Delve Deeper
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Heading West...
I will be offline for about a week as I head out West (Oklahoma) for a long needed vacation...
I would like to take this time to thank all of you for your support and for making the new Unfilmable.com such a cyclopean success! Also, If you could be my eyes while I'm away, and email me links for any articles of interest you may find, I would greatly appreciate it...
Updates will resume as soon as I get back...
Thanks and take care,
Craig Mullins
AM 1200 wins again...
Australia's A Night of Horror International Film Festival has announced it's 2009 award winners and David Prior's AM 1200 was awarded "Best Lovecraft Film". The film also won awards for "Best of Festival" and "Best Cosmic Horror Film" at last years H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival...
About the film: Cocky investment analyst Sam Larson has a lot on his mind. After a financial scam goes horribly wrong, he hits the road in a desperate bid to outrun his guilt. A fragment of a radio broadcast, that may or may not be a distress call, lures him to an isolated transmitting station and into a terrifying mystery of murder, madness and the insatiable hunger of a power beyond his comprehension...
(Thanks to www.anightofhorror.com)
Pickman's Models: Who is Erich Zann...
Welcome to Pickman's Models…
The Music of Erich Zann, my favorite of Lovecraft's tales, has inspired numerous filmmakers in wildly different ways, but lucky for us, the results have often been amazing...
So this week, I've decided to showcase some of the actors who've portrayed Erich Zann over the years from Robert Alexander in John Strysik's 1980 adaptation through Dale Bradley in Gabriel Bradley's 2009 film…
Cristiana Vaccaro as Carlotta Zann in La Casa sfuggita (The Shunned House, 2003) by Ivan Zuccon
Benny S. Cannon as Erich Zahn in Asleep in the Deep (2005) by Paul von Stoetzel
Die Musik des Erich Zann (2005) by Anna Gawrilow (Erich Zann created by Anna Gawrilow)
Edward Keith Baker as Erich Zann in The Music of Erich Zann (2005) by Christopher Marston
Dale Bradley as Erich Zann in The Music of Erich Zann (2009) by Gabriel Bradley
Fishmen on DVD...
Mya Communication will release Sergio Martino's 1979 film Island of the Fishmen (released in the U.S a year later under the title Screamers) on DVD May 19th...
The film, said to be inspired by The Shadow Over Innsmouth, stars Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli, Richard Johnson and Joseph Cotton and revolves around shipwrecked prisoners that find themselves trapped on an island with a strange couple who are turning men into fishmen...
The DVD comes with trailers and an image gallery, and retails for $24.95...
(Thanks to www.fangoria.com)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Quoth Cthulhu: The Resurrected...
Time for your weekly dose of Quoth Cthulhu...
This one comes from one of the more memorable performances in a Lovecraft film, Chris Sarandon's portrayal of Joseph Curwen in Dan O'Bannon's The Resurrected (1992)...
I should strip thy flesh from thy bones like a suckling pig, but because I am a madman, they would do nothing to me. Such are the customs of this enlightened century.
- Joseph Curwen (played by Chris Sarandon)
(Thanks to Chris Sarandon)
Friday, April 24, 2009
Shunned images...
Director Eric Morgret passed along a couple images from Maelstrom Productions latest short film, The Shunned House. Deep in post-production, the film was written by K.L. Young and stars J.D. Lloyd, Jerry Lloyd (both from Maelstrom's Strange Aeons) and Rick Tillman (director of Pickman's Model and The Summoning)...
Watch this space for more...
(Thanks to Eric Morgret)
Zompire: The Undead Film Festival 2009...
It's not Lovecraft, but it's run by the same people and they put on one hell of a festival...
For Immediate Release:
It's that time of year again! Come one, come all and watch hours of undead goodness. Zompire: The Undead Film Festival - featuring Training Films for Undead Preparedness since 2004!
