The Old Ones are coming back, and I’m going to let them through.

The Dunwich Horror

(1970)

H.P. Lovecraft purists might understandably object to the liberties taken by this cheapie Roger Corman adaptation, and no one is going to reach the end credits utterly unnerved, but it isn’t a complete wash-out. As clumsy as the direction and storytelling often are, The Dunwich Horror is anchored by a smoothly creepy performance from one Dean Stockwell. Appropriately, he sports a diabolical perm to match his dark dealings.

Stockwell is Wilbur Whateley, a “student of the occult” who wishes to “borrow” a rare copy of the Necronomicon belonging to Dr Armitage (Ed Begley, in his last film role). His plan is to unlock the gates to another dimension, where the Old Ones reside. Nancy (Sandra Dee), a student of Armitage, falls under Whateley’s spell and returns with him to his family pile in the town of Dunwich. She learns of the family’s dark past, including the lynching of Wilbur’s great grandfather for beliefs Wilbur also espouses. Wilbur’s mother resides in the local asylum (“It’s hard to believe she’s only 45 years old”) and something lurks upstairs behind lock and key. And just what does Wilbur have planned for Nancy? Not romance, that’s for sure.

Corman’s American International Pictures had long since left behind the grudging respect garnered by his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. At the time The Dunwich Horror was released, AIP’s repertoire had extended to counterculture exploitation romps like The Trip and Psych-Out. Corman had dabbled in Lovecraft before, 1965’s Die, Monster, Die! (if nothing else, a more arresting title than that of the original story, The Colour Out of Space). That picture received criticism from Lovercraftites that it was attempting to channel Corman’s Poe pictures rather than render the necrotic spirit of Lovecraft (Corman being so cheerfully rip-off minded, this is probable rather than possible). Certainly, while I haven’t seen Monster, Dunwich’s cinematography immediately evokes the lurid decay of the Corman Poe movies.

Daniel Haller directed both these Lovecrafts, suggesting Corman wanted something tonally similar unless he was just being loyal. Haller was a set designer on the Poe adaptations and Monster was his first directing gig, followed by a couple of AIP motorcycle pictures. He didn’t take long to settle into TV work, though, subsequently tackling the likes of Kojak, Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy and Knight Rider (and Manimal, lets not forget Manimal). He doesn’t bring much to Dunwich, short of the bleeding obvious; this is a plodding affair, and what atmosphere there is comes from the production design rather than the staging and editing (an unobtrusive owl sits quietly on the veranda at the Dunwich residence, unmentioned; the glass “ornaments” Wilbur communicates with are suitably odd). The climactic events go on an on without building up to anything very exciting, and then the picture just sort of peters out with an obligatory nod to Rosemary’s Baby.

While Dunwich employs prolific sound effects, the creature side is sorely lacking. Haller lacks the imagination to lift the unseen horror to a level exerting any kind of resonance or unease. There's a thing in a cupboard than can magic off Dee's girlfriend's (Donna Baccala’s) clothes before doing unspeakable things to her. Dee has a triptastic dream resembling a bad day at Glastonbury Festival. Even an (much cheaper) episode of Doctor Who (Image of the Fendahl, which has certain Lovecraftian elements) is able to deliver more lurking menace (and a rubber monster!)

The camera effects aren’t especially inspired, although Sam Raimi and friends must surely have seen and loved the movie; there’s the point-of-view of the “thing” in the woods at the end, surely an influence on Evil Dead. And with an opening line like "And now, if you would take the Necronomicon and return it to the library" one almost expects Bruce Campbell to enter screen left at any moment. There’s a matte shot temple on the cliffs that looks great (The Devil’s Hop Yard) but on the debit side the old age make-up is atrocious (in particular, Lloyd Bochner’s local doctor; his presence in this state is mystifying until all becomes clear during a flashback scene).

