SIN & ashes (trailer)

My new collection has a trailer by my friend Brendan [he did the AKLONOMICON trailer you've seen here! !!].

My thanks to Craig for allowing me to post it here!! !

Gurgling needs your help...

Gurgling, the latest short film from J. Xavier Velasco, is a Steampunk inspired Lovecraftian tale about Fernando, who is visited by a strange humanoid and led into a crater lake. Once there, he will discover his ominous nature and embrace it...

The film, which deals with the existential questioning of "belonging", is looking for backers on its recently set up Indie GoGo page, which you can check out here...

Shooting will take place in July at an actual crater lake in Alchichica, Mexico, in the hopes that it will be ready for the festival circuit in November...

'Gurgling' - a lovecraftian short film from J. Xavier Velasco on Vimeo.

(Thanks to J. Xavier Velasco)

A shadow has fallen over the 2011 HPLFF...

Great news out of Germany, as filmmaker Sascha Renninger sends word, that Shadow of the Unnamable has been finished and will screen at the 2011 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Los Angeles! Congratulations to Sascha, the cast, and the crew for sticking with the project that began back in 2004...

The film stars Robert Lyons (as Randolph Carter) and Jeff Motherhead (as Joel Manton)...

About the film: New England in the 1930's. Two friends, Randolph Carter and Joel Manton, spend a sunny autumn afternoon in an old 17th century cemetery. An argument arises concerning horror stories written by Carter, especially one story that draws Manton's sarcasm: The Unnamable...

Encouraged by the atmosphere of the old burial ground Carter tells his friend about the origin of the novel. He claims it to be based on a local legend more than 200 years old. Manton listens with increasing fascination, while darkness descends on the cemetery, and suddenly both of them become part of the legend as well...

(Thanks to Sascha Alexander Renninger)

"As always, Datlow delivers a top-notch anthology..."

Where do these great films come from? ?? STORIES! !! And stories come from writers... And for Lovecraftians (and horror lovers! !!) this new tome has a few notable Lovecraftian authors in it . . .

From Publishers Weekly:
The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 3
Edited by Ellen Datlow. Night Shade (www.nightshadebooks.com), $15.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-59780-217-8

In the third volume of this annual series, famed editor Datlow brings together 17 stories published in 2010 in a variety of sources both popular and obscure. In Cody Goodfellow's "At the Riding School," a veterinarian makes a strange house call at a girls' school. Catherynne M. Valente's "The Days of Flaming Motorcycles," one of several zombie stories, sketches the life of the only living woman among the undead horde. John Langan uses self-conscious narrative to twist the werewolf story in "The Revel." The usual lists of honorable mentions and award-winners and a thoughtful assessment of the field will encourage readers to seek out the year's other notable horror stories. As always, Datlow delivers a top-notch anthology with a nice balance of new and established writers. (July)

Anyone looking for some Weird Tales?

While fooling about the web for festivals in Ohio I encountered Pulpfest. I'm told it's one of the largest conventions on pulp magazines in the states, and it does seem to have a decent set of links to various other cons, clubs, etc. If anyone is willing to visit the otherwise boring midwest I'd also advise stopping by the Bookery Fantasy, which also has a large collection of pulps, and whose owner Tim Cottrill wrote The Bookery's Guide to Pulps and Related Magazines. Tim has a thing for Pulp mags, and I imagine he might be able to help you track some stuff down.

New Books and Games

Hi all. I know it's been a while since I posted (and my mass apologies to Craig for that) but life has been tossing me around a bit.

Now on to the upcoming goodies:

Fantasy Flight Games will shortly be releasing two expansions for Arkham Horror, along with several Asylum Packs for the Call of Cthulhu Living Card Game. The Curse of the Dark Pharaoh is being re-released. Apparently the developers believed that it being the earliest expansion it didn't really share the design principles of what came after. Most of the Investigator and Environment Cards are revised, there are new cards in the form of Benefits and Detriments, and it adds the Dark Pharaoh as a New Herald.


Also being released is Miskatonic Horror, which is likely to have been what inspired the Pharaoh remake as it contains cards for each of the Arkham Horror expansions, as well as new cards for the base game.I can honestly say there are few things I await more this year.