DATE/TIME:
May 15-16-17, 2009
Doors open at 6:00pm, Show times from 7:00pm-1:00am
LOCATION:
The Hollywood Theatre
4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
Portland OR 97213
TICKET PRICES:
Evening passes: $10 per day, $25 for weekend pass
(Thanks to Sarah L. Gerhardt)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Images that Came from Sarnath...
For Immediate Release:
Production has begun on Red Hatchet Films latest Lovecraft film, Bokrug, a stop-motion adaptation of The Doom that Came to Sarnath (see our first mention of the project here)! The film tells the story of the decadent city of Sarnath, whose greatness is built on the destruction of an older, primitive race of beings who live in the stone city of Ib, where they worshiped an ancient, reptilian god called "Bokrug". On the night of the 1000th anniversary of Ib's destruction, strange forces signal that the beings of Ib are about to be avenged...
Head over to the official Red Hatchet Films blog for additional images and information...
(Thanks to Michael Granberry)
New Tell-Tale clip...
Dread Central has all the latest on Michael Cuesta's Tell-Tale, based on Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, which will screen at this years Tribeca Film Festival...
Check out the image below, or visit Dread Central for the latest clip...
(Thanks to Dread Central)
Latest Locke & Key comics reviewed...
Fangoria.com reviews the latest issues of Locke & Key: Head Games (#3 & 4) here...
(Thanks to www.fangoria.com)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
New Cthulhu DVD review...
Head over to Dread Central for the latest DVD review of Dan Gildark's Cthulhu...
"...Cthulhu feels like a wild fever-induced nightmare."
- Andrew Kasch
(Thanks to Dread Central)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Dream-Quest on Amazon...
Guerrilla Productions' animated feature Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, a film that I'm proud to have been a part of, is now available on Amazon.com. Adapted from Lovecraft's 1926 classic, Dream-Quest features artwork by Jason B. Thompson and music by Cyokha Grace O'Manion…
The DVD includes two bonus short films (also adapted from Lovecraft), theatrical teasers and trailers…
Autographed copies available upon request...
(Thanks to Edward Martin III)
Strange Aeons screening at World Horror Con...
Maelstrom Productions' Strange Aeons, adapted from The Thing on the Doorstep, will screen at the World Horror Con in Winnepeg, Manitoba which runs April 30 through May 3, 2009. Written by K.L. Young and directed by Eric Morgret, Aeons stars Angela M. Grillo, J.D. Lloyd, Jerry Lloyd and Erick Robertson...
The Tabloid Witch award winner is available from Lurker Films as part of the H.P. Lovecraft Collection...
Click here for WHC details...
(Thanks to K.L. Young)
Planet Lovecraft Sketchbook out now...
Inspired by the small-press 'zines of the 70's, the Planet Lovecraft Sketchbook is 36 pages of never-before-seen roughs, drawings and sketches from artists that are mostly associated with Planet Lovecraft Magazine...
Limited to 250 signed and numbered copies, each 8.5" x 5.5" copy is numbered and autographed by artists Rob Corless, Lee Davis and John Fulton. Retail is $10.00...
The Planet Lovecraft Sketchbook will be offered at various con appearances, but if anyone is interested in grabbing one via mail, contact PL via their official MySpace page for details...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Cthulhu (?) in new Guitar Hero: Metallica video game
I'm sure you all already know this, being the young hip video game players that you are. But one of the venues in the new "Guitar Hero: Metallica" video game is called "The Ice Cave."
The band flies to Antarctica in a prop engine plane (a Dornier?), to a stage constructed of ice.
As they start, tentacles rise out of the ground and drag it down to a subterranean lair where a giant monstrous creature slithers and watches (with a giant eye that looks like the one from the Michael Whelan cover of the Ballantine edition of the HPL collections).
The song they play is, of course, "The Thing That Should Not Be":
Messenger of fear in sight
Dark deception kills the light
Hybrid children watch the sea
Pray for father, roaming free
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great old one
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell
Crawling chaos, underground
Cult has summoned, twisted sound
Out from ruins once possessed
Fallen city, living death
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Timeless sleep
Has been upset
He awakens
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell
Not dead which eternal lie
Stranger eons death may die
Drain you of your sanity
Face the thing that should not be
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great old one
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the shadows is rising
Immortal
In madness you dwell.
