Whisperer in Darkness behind-the-scenes...

Production has begun on The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's adaptation of The Whisperer in Darkness as can be seen in the following video courtesy of Mount Holyoke College...



(Thanks to Mount Holyoke College)

The Strange Adventures of Ron Howard...

The LA Times reports that Ron Howard is planning his next film, and it looks to be the big-budget adaptation of "The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft" (conceived by Mac Carter with Adam Byrne) announced earlier this year...

"It very cleverly uses H.P. Lovecraft in a fictional way, but there's some loose biographical elements. But it certainly has the flavor and the tone of Lovecraft," Howard tells the LA Times, "The character is a very young Lovecraft. Look, it's challenging, but if we get it right, it could be really original and psychologically interesting and scary in a great way. And it's a graphic novel, this is new territory for me."

Click here for the full article...

(Thanks to latimesblogs.latimes.com)

Stuart Gordon talks Thing on the Doorstep...

Director Stuart Gordon took time from his busy schedule (his play Nevermore: An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe is currently playing weekends at the Steve Allen Theater) to talk with ShockTillYouDrop.com about some of the projects he been working on, including H.P. Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep...

Here's what Gordon had to say about that long gestating project, "We're working on that as well and hoping to be shooting that next year. I love doing Lovecraft and it's been a while and this has been a story that I've been wanting to do for a very long time. Dennis Paoli also wrote the script and it's wonderful."

We'll see if this one gains steam once Nevermore ends it's phenomenal run...

(Thanks to www.shocktillyoudrop.com)

Synopsis for The Gate remake...

Bloody-disgusting.com revealed the official synopsis for Alex Winter's 3D remake of the 1987 cult-classic, The Gate...

The film revolves around Miles and Terry who live in a typical suburban tract. One day, they discover a mysterious crystalline rock in Miles' backyard, they quickly dig up the lawn in search of more. But instead, they unearth The Gate - the opening to an underground chamber containing terrifying evil. The boys soon realize what they have unleashed, as one dire event follows another. With supernatural fiends invading suburbia, it's up to the kids to find the secret that will lock forever The Gate...

If it is not too late...


(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)

The Book in Leeds...

James Raynor has announced that his short film H.P. Lovecraft's The Book will screen at the 2009 Leeds International Film Festival as part of the Night of the Dead segment of the fest. The festival runs from November 4th through the 22nd in Leeds, UK...


(Thanks to James Raynor)

Hunchback of the Morgue DVD news...

Mya Communication, the Italian based company who recently released Sergio Martino's 1979 film Island of the Fishmen, has announced the upcoming release of Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy's Hunchback of the Morgue (El jorobado de la Morgue). The 1973 film, in which the dread necronomicon is mentioned, will be released in anamorphic widescreen as is standard with all Mya releases...

Further details are forthcoming...


(Thanks to www.esplatter.com)

Reefers of Madness correction...

Please note: Last week I incorrectly announced that Brian Clement's At the Reefers of Madness was scheduled to screen at this years H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, when in fact, his short The Seventh Shadow is screening. My apologies to Brian and the Reefers of Madness cast and crew for posting this erroneous information...

copyright 2009 Brian Clement/Frontline Films

(Thanks to Brian Clement)

Under the Mountain review...

Bloody-disgusting.com has added a review for an upcoming film from Black Sheep director Jonathan King called Under the Mountain (a film I had heard about but never really looked into). The film is based on the novel by Maurice Gee, and stars Sam Neill (In the Mouth of Madness), Sophie McBride, Tom Cameron, Leon Wadham and Oliver Driver...

Lovecraft's name is dropped several times in the review (see below), so I thought it was worth mentioning here...

"...an H.P. Lovecraftian horror fantasy."

"...some of the creatures looked cool and were reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft's work..."

- Brad Miska (MrDisgusting)


(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)

official Lost Land promotional poster released

''Lost Land'', the 2009 production, has just released its first promotinal poster. The previously announced website is scheduled to go live in the next few weeks. More info to come...

HPLFF 2009: Relic of Cthulhu and other tales...

The list of films screening at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival is really taking shape over at the official site, with another feature and several more shorts being added today...

Henry Saine's 2009 film Relic of Cthulhu has been added to the list of features, and Marko Kattilakoski's Forlorn Hope, Daniel Linke's The Call, The Dead Don't Lie by Rob Hunt and a second adapation of The Tell-Tale Heart (this one by Darren Walker) have all been added to the short film schedule...

Saine's Relic of Cthulhu revolves around Jeff, an ordinary guy stuck in a dead end job, but when a strange old man gives him an ancient relic and tells him that he is the last bloodline of H.P. Lovecraft, he and his friend Charlie embark on an adventure to protect the relic piece from falling into the hands of the starspawn and his minions that wish to reunite the relic and release Cthulhu back into the world...

