know what's going on yet. That's kind of what this movie is, and IMO that actually gives it a special charm.
And yeah, I can see del Toro giving a nice personal touch to Lovecraft. If anyone can do the source material justice, it's him.
It's finally happening...
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From Ain't It Cool News:
The Elder Things are ready for their close up.
Michael Fleming of Deadline New York is reporting that Guillermo del Toro's next film will be his long-awaited adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" - with James Cameron joining Don Murphy and Susan Montford as producers. And it's going to be shot in 3-D. I first heard this was a possibility last week at Comic Con, but when del Toro's DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK panel came and went without an announcement, I figured there was still work to be done with regards to securing the necessary financing from Universal.
Interestingly, Fleming's article avoids any mention of budget or rating, both of which are integral to properly transferring Lovecraft's short story to the big screen. My understanding is that the film will be big (probably with a budget in the neighborhood of $100 million), but I've got nothing reliable as to whether it will be an R or PG-13 rating. I know Guillermo has always dreamed about doing AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS as an R-rated tentpole horror film in the tradition of THE THING or THE EXORCIST; it's my hope that Cameron's involvement will persuade Universal to give del Toro free, terrifying rein on a movie I believe he was born to make. Please don't hold this guy back.
Now that the cat's out of the bag (perhaps prematurely), I hope to hear more from del Toro, Murphy and Montford on how they plan to realize Lovecraft's horrifying vision. If done right, this could be one of the scariest movies ever made.
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Now I'm kinda glad MGM couldn't get their act together on The Hobbit. This could be a nice consolation prize, eh?
I'm greatly looking forward to the movie but I'm not holding my breath for a HPLHS-accurate adaption of the story. A large portion of it is the history of the Elder Things as told by deciphered picture-glyphs & murals on the walls of their city. Possibly the most difficult portion to film & therefore, reason for Hollywood to take big liberties with the rest to work around it.
I think "Thing on the Doorstep" would make a decent movie. None of the big mythos chaps were in it, so you wouldn't have that high a budget from special effects. The basic storyline: Guy shoots friend, guy enters asylum, retelling of events leading up to shooting, University setting...
I like it! =D
I don't think special effects should even come into making a Lovecraft story into a film, the problem with many adaptations is they try to show too much of the creature, Lovecraft never really gave great detail of many of his creatures. The point therefore would be to keep the effects to a minimum and not show a whole lot of the creatures, thereby truly being faithful to Lovecraft's mythos, I see the problem is in the minds of the film maker of today where you have to show everything, and as a result the works of Lovecraft become so overwhelming to turn into a successful film, people don't want you to merely suggest things in movies, they want their summer action adventure blockbusters.
The shadow over Insmouth. And it's already been done: "Dagon" (2001)
Ok first off: they moved the setting from new-england to Spain, to the fictional town of Imboca (literaly translates as "in-mouth")
wait, come back, this is not a bad thing, it means the deep one cults are spreading all over the earth., second:
The movie perfectly captures the feeling of being isloated in a run down, squalid, slimy, threatening town being hunted by deformed locals. The old drunk who's the last person in town not in league with the deep ones tells a chilling tale of what happened to Imboca (Same thing as capt. Obed did in the shadow over Insmouth). "I. am. Last man. in Imboca."
Definatly worth checking out!
Also check out the short black and white movies prodcued by the HPL Historical Society.
"The call of cthulhu" (done in silent format with pre-king kong style stop-motion for Cthulhu,)
"The whisperer in darkness" (done in black and white as if it had been made during the 1930s)
The shadow over Insmouth. And it's already been done: "Dagon" (2001)
Definatly worth checking out!
Well, the movie isn't terrible, but don't expect too much from it... I'm still waiting for a Lovecraft movie that I can recommend whole-heartedly.
I'm quite enthusiastic about it because i had such low hopes of it being any good, that i was pleasantly suprised with how well it turned out. But it seems Lovecraft movies are hard to do right in film.
How about "In the mouth of madness"? Its a good movie, the only problem is that its not based on any HPL story.
Have you seen "the call of cthulhu" and "the whisperer in darkness" by the HPL historical society?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd5gWGfnK5M
the works of lovecraft are too numerus to put in one movie. if i would have been given the honor of filming cthulhu mythos i would have made a tv siries.
anyway if only one short story could be translated into a film i think the Dunwich Horror would fit best.
Shadow over.
Oh...wait...