Also for those of you whose taste in eldritch abominations extend to giant monsters, Toy Vault has gotten license to produce Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars. Rumor has it there will be future expansions if this does well. For the sake of oft ignored Kaiju fans let us hope so.


I think Craig has already mentioned it, but if you haven't hunted down Famous Monsters of Filmland #255, it's largely devoted to Lovecraft and worth perusing. Issue #256 coincidentally will have a few Kaiju articles.

In art book releases Alex Pardee has his own release in "The Art of Alex Pardee". While not specifically Lovecraftian, his horror art is likely to appeal to cosmic horror fans.

Chaosium will be releasing more fiction with Eldritch Evolutions, featuring the collected weird short fiction of Lois H. Gresh.

That's all for the update now. Hopefully I'll be back quicker next time.

An interview with madness...

(The following interview was provided by filmmaker Sebastián Ohaco)

"They are forced into speech because men of cinema have refused to follow their advice without knowing why."

We are talking about the half hour animated short film 'At the Mountains of Madness'. Directed by Michele Botticelli, creator of the fan favorite 'A Lovecraft Dream', among others.

Created by Cthulhu Films, an Italian production company, whose members include Carlo Ferri and Leonardo Manna.

As we already know, James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro had to cancel their adaptation, due to disagreements with Universal Studios. The project was to have a 150 million dollar budget, and was to be filmed in 3-D. Tom Cruise and Chris Pine were interested in playing the lead, but Hollywood and the times have changed. So, that version could not happen.

And now, luckily, we will be able to appreciate a new version by Cthulhu Films, which will be released internationally thanks to the participation of their associate producer, Sebastián Ohaco, an Uruguayan independent filmmaker.

Unfilmable had the chance to interview them.

Unfilmable: How did this project come about?

Michele: As a Lovecraftian moviemaker I started to create adaptations of the most famous tales we all know. The first movie I decided to do in computer graphics was Nyarlathotep, followed by Dagon. These are very old films, the beginning of my indie filmmaker career. At the Mountains of Madness was our biggest project and the last faithful adaptation of a Lovecraft tale. We worked for over a year and completed it in 2008. After that we created the more famous movie titled A Lovecraft Dream, which today is one of the most appreciated clips on YouTube about our favourite writer.

Unfilmable: Is the film loyal to the source material?

Sebastián: Well... Yes and No. You know, we cannot always compare a film with a novel. They are different worlds, they cannot be twins, and personally I don't think they have to.

We already know that we won't have the acceptance of everyone. As we know that there is no way to achieve the quality that the readers of the novel has in his mind.

For example, I have in my mind my own version of the novel, which is different to the film. What I am trying to say is that this masterpiece is purely the vision of Botticelli and his companions.

And I take my hat off to it.

Michele: Exactly, we had to choose a different pace for the movie. So we used plenty of flashback scenes having the beginning of the movie right in the middle of the novel timeline. We also have a completely different epilogue. Finally we had to scrap some ideas, like the albino penguin and a particular action sequence involving mi-gos in a prehistoric flashback.

Unfilmable: How were you introduced to Lovecraft's stories?

Michele: I discovered Lovecraft in a dusty bookshelf in my grandparents home. The first novel i read was Dagon. After that i continued to explore every corner about his conception of horror and universe itself.

Sebastián: A long time ago I saw an interesting movie, which ending quote was:

'We shall dive down through black abysses... and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever'.

- H.P. Lovecraft.

That deeply caught my attention.

Unfilmable: What is your favorite Lovecraft film?

Sebastián: Good question... The one we are about to release... and the ones from the HPLHS.

Michele: 'The Thing' by John Carpenter.

Unfilmable: The trailer for the film looks awesome, however it doesn't say when or where it will be released?

Sebastián: Well, thanks, but that trailer is not even the tip of the iceberg. It will be released approximately this month.

Michele: In my YouTube channel.

Unfilmable: What was it like working together from such a long distance?

Sebastián: You know... it's a complicated process. I have collaborated with other productions as well. Drunken Flesh Films, The Dreamers Factory, Lotus Film, HPLHS, etc. There are always misunderstandings and headaches. But all of them are professionals. They know very well what they are doing. And at the end: it´s always an honour and a pleasure to be part of their movies. So, this remember me of a quote from a Bob Dylan song: 'Don't criticize what you can't understand'.