Check out the HPLFF site for all the latest news...

image from Marko Kattilakoski's Forlorn Hope

image from Rob Hunt's The Dead Don't Lie

(Thanks to hplfilmfestival.com)

Review: Cthulhu Unbound 2...

A review for Cthulhu Unbound: Volume 2 from Permuted Press has appeared over at fangoria.com...

About the book: Imagine being free. Free from everything that defines you, that makes you easily recognizable as who you are. Inside you'll find Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers alongside a knight of the Round Table. The stock market will crash in a whole new, terrifying way. You'll follow along as heroes go head-to-head with eldritch horrors from Lovecraft's universe. From Greek legends to Captain Nemo, from gangsters to brokers; from prisons to palaces, dead moons to South American jungles...No one is safe; nowhere is safe. This is a Mythos collection unlike any other. This is Lovecraft in many colors, many guises. This is Cthulhu-Unbound...

- "The Tenants of Ladywell Manor" by Willie Meikle
- "Tomb on a Dead Moon" by Tim Curran
- "Passing Down" by Inez Schaechterle
- "The Hunters Within the Corners" by Douglas P. Wojtowicz
- "Surely You Joust" by Patrick Thomas
- "References in Cthonic, Eldritch, Roiling Creations are Recondite" by Warren Tusk
- "New Fish" by Kiwi Courters
- "The Long, Deep Dream" by Peter Clines
- "Santiago Contra el Culto de Cthulhu" by Mark Zirbel
- "Stomach Acid by David Conyers" and Brian M. Sammons
- "Sleeping Monster Futures" by Brandon Alspaugh
- "Nemo at R'lyeh" by Joshua Reynolds
- "What's a Few Tentacles Among Friends?" by Sheila Crosby
- "An Incident Occurring in the Huachuca Mountains, West of Tombstone" by Gary Vehar
- "Abomination With Rice" by Rhys Hughes

Check it out here...


(Thanks to www.fangoria.com)

Whisperer secures cast and locations...

Sean Branney and Andrew Leman's adaptation of The Whisperer in Darkness is one step closer to production as locations have been scouted and secured (several of which are the actual locations Lovecraft describes in the story) and a cast list has been announced (see the IMDb for cast). According to the production blog, one of the stories key locations, Lovecraft's oft-used Miskatonic University, has been found in the form of a "lovely and cooperative New England college". Props and effects are also underway, with New England area shooting scheduled for mid to late September...

Sean and Andrew are still looking for extras (as well as translators), so if you're interested, contact them here...

image © HPLHS

(Thanks to www.cthulhulives.org)

HPLFF 2009: latest additions...

Another batch of films has been added to the short films section of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival site...

The latest group of films include:

Lenore (2008) by Asli Sonceley


My Pretty Pony (2009) by Mikhail Tank


Noirville (2009) by Andrew Marsh


The Music of Erich Zann (2009) by Jared Skolnick


The Picture in the House (2009) by Gary Lobstein


The Prey (2008) by Stephen Johnson
The Quiet Darkness (2006) by Marc Buhmann
Séance (2009) by Robin Kasparík


The Seventh Shadow (2009) by Brian Clement
The Sleeping Deep (2009, sneak preview) by Jeffrey B. Palmer
The Statement of Randolph Carter (2009) by Kyle Aldrich


The Tell-Tale Heart (2008) by Robert Eggers
Tinglewood (2009) by Alexander von Hofmann

Head over to the official festival site for info on each of the above films, and click here for a list of guests that will be attending...

(Thanks to hplfilmfestival.com)

Other Dimensions...

Here are several articles that may be of interest to fans of Lovecraftian cinema...

H-Haid: New film ignites the 'Lovecraft in ol' H-haid

Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator and the science of cryonics

The Unfilmable Lovecraft

(Thanks to a variety of sources)

Pickman's Muse in Erie, PA...

Another screening of Robert Cappelletto's Pickman's Muse has been announced! The latest will take place at the Great Lakes Independent Film Festival, which runs September 24th thru September 27th in Erie, Pennsylvania...

About the film: Based loosely on H.P. Lovecraft's short story: Haunter of the Dark. An artist, Robert Pickman, becomes obsessed by visions of unworldly horror, revealed to him through an ancient artifact discovered in an abandoned church. His doctor and friend, Ambrose Dexter, becomes embroiled in the mysteries surrounding Pickman's new found obsession, and struggles to combat forces determined to drag Pickman down the inevitable road to madness...

Click here for details...


