Wow. Referencing Splatterhouse. That’s worth about two and a half internets right there.
This movie probably introduced a lot of people to Lovecraft, and, all things considered, that’s a good thing. Herbert West – Reanimator is one of his weaker stories, but it certainly lends itself to the big screen. The fact that Gordon was willing to take liberties is part of why this movie works: he let the source guide his hand as opposed to trying to be slavishly faithful. He did the same thing with From Beyond and his entry for The Masters of Horror: Dreams in the Witch-House (and The Black Cat, frankly). It’s too bad that del Toro decided to try and make At The Mountains of Madness a multi-million dollar 3D extravaganza.
Also, Jeffrey Combs was utterly fantastic in this, and in the other Gordon movies he starred in. He’s so good at balancing creepy and charming.
Finally, just because I’m a pathetic Lovecraft fangirl, I have to ask: have you seen the HPL Historical Society’s silent movie version of The Call of Cthulhu? It’s an amazing piece of work.
I’m a huge Splatterhouse fan. Not only do I have the original trilogy, I have the Japanese version (with the pentagram) as well as the new version on the 360 with 2 Terror Mask statues. I’ll post a picture later. A winrar is me!
I never heard of HP Lovecraft until Re-Animator in 85 so you are correct. I didn’t start really reading his stuff until some Death Metal bands started using Lovecraft artwork for the cd covers. I think Obituary’s Cause of Death was the one that made me check him out. (I had just started really reading for enjoyment around then as opposed to reading because I had to)
Gordon does such an excellent job of capturing the essence of Lovecraft in film. I have yet to be disappointed. I like del Toro a lot but I worry that At The Mountains of Madness will end up being…silly. Especially with the needless 3D in there. Ugh, can we be done with that already?
Jeffrey Combs is so underappreciated. He is terrific no matter where I see him. He is a huge part as to why Re-Animator works. You start of not liking him but end up cheering for him in the end.
I just saw the Cthulu pop up on Netflix and was immediately intrigued. I’ll check it out ASAP. (probably after I finish working on this week’s episode…I have a feeling this one is going to be another long one)
Ohmigawd. That is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen.
I remember spending all night at a friend’s house, playing the original Splatterhouse on his Turbo Graffix 16. I almost beat the damn thing too, but died to a cheap bit of BS on one of the last levels. Still…
I love that thing. It sits happily on top of my desktop. It’s also really sturdy, I mean the thing isn’t cheap. It’s pretty heavy. I was happy I jumped when I did and got two.
I beat all of them except for 3. 3 is so ridiculously hard because of the stupid time limit. I should see if there is a cheat emulator that turns it off. I used to be able to beat the TG-16 version all the time but I tried to play it again recently (it’s unlockable on the new Splatterhouse) and I could barely make it past the poltergeist. I just don’t have those skills like I used to.
Heh. Thanks to you reminding me of Splatterhouse, I used my Amazon gift card to get the XBox 360 version. It’s no Skyrim, but it’ll be fun to beat the shit out of monsters with a machete.
Cecil on said:
I loved the 360 version. It is a great homage to the old game with a God of War feel to the fighting. Plus, being able to unlock all the old games is such a plus. I thought it was great, I’m not sure what people were complaining about.
Hope you like it! Jim Cummings is fantastic as the voice of the Terror Mask!
I’ve been reading Lovecraft recently and think this and Shadow Over Innsmouth are his two best stories. I’ll admit to never having seen the movie (and I am generally an either/or with adaptations). To me, it sounds like it loses much of the charm of the original. To be fair, you make it sound like it has a charm of its own, though.
I’ve never read the original stories but from what I gather they are some of Lovecrafts weaker stuff. He apparently didn’t like them because he felt it was his “commercial” stuff. The movie definitely has an offbeat charm, mostly due to the amazing performances of Combs and Gale.
Stu Gordon is pretty good. he also did another lovecraft inspired film with Combs in the lead called Castle Freak. The real star though is Jeff himself. that man is just too awesome. his acting brings even the crappiest of crap up. and it makes actually good things even better. his performance as edgar allan poe ni the black cat masters of horror episode is frankly outstanding. I really enjoyed the re-animator sequels as well.
I can’t believe I never commented on this. This movie is what cemented my love of horror films, especially H.P. Lovecraft stuff. Jeffery Combs, in my humble opinion, is one of the best actors alive today. Its a shame he doesnt really do more mainstream stuff. Any chance we can get From Beyond or Bride of later on?
follow:
Wow. Referencing Splatterhouse. That’s worth about two and a half internets right there.
