"The Dunwich Horror" stars "Gidget" babe Sandra Dee as a too-trusting, virginal college student who is personally selected by the creepy Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell) for his diabolical plans. You see, Wilburs' great-grandfather was a warlock publicly executed for his crimes, and now Wilbur is determined to realize what the original warlock and Wilburs' grandfather (Sam Jaffe) could not do: bring about the arrival of "The Old Ones" (ancient demons from another dimension) on Earth, to vanquish mankind.
H.P. Lovecraft admirers tend to denounce this adaptation for not being all that faithful, but taken on its own, it's a respectable attempt to create otherworldly horror. As befitting a directorial gig for a former production designer, Daniel Haller, it's often pretty interesting visually, ex: the Whateley family manor, and the way that the destructive demon views the world (in negative). It does live up to the word "horror", rarely offering a let-up until its big finish. Granted, it's not perfect: the story is resolved a little too quickly, and it would have been better had we never seen the demon at all (this effect does cheapen the proceedings). But it does have a certain intense energy, and a decent body count. It also has a wonderful score by A.I.P. veteran Les Baxter.
Stockwell is very low-key, but you can still tell from the start that he's a weird one, and you want to warn Sandra away from him. The great character actor Ed Begley is effective as the occult-expert hero of the piece; sadly, it marked one of his final appearances in film before he passed away. Ably supporting them are Lloyd Bochner as a helpful doctor, the aforementioned Jaffe as the crazed old man, Joanne Moore Jordan as the doomed Lavinia, Donna Baccala as Sandras' concerned friend, Jason Wingreen as the local sheriff, and a young Talia Shire, in her second feature film appearance, as Bochners' nurse.
One of those credited with the screenplay is future director Curtis Hanson; Roger Corman was the executive producer.
Seven out of 10.
H.P. Lovecraft admirers tend to denounce this adaptation for not being all that faithful, but taken on its own, it's a respectable attempt to create otherworldly horror. As befitting a directorial gig for a former production designer, Daniel Haller, it's often pretty interesting visually, ex: the Whateley family manor, and the way that the destructive demon views the world (in negative). It does live up to the word "horror", rarely offering a let-up until its big finish. Granted, it's not perfect: the story is resolved a little too quickly, and it would have been better had we never seen the demon at all (this effect does cheapen the proceedings). But it does have a certain intense energy, and a decent body count. It also has a wonderful score by A.I.P. veteran Les Baxter.
Stockwell is very low-key, but you can still tell from the start that he's a weird one, and you want to warn Sandra away from him. The great character actor Ed Begley is effective as the occult-expert hero of the piece; sadly, it marked one of his final appearances in film before he passed away. Ably supporting them are Lloyd Bochner as a helpful doctor, the aforementioned Jaffe as the crazed old man, Joanne Moore Jordan as the doomed Lavinia, Donna Baccala as Sandras' concerned friend, Jason Wingreen as the local sheriff, and a young Talia Shire, in her second feature film appearance, as Bochners' nurse.
One of those credited with the screenplay is future director Curtis Hanson; Roger Corman was the executive producer.
Seven out of 10.