(Thanks to Robert Cappelletto)

More Nevermore...

Jeffrey Combs and Stuart Gordon's one-man stage show, Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, has been extended once again and will run through October 31st! Tickets can be purchased by clicking here...


(Thanks to Dread Central)

HPLFF schedule so far...

Here is a rundown of all the films announced so far for this years H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. As previously mentioned, the festival runs October 2 - 3 - 4. Tickets are on sale here...

Features:

Beyond the Dunwich Horror (2008) by Richard Griffin
Colour from the Dark (2008) by Ivan Zuccon
The Mist (2007) by Frank Darabont
Pickman's Muse (2009) by Robert Cappelletto

Shorts:

Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2009) by Nathan Fisher
Dirt Dauber (2009) by Steve Daniels
Elder Sign (2009) by Joseph Nanni
Lazarus Taxon (2008) by Denis Rovira van Boekholt
Lovecraft Paragraphs (2009) by Reber Clark
Milbe (Mite, 2008) by Karl Tebbe
SpookySpookyScaryScary (Chuck and Dexter) by Tim Uren and Joseph Scrimshaw

HPLFF postcard © Jefferson Powers 2009

(Thanks to a variety of sources)

New Dunwich Horror review...

Check out horror-movies.ca for a new review of Leigh Scott's The Dunwich Horror starring Dean Stockwell (as Dr. Henry Armitage) and Jeffrey Combs (as Wilbur Whateley)...


(Thanks to www.horror-movies.ca)

Mist-shrouded Portland...

One of the better films of the last ten years, Frank Darabont's The Mist has been added to the 2009 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. Released in 2007, the film stars Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden, and tells the story of a powerful thunderstorm that unleashes a mist that envelops a small Maine town...

When dozens of citizens are trapped inside a supermarket, being stranded and knowing that horrible creatures lurk in the mist takes its psychological toll. The trapped shoppers split into 2 camps: those who believe it is an act of a vengeful god and those who don't...

Based on the novella by Stephen King...


(Thanks to hplfilmfestival.com)

Updated: What lies beyond...

FilmStew.com has a short write-up on Nathan Fisher and his adaptation of Beyond the Wall of Sleep, which you can read here (update: this page has been removed)...


(Thanks to www.filmstew.com)

Lovecraft Paragraphs screening announced...

Another addition to the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival has been revealed in the form of Reber Clark's Lovecraft Paragraphs! The film will screen as part of the shunned shorts and other Lovecraftian treats...

The newly released trailer, promoting the HPLFF screening, can be found here...


(Thanks to Reber Clark)

Image Gallery: Dirt Dauber...

Here at Unfilmable.com, I love running Lovecraft inspired imagery so much that when writer/director Steve Daniels passed along a large assortment of Dirt Dauber pics, I just had to run them all...

So look 'em over and don't forget to check out the film at this years H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival (see previous post)...













(Thanks to Steve Daniels)

The Black Goat is coming...

Principle photography on Joseph Nanni's third HPL inspired short film (which we first mentioned here) is complete! The short should be finished in a couple weeks and will debut online...

Look for Joseph Nanni and Bad Advice for Good Times to move on to their first feature, called Drawing Baphomet, after the short has been completed...


(Thanks to Joseph Nanni)

TSD news, interviews and more...

If you haven't checked out Jeff Palmer's The Sleeping Deep production blog lately, you really should! The blog is packed with all the latest news, including upcoming promotional materials (like the one-sheet you see below) and screenplay award info, screen grabs, videos and links to a variety of sites that are associated with the project...

Also of note, Jeff was recently interviewed by Zombos Closet of Horror, which can be found here...


(Thanks to Jeff Palmer)

Colour screening details...

Details have been released for the Oldenburg International Film Festival (Oldenburg, Germany) screening of Ivan Zuccon's Colour from the Dark. The film will screen three times during the festival on September 17th, 18th and 19th. Screening times and location information can be found here...


(Thanks to Ivan Zuccon)

HPLFF 2009: Dirt Dauber and Wall of Sleep added...

Dirt Dauber, the latest short film from writer/director Steve Daniels, has been added to the 2009 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival schedule. The film revolves around a man who awakens naked and confused in a isolated mountainous region, and encounters a strange local who offers to help him. The helpful stranger tells the man of local folklore that speaks of a murderous religious cult, a train tunnel cut deep into the mountain that leads to nowhere, and an insect-like fertility god that is said to dwell within it. The two men soon go underground in search of the truth, and find themselves in a stygian black temple of horror. The Gibbering Horror of Howard Ghormley, the previous effort from Daniels (who will be in attendance) was an award winner at the 2005 HPLFF...