This kind of picture needs a strong lead to keep the most attentive viewer from drifting off. Fortunately Stockwell delivers with his special moustache, wicked sideburns, hypno-eyes and quietly persuasive tones. A former child actor who was among the the Corman thing ranks with Nicholson and Hopper (well, those two had just moved on) by this point, Stockwell might be better compared to Roddy McDowall in terms of career (another former child star). Both have made their main mark in TV, with Stockwell’s greatest claim to fame being as the interesting one in Quantum Leap. But since the ‘80s he has also made in-roads with smallish but memorable supporting roles in a broad church of movies, working with everyone from David Lynch to Wim Wenders to Jonathan Demme. One thing that is rare on his CV post-Corman is that of movie lead, so Dunwich should be savoured in that regard (especially as he isn’t playing a biker or a werewolf). Stockwell also appeared in the Begley role in a (roundly slated) 2009 TV version.

As for Stockwell’s co-stars, this appears to have been an attempt by Sandra Dee to muss up her squeaky clean image. Unfortunately, it’s really only rather mild in that regard. The closest she gets to provoking a frisson is when Wilbur wedges the Necronomicon between Nancy’s legs. Sam Jaffe is amusingly fraught as the elderly Whateley. He even gets to deliver the immortal “Now get orf moy land”. Begley is more the mad minister than a man of science, but at least he has presence.

One aspect deserving unqualified praise is the opening titles. Sandy Dvore’s arresting design has a welcome sense of humour, and plays as if Saul Bass was set loose doing a full-on animation. Les Baxter’s score, which becomes annoyingly intrusive during the film itself, is the perfect accompaniment.

It isn’t only Haller who should shoulder the blame for The Dunwich Horror not being all that. Where it falls down is in making so little of the concept. There’s no doubt the original story would have needed reworking to succeed on screen but, aside from the reimagining of Wilbur, most of the choices are rather lacking. There’s the occasional great scene; Stockwell attempting to bury his unconsecrated grandfather on church ground, and being met by a storm of angry townsfolk, is great. There’s also a kind of ramshackle post-Manson '70s vibe to the picture that is a curiously good fit for Lovecraft. But as a whole this never gets under the skin, which is surely the key to a good H.P. Altogether now "Yog-Sothoth…"

***

Your Mickey Mouse is one big stupid dope!

Enemy Mine (1985) (SPOILERS) The essential dynamic of Enemy Mine – sworn enemies overcome their differences to become firm friends – was a well-ploughed one when it was made, such that it led to TV Tropes assuming, since edited, that it took its title from an existing phrase (Barry Longyear, author of the 1979 novella, made it up, inspired by the 1961 David Niven film The Best of Enemies ). The Film Yearbook Volume 5 opined that that Wolfgang Petersen’s picture “ lacks the gritty sauciness of Hell in the Pacific”; John Boorman’s WWII film stranded Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune on a desert island and had them first duking it out before becoming reluctant bedfellows. Perhaps germanely, both movies were box office flops.

No one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.

The Matrix (1999) (SPOILERS) Twenty years on, and the articles are on the defining nature of The Matrix are piling up, most of them touching on how its world has become a reality, or maybe always was one. At the time, its premise was engaging enough, but it was the sum total of the package that cast a spell – the bullet time, the fashions, the soundtrack, the comic book-as-live-action framing and styling – not to mention it being probably the first movie to embrace and reflect the burgeoning Internet ( Hackers doesn’t really count), and subsequently to really ride the crest of the DVD boom wave. And now? Now it’s still really, really good.

If I do nothing else, I will convince them that Herbert Stempel knows what won the goddam Academy Award for Best goddam Picture of 1955. That’s what I’m going to accomplish.

Quiz Show (1994) (SPOILERS) Quiz Show perfectly encapsulates a certain brand of Best Picture nominee: the staid, respectable, diligent historical episode, a morality tale in response to which the Academy can nod their heads approvingly and discerningly, feeding as it does their own vainglorious self-image about how times and attitudes have changed, in part thanks to their own virtuousness. Robert Redford’s film about the 1950s Twenty-One quiz show scandals is immaculately made, boasts a notable cast and is guided by a strong screenplay from Paul Attanasio (who, on television, had just created the seminal Homicide: Life on the Streets ), but it lacks that something extra that pushes it into truly memorable territory.

Say hello to the Scream Extractor.

