The Dunwich Horror (2009)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The film is as cheap and mediocre (leaning towards bad) as you can guess. Bad directing, bad effects (that's the least), a rather sloppy plot that doesn't really do any justice to the original material. The acting is better than I expected, but doesn't deserve praise either. The only real reason to watch the film is that there is such a shortage of Cthulhu Mythos based movies (and how few of them are actually good!) that a true fan will try anything. The house-searching scene was the only one that showed a little bit of inspiration, albeit poorly executed. Other than that you get a pointless background (really far in the background) romance, a rather silly version of Olaus Vormius and a momentary presence of Abdul Alhazred who kind of steals the show.

*** SPOILER ALERT *** OMG, I loved this movie! I am a Lovecraft fan, albeit not a purist, so I really enjoy updated takes on his stories. This movie was a really great, modern take on The Dunwich Horror. I was hooked from the very beginning to the slimy, tentacled end! Griff Furst, as Walter Rice, with his ever-so-dreamy eyes and fantastic acting, really made this movie for me. I really connected with and believed his character. Not to mention that I caught myself humming Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" a few times, LOL. Bravo, casting director!!!!! I was also happy to see Dean Stockwell (Dr. Henry Armitage) and Jeffrey Combs (Wilbur Whateley) - two exceptional Lovecraft movie alums - in this film as well. I was a fan of Stockwell's first Dunwich film also, and let's face it, Combs has brought Lovecraft mythos to life for countless fans for over 2 decades now. I only have 2 complaints. (1) Both of their deaths (Wilbur and Armitage) seemed a little quick to me ... I mean, Lovecraft is known for writing about gory, slimy death throes that can last entire lifetimes, and these two seemed to be snuffed out in a second or two. Oh, well. And (2) I just couldn't quit giggling when the 'Sumerian incantation pyramid' thing was -- a 1980's Rubik's Pyramid painted bronze (I know, because I had one 'back in the day,' LOL). I'd kind of like to see a sequel ... maybe see Rice and Morgan as a Lovecraftian X-Files??? Hello, Hollywood? :D

Initially I was kind of excited to see that Jeffrey Combs was in the movie, so it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch it. And I am a huge fan of H. P. Lovecraft's work and all the Lovecraftian work that followed in his wake. This movie, however, was somewhat of a lukewarm attempt, to be bluntly honest.The story does stay fairly close to the story of the Whateley's as Lovecraft initially built it up, but at the same time there is a bit too much other loose ends thrown into the frame. Ends that are never really seen through and come full circle. In that way, there is a lot of things going on in the movie, too many things in my opinion, and most of these things doesn't really get to be concluded."The Dunwich Horror" suffered from a fairly weak acting crew, with most performances being mediocre to look at. Had they managed to put more enthusiastic people into the movie, it would have come out with a more vibrant and appealing result. And the dialogue didn't really help lift up the movie, because it was halting and at times embarrassing to witness.What did work for the movie was Jeffrey Combs, of course. As always it is nice to see him in a Lovecraft-inspired movie. And his name is usually associated with such. Unfortunately, his character wasn't given enough on-screen time. "The Dunwich Horror" is not one of Comb's more impressive performances, but being a fan of his, I just had to sit through this movie. And aside from Combs, then the core essence of the Whateley's was also pretty nicely interpreted.There was a bit too much name-dropping in the movie, with lots of references to places, people and such in the Lovecraft-created Cthulhu mythos. But most of this was irrelevant, and seemed to be put in there only to impress the really hardcore Lovecraft fans, people who are familiar with these names. To other people, it is just a bunch of random and pointless facts. The reference to (August) Derleth was, however, a bit surprising.As for the effects and CGIs in "The Dunwich Horror", well, they were low-budget, and it was showing clearly. Hats off to them for their effort, just a shame that they didn't have a bigger budget for these effects. There were some shots where Yog Sothoth actually looked rather nice. So the effects weren't all bad. The storms that ravaged the buildings, well that is a whole other story. You have to see that to believe it!In my honest opinion, then this adaption (or interpretation) of "The Dunwich Horror" is not really one of the better Lovecraft-based pieces of work around. Sadly, most of these movies are B-movies and often fail to leave impressions in the viewers. This is one such movie, which is a shame, because it had potential. Had they trimmed down the plot-lines and put in some more whole-hearted actors, the outcome would have been much better and would have had a chance to actually become noteworthy.

I used to read Lovecraft in my early days and I remember being absolutely fascinated by the creepy atmosphere of his dark, menacing world. Movie adaptations never fail to disappoint me however, probably it's very difficult to translate his grotesque fantasies to the big screen. With this one it's no different. You can applaud them for trying to stick close to Lovecraft, but the flaws of this production are so abundant that it's hard to find anything positive to say.First of all: the special effects are terrible on all accounts, from the silly fake tentacles of the supposed monster that stretch out to the victims, and the flashes of a big sharp-toothed jaw that's supposed to belong to the mighty monster Cthulhu, up to the CGI in the last half hour that's supposed to conjure up an orgiastic climax but turns out even faker than fake.The acting seemed over all mediocre and uninspired. Dean Stockwell obviously didn't want to bother too much and just went through the (few) motions that were required of him. Jeffrey Combs is like a piece of Lovecraft furniture that you apparently cannot do without when you do a Lovecraft-adaptation, and in this capacity he did okay. The main parts are for Sarah Lieving and Griff Furst as a love couple (is that genuine Lovecraft material?? I doubt that!). Sarah Lieving is (or has to play) a bit of a stern and stiff lady, she sure is good-looking but didn't convince me a bit as the supposed fanatic supernatural witch-hunter, she's far too restrained and civilized.But I was pleasantly surprised with Griff Furst. I didn't know him yet but he impressed me as a talented and very natural actor with a good sense of timing and a definite sparkle of humour in his eyes - and very good-looking to boot! The part of the well-bred and educated professor who's reluctant to get drawn into this supernatural adventure but at last bravely makes the best of it, fitted him like a glove.All in all this seems like a waste of some good material (original story, Stockwell and Furst), I rank it a meagre 3 out of 10.