(images added by Craig Mullins)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
New Lovecraft comics...
New Lovecraft comics released this (past) week...
Cthulhu Tales Vol. 4: The Darkness Beyond
$15.99
Image Comics
The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft
$4.99
(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown DVD very close...
According to a new blog post from Wyrdstuff's F.H. Woodward, they are "very, very close to signing with a distributor who will release Lovecraft [Fear Of The Unknown] on DVD and BluRay in North America." The unnamed distributor will also sell the film to international markets...
Quoth Cthulhu: Lovecraft on film...
In keeping with the Lovecraft themed Pickman's Models, this weeks Quoth Cthulhu comes directly from Lovecraft himself. The first quote is from a 1933 letter to Richard Morse and the second from a 1933 correspondence with Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright, in response to being asked about a radio adaptation of Dreams in the Witch House...
"I shall never permit anything bearing my signature to be banalised and vulgarised into the flat infantile twaddle which passes for "horror tales" amongst radio and cinema audiences!"
- H.P. Lovecraft
"It is not likely that any really finely wrought weird story - where so much depends upon mood, and on nuances of description - could be changed to a drama without irreparable cheapening and the loss of all that gave it power."
- H.P. Lovecraft
(Thanks to H.P. Lovecraft)
Pickman's Models: Lovecraft in film...
Since news broke about the possible adaptation of The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft, I thought it appropriate that this weeks Pickman's Models showcase several actors who have already played the part of Lovecraft...
The first is Christopher Heyerdahl, who portrayed Lovecraft so well that many thought the footage genuine, in Raymond Saint-Jean's 1998 TV movie Out of Mind: The Stories of H.P. Lovecraft...
An who can forget Jeffrey Combs turn as HPL in Brian Yuzna's 1993 anthology film, Necronomicon (with segments by Yuzna, Christophe Gans and Shusuke Kaneko)...
(Thanks to Jeffrey Combs and Christopher Heyerdahl)
Stuart Gordon on Yog Radio...
Check out the latest episode of Yog Radio (episode #35) for an interview with Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, Dagon)...
(Thanks to Yog-Sothoth.com)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Re-Penetrator at Fango's WoH LA...
Tommy Pistol and Gia Paloma will be promoting Doug Sakmann's Re-Penetrator and Evil Head at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in LA today through Sunday! You can find them at Tom Devlin's 1313FX table promoting the movies, Tommy's new horror/comedy short Attack of the Staph Spider, and selling Post Mortem Pinups and Re-Penetrator...
You can also pick up some of Doug's other movies including Punk Rock Holocaust, Slumber Party Slaughterhouse and the Sick and Twisted Horror of Joanna Angel at the Halo-8 booth..
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Updated: Forthcoming Terrors: Will Ligotti Frolic again...
Thomas Ligotti is widely acknowledged as the greatest living author of the weird tale, and a worthy successor to H.P. Lovecraft, but he hasn't faired as well cinematically with Jacob Cooney's The Frolic the only film making it to the big (or small) screen...
Here I have compiled a list of projects Ligotti has mentioned in interviews he has given over the years, all of which can be accessed via the source links. Some of these films are still in development while others are already dead...
Crampton
(written by Brandon Trenz and Thomas Ligotti)
"...was originally written as an X-Files episode and was later published as a book by David Tibet's Durtro Press."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: www.eldritch-infernal.com
"...nothing came of those meetings as far as the two screenplays [The Last Feast of Harlequin and Crampton] you mention. They are officially dead."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: theteemingbrain.wordpress.com
The Frolic
(short)
Production company: Jane Kelly Kosek
Director: Jacob Cooney
Writer: Brandon Trenz and Thomas Ligotti
Cast: Michael Reilly Burke, Maury Sterling and Jennifer Aspen
Plot: Based on the story by Thomas Ligotti...
