Quoth Cthulhu: In the Mouth of Madness...

John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness, his 1995 homage to H.P. Lovecraft (and arguably his last good film), is loaded with Lovecraftian elements and references including the following passage from Sutter Cane's novel of the same title, which mirrors HPL's The Outsider...

Trent's eyes refused to close, he did not shriek, but the hideous unholy abominations shrieked for him, as in the same second, he saw them spill and tumble upwards out of an enormous carrion black pit, choked with the gleaming white bones of countless unhallowed centuries.

- In The Mouth Of Madness by Sutter Cane

I did not shriek, but all the fiendish ghouls that ride the nightwind shrieked for me as in that same second there crashed down upon my mind a single and fleeting avalanche of soul-annihilating memory.

- The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft

(Thanks to wikipedia.org and www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com)

Colour from the Dark DVD artwork...

Ivan Zuccon revealed, via facebook, the official cover art for the German DVD release of Colour from the Dark, coming soon from Epix Media...

Release details (and DVD specs) have yet to be announced...


(Thanks to www.ivanzuccon.com)

Albert Pyun's Cool Air...

Albert Pyun's Cool Air (2006), a film I had almost forgotten about, is very much alive according to the website for his 2008 feature Road to Hell. The Filmwerks Inc. production, fully titled H.P. Lovecraft's Cool Air, is reportedly scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009, but since that time has already passed, we'll have to wait and see...

The film, written by Cynthia Curnan, stars Morgan Weisser, Crystal Laws Green, Jenny Dare Paulin and Norbert Weisser and revolves around a struggling screenwriter in search of accommodations, who takes a room in a isolated Malibu mansion and learns of the mysterious doctor, who dabbles in strange experiments, that resides in the room above his own...


(Thanks to www.roadtohellmovie.com)

New Unfilmable.com poll...

The first Unfilmable.com poll, What is your favorite Lovecraft film directed by Stuart Gordon?, is now over and the new poll, Which Weird Fiction/Mythos author, besides Lovecraft, would you like to see adapted to the screen?, is up. Results will be available on June 14th...

Results for the first poll are as follows:

4 votes: Re-Animator (1985)
1 vote: From Beyond (1986)
0 votes: Castle Freak (1995)
8 votes: Dagon (2001)
0 votes: Dreams in the Witch-House (2005)

Thanks again for voting...

Mars reviews Colour from the Dark...

Lovecraftian composer, and friend of Unfilmable.com, MARS (Lovecraft: Fear Of The Unknown, Nyarlathotep) reviews Ivan Zuccon's Colour from the Dark...

Colour from the Dark (2008)
Directed by Ivan Zuccon

I am familiar enough with Ivan Zuccon's body of film work to have a solid frame of reference of his growth as a director, and specifically in his cinematic adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft's stories. The first HPL adaptation I saw from Zuccon was 2003's "The Shunned House" which I felt did a very admirable job of creating a somber, surreal atmosphere despite the "film's" (well, video really) budgetary limitations. Zuccon is obviously a real fan of Lovecraft, and he understands that throwing money at the screen is not what it takes to bring The Old Gentleman from Providence's stories to life.


The same dark undercurrent of mood and terror is present in Zuccon's current film, "Colour from the Dark".

This film is an adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Colour out of Space", which has met with a few previous attempts at translation to the silver screen. (Anyone remembering the lackluster "Die Monster Die!", or the painfully awful "The Curse" featuring a young Wil Wheaton and a very tired looking Claude Akins phoning in his "performance" back in the late 80's will see this film as a quantum leap forward in doing this particular story some cinematic justice.)

I won't go into the story, as I'm sure everyone reading this on this particular web site already knows it inside and out. I will say that there are extra characters, and plot elements that have been added to keep the story moving forward and engaging. Zuccon's additions are appropriate, and fit in nicely, so the HPL purists out there can rest easy; this is still close enough to the source material as not to be disrespectful, while still giving the film it's own identity.


Set in Italy during WWII, the story unfolds in a rather old school way, with an emphasis on keeping the pace deliberately less frantic than the current style most modern horror films fall victim to. If you've a short attention span, this may not be the horror film for you. But, those with an appreciation for a well-crafted storyline and solid characterizations will find this film very satisfying indeed.

