Monday, January 12, 2015

The Whisperer In Darkness-Lovecraftian Horror filmed in Old School Horror Cinema Style



It seems that Howard Phillip's Mythos are nigh ubiquitous.  No matter where you look, games (electronic and table top), books, TV and film, the influence of the works of Lovecraft are there.  Tales of alien, mindbending horror lurking at the edges of vision, their very presence breaking down human perceptions, warping minds and shriveling souls.  That's before they even step on the physical stage, as exposure to the fleshly presence of Mythos manifestations is something sought by only the insane or the ignorant.  Given this rich heritage and influence, direct Lovecraft films have gotten relatively few big Hollywood productions.  In fact, it appears that the first will be the long in development Guillermo Del Toro's At The Mountains of Madness, a tale of icy polar alien exploration whose influence can be seen in The Thing (both versions), stories from X-Files (both the season one episode "Ice" and the first film, Fight The Future), and Ronald D. Moore's Helix (season one).  There have been other films with direct Lovecraft influence.  John Carpenter himself has two, Prince of Darkness, and At The Mouth of Madness.  It seems, though, the domain of Lovecraft adaptations is more in smaller budget productions.

The Howard Phillips Lovecraft Historical Society celebrates all things Mythos and seeks to bring to the world loving recreations of the worlds of HPL.  The society dabbles in several media realms, but some of their most remarkable works are film adaptations of Lovecraft's stories, not only seeking to accurately tell his stories, but do them in a way that recreates film styles of old.  Their first film was an adaptation of the classic Call of Cthuhlu, done in the style of yesteryears silent cinema.  Their followup, The Whisperer In Darkness, moves up to the black and white style of the old Universal Monster films and applies them to the Mythos, telling the tale of Professor Albert Wilmarth of Miskatonic University, Arkham, Massachusets, investigating a case of folklore seemingly come to life.  Skeptical of the outlandish claims and feeling the need to defend "scientific integrity", he is overwhelmed by the otherworldly madness he discovers.  But being a brave man and determined to do the right thing, he steps up faced with supernatural horrors and the prospect of an alien incursion.

Lovecraft's tales refuse to just step off the stage.  Despite the difficult language at times, the obvious age of the prose and the times described and the problematic nature of what appears are some of Lovecrafts viewpoints (accusations of racism, nativism, et al), his worlds inspire writers and other creators to this day.  Not only can Lovecraft's voice be heard in other fictional universes, creators return to his worlds and seek to bring them to life before new audiences.

Whisperer In Darkness does just this, with an eye to authenticity as well as excitement, wonder and otherworldly horror. 

This is a good one.  Check it out.




2 comments:

  1. Wow, I had no idea an oufit like the HPLHS was out there, Thanks, Stone!

    ReplyDelete