Release date: 2007
Website: Wonder Entertainment
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0997064/
Notes: Watch the teaser here, purchase the DVD here...
The Frolic
(feature)
Synopsis: A prison psychologist returns home from his last day at work, an early retirement brought about by prolonged exposure to his latest subject, a serial killer known only as John Doe, who preys upon children. Doe is a psychotic Peter Pan who describes his murderous actions or "frolicking" as a way of "freeing" the children from their drab, earthly confines...
"I hope to someday dive into another one of Tom's works and visually explore the dark world of Ligotti the way we all would love to see...possibly in the full length version of The Frolic, which is currently in development."
- Jacob Cooney (director: The Frolic)
source: www.ligotti.net
"The lastest word is from the producer of "The Frolic," Jane Kosek, is that she contacted the head guy at Fox Atomic, and he wants to see the short film as well as an outline for a feature film from Brandon Trenz and me."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: theteemingbrain.wordpress.com
In a Foreign Land, In a Foreign Town
About the book: Contains the short stories His shadow shall rise to a higher house, The bells will sound forever, A soft voice whispers nothing and When you hear the singing, you will know it is time...
"...there are negotiations in process to do something for television or film based on In a Foreign Land, In a Foreign town."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: www.eldritch-infernal.com
Michigan Basement
(written by Brandon Trenz and Thomas Ligotti and based on The Last Feast of Harlequin)
"Another script, unproduced, is loosely based on my story "The Last Feast of Harlequin" and is titled Michigan Basement."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: www.eldritch-infernal.com
"...nothing came of those meetings as far as the two screenplays [The Last Feast of Harlequin and Crampton] you mention. They are officially dead."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: theteemingbrain.wordpress.com
My Work Is Not Yet Done
Synopsis: When junior manager Frank Dominio is suddenly demoted and then sacked it seems there was more than a grain of truth to his persecution fantasies. But as he prepares to even the score with those responsible for his demise, he unwittingly finds an ally in a dark and malevolent force that grants him supernatural powers. Frank takes his revenge in the most ghastly ways imaginable - but there will be a terrible price to pay once his work is done. Destined to be a cult classic, this tale of corporate horror and demonic retribution will strike a chord with anyone who has ever been disgruntled at work...
"...is the most viable thing I've written for the purposes of a movie adaptation. Actually, the story was originally conceived as a film script."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: www.scifi.com
"...the work of mine that I would most want to see made into a film is my short novel My Work Is Not Yet Done."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: www.horrorgarage.com
The Nightmare Factory
About the book: Contains the short stories The Last Feast of Harlequin, Dream of a Mannikin, Dr. Locrian's Asylum, Teatro Grottesco, Gas Station Carnivals, The Clown Puppet, The Chymist and The Sect of the Idiot...
"All of the stories in The Nightmare Factory are part of an exclusive option-to-buy agreement with Fox Atomic."
- Thomas Ligotti
source: www.scifi.com
Note: An animated Nightmare Factory trailer can be found here...
Earthbound cosmic horror...
Daniel Lenneér and Millroad Film have released a trailer for their silent, black & white short film Earthbound (originally titled From Earth). Set in the 1920's, Earthbound is a grueling tale of cosmic horror and a tribute to the classic tales of H.P. Lovecraft. The film is scheduled for release this spring...
The trailer, which is a mix of B&W footage, green screen work and CGI, can be found here...
(Thanks to Grim Reviews)
Shoreline's From Beyond...
Here's an update on a film that I covered on the old Unfilmable.com site...
Bloody-disgusting.com has learned (late last year) that Shoreline Entertainment plans to either remake Stuart Gordon's classic From Beyond or turn the property into a TV series. The film is still listed as in pre-production...