Monsters, Inc. (2001) (SPOILERS) I was never the greatest fan of Monsters, Inc. , even before charges began to be levelled regarding its “true” subtext. I didn’t much care for the characters, and I particularly didn’t like the way Pixar’s directors injected their own parenting/ childhood nostalgia into their plots. Something that just seems to go on with their fare ad infinitum. Which means the Pixars I preferred tended to be the Brad Bird ones. You know, the alleged objectivist. Now, though, we learn Pixar has always been about the adrenochrome, so there’s no going back…

All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies.

Watership Down (1978) (SPOILERS) I only read Watership Down recently, despite having loved the film from the first, and I was immediately impressed with how faithful, albeit inevitably compacted, Martin Rosen’s adaptation is. It manages to translate the lyrical, mythic and metaphysical qualities of Richard Adams’ novel without succumbing to dumbing down or the urge to cater for a broader or younger audience. It may be true that parents are the ones who get most concerned over the more disturbing elements of the picture but, given the maturity of the content, it remains a surprise that, as with 2001: A Space Odyssey (which may on the face of it seem like an odd bedfellow), this doesn’t garner a PG certificate. As the makers noted, Watership Down is at least in part an Exodus story, but the biblical implications extend beyond Hazel merely leading his fluffle to the titular promised land. There is a prevalent spiritual dimension to this rabbit universe, one very much

Piece by piece, the camel enters the couscous.

The Forgiven (2021) (SPOILERS) By this point, the differences between filmmaker John Michael McDonagh and his younger brother, filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh, are fairly clearly established. Both wear badges of irreverence and provocation in their writing, and a willingness to tackle – or take pot-shots – at bigger issues, ones that may find them dangling their toes in hot water. But Martin receives the lion’s share of the critical attention, while John is generally recognised as the slightly lesser light. Sure, some might mistake Seven Psychopaths for a John movie, and Calvary for a Martin one, but there’s a more flagrant sense of attention seeking in John’s work, and concomitantly less substance. The Forgiven is clearly aiming more in the expressly substantial vein of John’s earlier Calvary, but it ultimately bears the same kind of issues in delivery.

Other monks will meet their deaths here. And they too will have blackened fingers. And blackened tongues.

The Name of the Rose (1986) (SPOILERS) Umberto Eco wasn’t awfully impressed by Jean Jacques-Annaud’s adaptation of his novel – or “ palimpsest of Umberto Eco’s novel ” as the opening titles announce – to the extent that he nixed further movie versions of his work. Later, he amended that view, calling it “ a nice movie ”. He also, for balance, labelled The Name of the Rose his worst novel – “ I hate this book and I hope you hate it too ”. Essentially, he was begrudging its renown at the expense of his later “ superior ” novels. I didn’t hate the novel, although I do prefer the movie, probably because I saw it first and it was everything I wanted from a medieval Sherlock Holmes movie set in a monastery and devoted to forbidden books, knowledge and opinions.

He tasks me. He tasks me, and I shall have him.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) (SPOILERS) I don’t love Star Trek , but I do love Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . That probably isn’t just me, but a common refrain of many a non-devotee of the series. Although, it used to apply to The Voyage Home (the funny one, with the whales, the Star Trek even the target audience for Three Men and a Baby could enjoy). Unfortunately, its high regard has also become the desperate, self-destructive, song-and-verse, be-all-and-end-all of the overlords of the franchise itself, in whichever iteration, it seems. This is understandable to an extent, as Khan is that rare movie sequel made to transcendent effect on almost every level, and one that stands the test of time every bit as well (better, even) as when it was first unveiled.

You ever heard the saying, “Don’t rob the bank across from the diner that has the best donuts in three counties”?

2 Guns (2013) (SPOILERS) Denzel Washington is such a reliable performer, that it can get a bit boring. You end up knowing every gesture or inflection in advance, whether he’s playing a good guy or a bad guy. And his films are generally at least half decent, so you end up seeing them. Even in Flight (or perhaps especially in Flight ; just watch him chugging down that vodka) where he’s giving it his Oscar-nominatable best, he seems too familiar. I think it may be because he’s an actor who is more effective the less he does. In 2 Guns he’s not doing less, but sometimes it seems like it. That’s because the last person I’d ever expect blows him off the screen; Mark Wahlberg.

Maybe the dingo ate your baby.

Seinfeld 2.9: The Stranded The Premise George and Elaine are stranded at a party in Long Island, with a disgruntled hostess.

Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

Search This Blog