Unfilmable: Is Cthulhu Films planning any future projects?

Michele: Actually I'm working on a cg animated short movie, but I don't think I will do another Lovecraftian movie. I prefer to leave Lovecraft back into my past. I have different ideas and projects in the making. Check out my YouTube channel... tough sometimes I wonder about doing a remake of my first movie (Nyarlathotep).

Unfilmable: Thank you very much! Any last words?

Michele: Shame on Hollywood for canceling ATMOM!

Sebastián: Don´t ever let somebody tell you that you cannot do something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it... What I am trying to say is... If you want something, go get it. Period.

(Thanks to Sebastián Ohaco and Michele Botticelli)

Arkham Sanitarium is filling up fast...

There's been a lot going on over at Arkham Sanitarium, the forthcoming period anthology based on The Haunter of the Dark, The Shunned House and The Thing on the Doorstep, including cast announcements, set construction and prop acquisitions! A few of the announced cast members include Anthony Clegg (as Doctor West), Paul Maclaine (as Daniel Upton), Edward Lewis French (as Edward Pickman Derby), Lexi Wolfe (as Asenath Waite) and Bruce Gibbons (as Ephraim Waite). Unfilmable.com is also pleased to announce that our friend Mars (Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown), a musician who rivals the great Erich Zann, will be handling music for the film...

Shooting begins this month with writer Andrew Morgan at the helm...

Check out the Survivor Films site for images of sets, props and more, and head over to Twitch for concept art and a script review...

(Thanks to survivorfilms.com, twitchfilm.com and thelovecraftsman.com)

Dagon comic trailer surfaces...

Check out the trailer for Mark Rudolph's comic adaptation of Dagon below, then head over to the CV Comics site for more...

(Thanks to Mark Rudolph)

Lovecraft on the Supernatural...

This is old news, but since it hasn't happened yet it's definitely worth repeating...

According to several news sources, actor Peter Ciuffa (see pic below) will play H.P. Lovecraft in an episode of the CW's Supernatural! The episode is called Let It Bleed, and will air May 20th...

More info as soon as we have it...

(Thanks to thelovecraftsman.com)

Beware the Haselwurm...

Inspired by local Myths from the Trentino, Italy region and the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson and Arthur Machen, Haselwurm is a fantasy/horror short that follows a man and woman who reveal a mystery as old as the mountains, but with one reckless gun shot, they kill a creature like no other, the consequences of which will be high...

Production began in early 2010, with shooting completed in two sessions, a week each, and Post, including visual effects, were finished in early 2011...

According to the official site, the film was made to raise awareness of the recovery of Italian genre cinema, "abandoned many years ago, without renouncing to a touch of experimentation and trying to enhance the legends of the area we live in; legends that are being forgotten little by little."

Haselwurm was produced and directed by Eugenio Villani from a story by David C. Fragale. The film stars Valentina Viecca and Raffaele Palazzo...

Watch the film below, and click here for more...

Haselwurm from haslwrm production on Vimeo.

(Thanks to David Fragale)

Doctor Glamour set report...

Andrew Jones, the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival® award-winning director of Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer, completed production on his second wacked-out short film, Doctor Glamour. I was on the set for a cameo appearance the other day, and despite being tired and winded, the crew was still standing, moving, and shooting on a small green screen stage in the San Fernando Valley.

Jones asked for and received a hair over $4,500 from Kickstarter pledges to make the movie. I was one of the donors, so Andrew kindly asked me to mug a bit for the camera.

I describe the movie as "The Rocky Horror Steampunk Show" with a glaze of Lovecraft over the whole donut. It's a musical about a young university student who, with the help of the sexy Doctor Glamour and his power-glove, travel through bizarre dimensions to rescue his kidnapped One True Love.

My scene was simple; I played MU's geometry teacher. I didn't have any lines, and just had to point to the offscreen hero. I think we did five takes, but two of those were lost due to understandable technical issues.

It looks to be a hilarious jam, with amazingly rendered backgrounds similar to Frank DanCoolo. You can see some of these shots, plus read the script and hear some of the songs right here.

Hopefully Andrew can finish it in time to submit it to the Lovecraft Film Festival® (July 15 deadline), which is being judged by none other than Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth).

Written by Aaron Vanek

(Thanks to Aaron Vanek and Andrew Jones)