For the most part, the acting is top notch, with lead actors Debbie Rochon (who is damn good even on her worst day), and Michael Segal carrying the bulk of the film. The rest of the ensemble cast turn in solid performances that never take the audience out of the moment.

The production value is outstanding, and the backdrop of the poor farmhouse never comes across as clichéd. The film's look features a fine colo(u)r palette and cinematography that belies the film's low budget. While still shot on video, there is a degree of artistry here that is visually reminiscent of Mario Bava's rich use of black as a color in his films. For this story, it works very effectively, and the look is comparable to that of film.


The special effects are standard CGI nonsense, but done with a degree of subtlety that helps them come across as much less obnoxious than most indie horror films these days. I am very impressed with the restraint that Zuccon has used with these FX, as it is another testament to his growing confidence as a director that he has opted to go with a "less is more" approach.

If I have any complaint here it would be with Marco Werba's rather pedestrian music score. While not bad by any means (the man is a consummate professional and a fine musician), it doesn't really capture the cosmic horror in a manner befitting this kind of story. All the standard scary stings and suspense cues are present and accounted for, but the end result just comes across (to me) as a bit uninspired. The bar for Lovecraftian film scores (at their best) means Lex Baxter's brilliant "The Dunwich Horror", or the work of Richard Band (whom Zuccon worked with previously on 2007's "Nympha") on "Re-Animator" and "The Resurrected" and this score isn't in that ballpark. Bear in mind, I'm a tough critic when it comes to film music (as evidenced by just how much space I've allocated to this part of the review) , and for the record I loved Werba's score to Dario Argento's "Gaillo".


So there you have it my fellow Eldritch Film Fans, there is another fine addition to Mythos inspired cinema to be on the lookout for. I highly recommend this to any fan of Zuccon's previous work, and for those just looking for an entertaining, well made horror film.

MARS
www.deadhousemusic.com

Copyright © 2009 MARS

(Thanks to MARS)

Last Battleground trailer online...

The trailer for Sonny Fernandez's Lovecraftian epic, The Last Battleground, is now online (check it out below). Sonny had this to say about his latest feature, "The Last Battleground follows a bunch of seemingly unconnected characters: a pair of inept hitmen, an abused girl who relies on an invisible friend to get her through rough times, a young homeless woman, and an artist who's been noticing a change in the world around him. Their paths and others will intersect one faithful night because heaven and hell have had their ultimate showdown for control of the earth, and damned if hell didn't score the upset victory.

Where do you run when salvation no longer exists? Where do you hide when the ground is opening up and letting unholy creatures run wild? How do you survive in a world where the dead are coming back as Lovecraftian demons manipulated by their earthly sins?

The film stars Cody Tergesen, Justin Kavlie, Liz Dockter, Kim Haarman, Dan Sorenson, and Sam Ova."

(Thanks to Dread Central and Sonny Fernandez Films)

Alternate Sleeping Deep poster...

An "alternate" poster for The Sleeping Deep appeared on the film's official blog the other day, and like the one I showed you here, this one was designed by Mike Nash...


(Thanks to Jeff Palmer)

Updated: Alien remake rumored...

Ridley Scott's Alien, a film that screams cosmic horror, is rumored to be the next big film being considered by the Hollywood remake machine...

If true, Ridley Scott, Michael Costigan and Tony Scott will produce with commercial/music video director Carl Rinsch at the helm. Updates, courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com, also state that 20th Century Fox are considering an origins story (aka prequel), as opposed to a remake...

Update: Tony Scott has confirmed that work is indeed underway on an Alien prequel and that Carl Rinsch will direct for 20th Century Fox...

(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)

Creature needs a director...

According to bloody-disgusting.com, Breck Eisner is no longer directing The Creature from the Black Lagoon remake (written by Gary Ross whose father wrote the original). Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment are currently looking for a new director...

(Thanks to www.bloody-disgusting.com)

New Sleeping Deep clip...

Jeff Palmer and crew continue to knock out a variety of promotional materials for The Sleeping Deep, an example of which can be seen below. Check out official blog for more information, screen grabs and other goodies and watch for a full-length version of this clip in a couple weeks...



(Thanks to Jeff Palmer)