About the film: Detective Davis Tillinghast is a modern day Sherlock Holmes, using his keen intellect and powers of deduction to solve the cases no one else can ... until now. A series of bizarre and seemingly impossible mutilations have him stumped, the only tenuous clue leading back to the laboratory of his estanged brother Crawford, a crazed genius obsessed with inter-dimensional physics. Crawford has invented an instrument that hyper-stimulates the pineal gland of the brain, making visible the many thousands of parallel universes that occupy our space/time continuum. But unbeknownst to him this machine is also empowering creatures from other realities, giving them the ability to "drift" - travel between dimensions. Davis discovers that a "drifter" has been causing the random mutilations and sets out to destroy his brother's machine. In the process, Davis is exposed to a vast amount of the machine's energy, turning him too into a drifter...
(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
"North 40" and Lovecraft promos...
Multi-talented musician Mars (Nyarlathotep, Lovecraft: Fear Of The Unknown) has created promo videos for Wildstorm's forthcoming comic "North 40" and Larry Latham's web comic Lovecraft is Missing...
(Thanks to Mars)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Lovecraftian Idol...
Below you will find a promotional still from Jesse Watson's Lovecraft inspired short film, The Idol. The film premiered at the Late Night Horror Film Festival in LA and won for best direction. Peter Luyckx and Jesse Watson star...
About the film: When Jason rents a basement in the prior home of an archeologist, he is fascinated by the discovery of an ancient idol just sitting on the mantle. But as he examines it, the idol appears to lash out at him, causing him to drop and shatter it, with regrettable results...
(Thanks to Jesse Watson)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Tom Sullivan reviews The Other Gods...
From the Unfilmable.com archives...
The film is: H. P. Lovecraft's The Other Gods, Special Edition
Animated short film: 5 min 45 Sec
Director: Peter Rhodes
Producers: Michael Boas
Music: Keith Handy (www.keithhandy.com)
Web: http://www.maddogmovies.com/theothergods/
For the record this is my first film review for Craig Mullin's excellent site Unfilmable.com dedicated to the spread of creeping chaos that is the cultural effect of the arcane author H. P. Lovecraft's writings. It's icy tentacles have even gripped me. Craig has sent me a hefty box of Lovecraft inspired movies in exchange for my promise to review them. As more Lovecraft films are being produced constantly as Unfilmable.com documents with updates my task may never end. And I am already insane...
Which leads me to my first film review. It must have been the fates that my hand should pick this film out of the large box of options. For this film contains all the ingredients for what I have determined to be essential Lovecraft elements. Please argue with me on these points I am here to learn.
This film is actually a document. The director, Peter Rhodes was an acquaintance of H. P. Lovecraft and a time line and biography of this obscure but powerful artist can be read at the Mad Dog Movies website. My research online wasn't able to find anything other than the producer's site but that's not unexpected due to the lack of exposure and short life this artist endured. One of my favorite Lovecraft elements is the information derived from the unusual source. A stack of Peter Rhodes films were discovered and Producer Michael Boas has spared no effort in the restoration.
The Other Gods tells the story of the proud and arrogant Barzai the Wise and his ascent of Hatheg-Kla to see the faces of the Gods. His cautious disciple Atal follows but only Barzai can muster the obsession to reach the pinnacle. The Gods leave a chiseled message in Mount Hatheg-Kla for all who may follow the poor foolish Barzai.
Peter Rhodes tells his story with back lit flat paper puppets moved via stop motion animation. This technique and artistic design of the production enhances the ancient setting of the story.
The story is an accurate and unsettling warning about tempting the Gods and although short like the original story it is just as effective. When Barzai gazes upon the face of Nyarlathotep, Rhodes gives us a psychedelic experience generations ahead of his time. Or perhaps the artist made excursions into the hallucinogens available at the time and took notes. I'll leave for scholars of the Pnakotic Manuscripts to seek any ritual significance of the complex designs in this sequence that could be keys to open dimensions best kept shut.
There are notes about the director and French Subtitles.
I can only issue the same calls found in Lovecraft's original story of The Other Gods...
