It is a sad thing that Lovecraft's writing style lends itself so well to camp and B-flicks and so poorly to artful and complex movies. At least, that is if you are to analyze the movies based on the Mythos. There are very few movies based on Lovecraft's work that surpasses your average B horror movie, and in this case, even though the movie itself looks and feels nothing like a B horror movie, it actually suffers more from it.
We are introduced to Professor Russ Marsh, a homosexual. Basically, that's all we ever learn of him, and it's a bit confusing that his sexual orientation takes up so much screen time. Him being gay does tie in with the story, but not to such an extent that the film makers should be forced to remind us of his orientation every five minutes, which is the case in this movie. At the very beginning of the film, the homosexuality bit feels almost a bit fresh for a Lovecraft film, however.
Over all, the intro to the movie is very moody and beautifully filmed. The car crash is not really much of a surprise, but it helps set a good atmosphere.
Everything falls apart once Russ reaches his home town in Rivermouth (Innsmouth?) county. Russ's father - who appear to be about five years older than Russ - is the leader of some odd cult, and also a horrible actor. He chastises Russ for being gay throughout the movie, and, despite the horrible acting, we are treated to a few nice scenes of a dysfunctional family. The bad acting seems to be the hallmark of Rivermouth county, and with the exception of Russ's childhood friend and soon-to-be lover Mike, the cast's performance ranges from mediocre to dismal.
Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Insmouth is picked apart and shuffled freely as the plot unfolds, and it seemed to me that all the good parts from the story were missing. The Shadow Over Insmouth had several set pieces that have been included in previous adaptations, so I can forgive the screenwriter for not including them, but the bits that are there are so few and far between that you never feel the presence of the Mythos, and you certainly don't feel that you're watching a film based off of a Lovecraft story.
Connecting global calamities like the melting of the polar caps and the war in the Middle East to the Cthulhu Mythos is a nice touch, but it is never delved into, and feels almost like the movie taking a five minute break while bombarding us with stock footage. Not resolving anything is very Lovecraftian, but this movie doesn't even attempt to create any plot or problems not to resolve. Over all, it feels really empty.
The biggest complaint that I have now and that I had when I first heard that this movie was being made, is that the film makers don't really seem interested in the subject matter. The nods to the Cthulhu Mythos in the movie seem stapled on more than anything, and it is quite obvious that no one involved in making the movie had any concept of the Mythos.
I suppose that in order to be able to watch any decent Mythos movies I need to keep turning to the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. They may not have any budget, but they have heart and a deep rooted understanding of the source material. I'd recommend watching The Call of Cthulhu by Andrew Leman and the HPLHS any day over this loose adaptation.
We are introduced to Professor Russ Marsh, a homosexual. Basically, that's all we ever learn of him, and it's a bit confusing that his sexual orientation takes up so much screen time. Him being gay does tie in with the story, but not to such an extent that the film makers should be forced to remind us of his orientation every five minutes, which is the case in this movie. At the very beginning of the film, the homosexuality bit feels almost a bit fresh for a Lovecraft film, however.
Over all, the intro to the movie is very moody and beautifully filmed. The car crash is not really much of a surprise, but it helps set a good atmosphere.
Everything falls apart once Russ reaches his home town in Rivermouth (Innsmouth?) county. Russ's father - who appear to be about five years older than Russ - is the leader of some odd cult, and also a horrible actor. He chastises Russ for being gay throughout the movie, and, despite the horrible acting, we are treated to a few nice scenes of a dysfunctional family. The bad acting seems to be the hallmark of Rivermouth county, and with the exception of Russ's childhood friend and soon-to-be lover Mike, the cast's performance ranges from mediocre to dismal.
Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Insmouth is picked apart and shuffled freely as the plot unfolds, and it seemed to me that all the good parts from the story were missing. The Shadow Over Insmouth had several set pieces that have been included in previous adaptations, so I can forgive the screenwriter for not including them, but the bits that are there are so few and far between that you never feel the presence of the Mythos, and you certainly don't feel that you're watching a film based off of a Lovecraft story.
Connecting global calamities like the melting of the polar caps and the war in the Middle East to the Cthulhu Mythos is a nice touch, but it is never delved into, and feels almost like the movie taking a five minute break while bombarding us with stock footage. Not resolving anything is very Lovecraftian, but this movie doesn't even attempt to create any plot or problems not to resolve. Over all, it feels really empty.
The biggest complaint that I have now and that I had when I first heard that this movie was being made, is that the film makers don't really seem interested in the subject matter. The nods to the Cthulhu Mythos in the movie seem stapled on more than anything, and it is quite obvious that no one involved in making the movie had any concept of the Mythos.
I suppose that in order to be able to watch any decent Mythos movies I need to keep turning to the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. They may not have any budget, but they have heart and a deep rooted understanding of the source material. I'd recommend watching The Call of Cthulhu by Andrew Leman and the HPLHS any day over this loose adaptation.