This movie probably introduced a lot of people to Lovecraft, and, all things considered, that’s a good thing. Herbert West – Reanimator is one of his weaker stories, but it certainly lends itself to the big screen. The fact that Gordon was willing to take liberties is part of why this movie works: he let the source guide his hand as opposed to trying to be slavishly faithful. He did the same thing with From Beyond and his entry for The Masters of Horror: Dreams in the Witch-House (and The Black Cat, frankly). It’s too bad that del Toro decided to try and make At The Mountains of Madness a multi-million dollar 3D extravaganza.
Also, Jeffrey Combs was utterly fantastic in this, and in the other Gordon movies he starred in. He’s so good at balancing creepy and charming.
Finally, just because I’m a pathetic Lovecraft fangirl, I have to ask: have you seen the HPL Historical Society’s silent movie version of The Call of Cthulhu? It’s an amazing piece of work.
I’m a huge Splatterhouse fan. Not only do I have the original trilogy, I have the Japanese version (with the pentagram) as well as the new version on the 360 with 2 Terror Mask statues. I’ll post a picture later. A winrar is me!
I never heard of HP Lovecraft until Re-Animator in 85 so you are correct. I didn’t start really reading his stuff until some Death Metal bands started using Lovecraft artwork for the cd covers. I think Obituary’s Cause of Death was the one that made me check him out. (I had just started really reading for enjoyment around then as opposed to reading because I had to)
Gordon does such an excellent job of capturing the essence of Lovecraft in film. I have yet to be disappointed. I like del Toro a lot but I worry that At The Mountains of Madness will end up being…silly. Especially with the needless 3D in there. Ugh, can we be done with that already?
Jeffrey Combs is so underappreciated. He is terrific no matter where I see him. He is a huge part as to why Re-Animator works. You start of not liking him but end up cheering for him in the end.
I just saw the Cthulu pop up on Netflix and was immediately intrigued. I’ll check it out ASAP. (probably after I finish working on this week’s episode…I have a feeling this one is going to be another long one)
Ohmigawd. That is one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen.
I remember spending all night at a friend’s house, playing the original Splatterhouse on his Turbo Graffix 16. I almost beat the damn thing too, but died to a cheap bit of BS on one of the last levels. Still…
🙂
I love that thing. It sits happily on top of my desktop. It’s also really sturdy, I mean the thing isn’t cheap. It’s pretty heavy. I was happy I jumped when I did and got two.
I beat all of them except for 3. 3 is so ridiculously hard because of the stupid time limit. I should see if there is a cheat emulator that turns it off. I used to be able to beat the TG-16 version all the time but I tried to play it again recently (it’s unlockable on the new Splatterhouse) and I could barely make it past the poltergeist. I just don’t have those skills like I used to.
Heh. Thanks to you reminding me of Splatterhouse, I used my Amazon gift card to get the XBox 360 version. It’s no Skyrim, but it’ll be fun to beat the shit out of monsters with a machete.
I loved the 360 version. It is a great homage to the old game with a God of War feel to the fighting. Plus, being able to unlock all the old games is such a plus. I thought it was great, I’m not sure what people were complaining about.
Hope you like it! Jim Cummings is fantastic as the voice of the Terror Mask!
I’ve been reading Lovecraft recently and think this and Shadow Over Innsmouth are his two best stories. I’ll admit to never having seen the movie (and I am generally an either/or with adaptations). To me, it sounds like it loses much of the charm of the original. To be fair, you make it sound like it has a charm of its own, though.
I’ve never read the original stories but from what I gather they are some of Lovecrafts weaker stuff. He apparently didn’t like them because he felt it was his “commercial” stuff. The movie definitely has an offbeat charm, mostly due to the amazing performances of Combs and Gale.
Stu Gordon is pretty good. he also did another lovecraft inspired film with Combs in the lead called Castle Freak. The real star though is Jeff himself. that man is just too awesome. his acting brings even the crappiest of crap up. and it makes actually good things even better. his performance as edgar allan poe ni the black cat masters of horror episode is frankly outstanding. I really enjoyed the re-animator sequels as well.
if they shoud remake this they should hire rick baker and tom savini
I can’t believe I never commented on this. This movie is what cemented my love of horror films, especially H.P. Lovecraft stuff. Jeffery Combs, in my humble opinion, is one of the best actors alive today. Its a shame he doesnt really do more mainstream stuff. Any chance we can get From Beyond or Bride of later on?
Yes on both of those!