The other gods! The other gods! The gods of the outer hells that guard the feeble gods of earth!...look away...Go back...Do not see! Do not see!
In the great tradition of Lovecraft's props and people such as the Necronomicon and the Mad Arab readers have assumed the reality of these literary creations. Producer Michael Boas has managed to fool me into believing Peter Rhodes actually existed. When you find the "hidden menu" on the disc, Director Michael Boas spills the beans on his perfectly presented cinema event. Michael Boas is the creator/animator of this film. Peter Rhodes is a fiction who seems to have taken on a life of his own.
There is a rewarding amount of bonus material for such a short film including a short documentary, early versions of the film, a twenty-two minute interview, storyboards as well as the original story.
A visit to Mike's site www.maddogmovies.com/theothergods will carry on the fun with Peter Rhodes but I couldn't see any mention of Michael Boas himself. This talented animator and film maker deserves a big applause for a film well done in the best Lovecraftian vein.
Come on Mike take a bow!
- Tom Sullivan
http://www.darkageproductions.com/
http://www.myspace.com/evildeadtomsullivan
Please note: A different set of images accompanied this review when it originally appeared...
Copyright © 2007, 2009 Tom Sullivan
Bram Stoker screens Colour from the Dark...
Ivan Zuccon's latest feature, Colour from the Dark (based on The Colour out of Space), will screen at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival in Whitby, England. The festival runs the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th of October...
Click here for details...
(Thanks to Ivan Zuccon)
View Road to L online...
Federico Greco's 2002 film Il Mistero di Lovecraft (Road to L.) is now available online! The pay per view service, which you can find here, retails for € 1,99 (roughly $2.62)...
About the film: 1997: A student of folklore named Andrea Roberti hypothesizes the possible link between the horror literature of H.P. Lovecraft and the dark folk tales of the Po Delta, a mysterious and remote part of northern Italy. 2002: One of the directors of the film comes across a manuscript in Montecatini (Italy) which may have belonged to the American writer. This journal, dated 1926, describes travels in Italy through the Po Delta in search of inspiration in the form of local folk stories: the Filò Tales. 2004: A small, tough crew of international filmmakers is put together with the help of David, a New York actor, to make a documentary on the finding of the journal and on the links between Lovecraft and the Po Delta. If the manuscript really did belong to Lovecraft, it would be an extraordinary discovery. As soon as they begin, however, the filmmakers find that Andrea Roberti disappeared in mysterious circumstances many years before, his car found abandoned on the banks of the Po. The crew sets up its base in the town of Loreo – referred to simply as L. in the manuscript – as the author of the journal did. During their investigations the atmosphere of animosity and foreboding rises and they soon discover that strange and disturbing things have been happening in the area. Events that the locals are eager to keep secret. The film “Road to L.” is the true account of what took place behind the scenes of the 11 day shoot, reporting how the failures and revelations experienced in L. came to resemble ever more a journey to… Hell. Did Lovecraft really come into contact with something sinister? Did Andrea Roberti stumble across something he wasn’t meant to find? The documentary makers are stepping too far into the unknown...
"In a time where so much horror seems to be focused upon excess, yet missing the narrative to support the splatter, it was really refreshing to sit down and watch a film that focused more upon suggestion and subtle atmospheric chills."
- Horrorsociety.com
(Thanks to Federico Greco)
The Wendigo sleeps for now...
Woodruff Laputka's Alaskan adaptation of Algernon Blackwood's The Wendigo (a film that was announced at last years HPLFF) has had production pushed back until 2010. Weather is the main culprit...
Dunwich On Demand...
Elisa, who maintains the great Combs Corner blog, sends word that Leigh Scott's The Dunwich Horror is now available On Demand! Check your local listings if you have Comcast, Charter, Time Warner, Cox, Cablevision, Bright House or Insight, as the film will be running through June 10th...
Look for it to air on the Sci Fi Channel in October...
(Thanks to Elias)