Also added to the festival's schedule is Nathan Fisher's Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Sleep revolves around Dr. Kaufman who must attempt to find the source of violent madness in Joe Slater, a new patient that arrives at his asylum. Slater has suffered his entire life from strange fits upon awakening, ranting and screaming to the heavens. When Joe murders a neighbor in the throes of one of his attacks he comes under the care of the one man who may be able to discover what lies beyond the wall of sleep. Beyond the Wall of Sleep stars Jason Finley as Dr. Kaufman and Greg Cannon as Joe Slater with a special appearance by TROMA's Lloyd Kaufman...


(Thanks to Steve Daniels and Nathan Fisher)

Lovecraft in Texas...

Closet Space, the Texas made feature by Mel House, will screen as part of the Texas Blood Bath Film Festival that runs from November 13th through the 15th in Bellmead, Texas. The 2007 film stars Melanie Donihoo, James LaMarr, Evan Scott, Peyton Wetzel, Jovan Jackson, Morgan McCarthy, Tim Wrobel, Danielle Jones, Kenny Haner, and Richard Boatto...

About the film: Five graduate students on a search for their missing professor stumble onto a discovery so terrifying and unnatural that the human mind can barely comprehend it. The laws of nature and physics are merely the first layers to be peeled back and discarded as the group continues their inexhaustible search for their mentor....which leads them deep inside the Closet Space. But...there are things that live inside the vast emptiness. Horrible, hungry things.

Will the professor be found alive?

Will the group get out alive?



(Thanks to Dread Central)

Films wanted for Cthulhupalooza 2009...

For Immediate Release:

Toren Atkinson of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets (and the other Second Level Wizards) are organizing Son of Cthulhupalooza, to take place December 5th in Vancouver BC. They are looking for Lovecraftian films of all kinds to supplement the festivities (of which will include a live show by the Thickets). Please email Toren to make arrangements to show your film, with "Cthulhupalooza film" in the subject line...

(Thanks to Toren Atkinson)

Pickman's Muse review...

She Never Slept, a Science Fiction, Strange Tales and Horror news and review site, has added a review of Robert Cappelletto's latest film, Pickman's Muse...

"The set design, locations and props were all quite wonderful. The look and feel of the film was executed with love and the little touches don't go unnoticed."

- Sarah L. Gerhardt

Check out the rest here...


(Thanks to She Never Slept)

HPLFF 2009: New films added...

Several new films, both short and feature length, have been added to the schedule for next months H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. The festival, which runs October 2-4, will screen (in addition to Ivan Zuccon's Colour from the Dark) Richard Griffin's Beyond the Dunwich Horror and Robert Cappelletto's Pickman's Muse...

Several short films, including Joseph Nanni's Elder Sign, Denis Rovira's Lazarus Taxon and an animated film called Mite, have also been added...

More as it becomes available...

image from Robert Cappelletto's Pickman's Muse

(Thanks to hplfilmfestival.com)

North 40 #3 out now...

Wildstorm Comics released North 40 #3, written by Aaron Williams and inked by Fiona Staples, on September 2nd. Retail is $2.99...

About the comic: It's after dark at the salvage yard, and two boys are about to discover that the nightmare gripping Conover County can come clad in steel and fire. Meanwhile, a gathering at the high school goes on as planned, though this dance wasn't originally going to be overseen by teenagers who could set fires with their minds or consume souls with new "parts" they'd grown. But even they may not be prepared for the guests coming from Lufton's graveyards. And what does Dyan, one of the architects of Conover's fate, have in mind for a frumpy classmate whom she's luring through the nightmarish streets?


(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)

Fangoria.com interviews Stuart Gordon...

Fangoria.com's James Morgart interviewed filmmaker Stuart Gordon recently for an article entitled The Frighteningly Profeminist Trilogy: Stuart Grodon's Portrayal of 1980's Women in Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dolls. Check out the interview here...

"What was interesting was that while we were talking to various doctors before making the film, we found out that this idea we were exploring of re-animating bodies was something they were very much interested in doing and that there were people out there doing research seeking to re-animate dead bodies."

- Stuart Gordon

(Thanks to www.fangoria.com)

The Gate SE details announced...

Cover art and features have been revealed for the Monstrous Special Edition DVD of The Gate, to be released by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on October 6th. Retail price for the DVD is $19.98...

The DVD contains the following features:

- Audio commentary by director Tibor Takacs, writer Michael Nankin and special FX designer/supervisor Randall William Cook
- "From Hell: The Creatures & Demons of The Gate" featurette
- The Gatekeepers with Tibor Takacs and Michael Nankin" featurette
- Original theatrical trailer


(Thanks to www.fangoria.com)