Executscan Expected more

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

crystallogic You know why Lovecraft is so hard to film, other than the fact that most of the monsters are necessarily "indescribable" horrors? It's because he doesn't really write people at all. This is probably one of the more overtly "pulpy" of Lovecraft's tales. In its original form, it even has a hero, and a resolution that's not Pure Doom, or at least ends with the monster being vanquished. Theoretically, this makes "The Dunwich Horror" one of the easier Lovecraft tales to translate to the screen. But it still is told in this extremely detached, kind of faux-scholarly manner. There's no dialog, as such, and almost everything seems to come to the reader "second-hand". In practical terms then, screen-writers who want to tackle Lovecraft's stuff actually have to do a lot of work to make the stories function as film. I submit that, all things considered, this is actually one of the better ones.You have to put aside Lovecraft a bit here, and think of this as the kind of work that hundreds of writers have done since then in an effort to "humanise" the concepts in his stories, if not the stories themselves. If you are a Lovecraft "purist", maybe this bothers you. But I don't think it should. It's not like the stories aren't still available in all their glory for us to read.One thing that I have seen a few writers do, and which Lovecraft hints at himself in the original story (but only hints, mind you), is portray a certain amount of sympathy for Wilbur Whateley. I always thought the brief exerpt from Wilbur's diary was the most interesting part of the story, and I know I'm not alone in thinking it would have been interesting to see the whole story from *his* perspective.Now, this 1970 film doesn't totally do that. There are still "good guys", and yes, they're still kind of uninteresting. But the screen-writers were smart in making this more about Wilbur and his story. He wants to destroy the world, but you know he wants to do it because he's outcast, frustrated and a creature apart. The whole town shuns him. Their hypocrisy is transparent and I think it's supposed to make you angry. noo better is this illustrated when Wilbur and nancy pull up at the store to gas up her car. The guy is all delighted at the sight of a pretty young stranger, but then sees Wilbur and his entire demeanor changes to one of cold hostility. Wilbur just kind of shrugs and says, "that's the way it is. They all hate me."Apparently either Corman or the director wanted to get Vincent Price in for the Wilbur role. I love Vincent Price, but I submit that, having already done The Haunted Palace, this role wouldn't have been right for him. It may be controversial (judging from other comments I've seen and heard about this movie), but I think Dean Stockwell was perfect for this. he is slightly awkward, almost shy-seeming. He speaks in a low, buzzing voice. And he does what I like to call the "Trance of the Old Ones" (because it's a thing, you see), where he's reading something, or thinking aloud, and starts uttering words in an alien language in a kind of subdued, but reverent, monotone, really well. The main addition made by the screen-writers is the character of nancy, who isn't even hinted at in the original story. On the one hand, you can see that they just wanted a "damsel in distress" character, like in The Haunted Palace, and yes, that's kind of unfortunate. But, Sandra Dee acquits herself well, I think, even though she ends up acting kind of drugged for most of the film. The story of her falling under the unlikely influence of Wilbur, who is after all not much of a charming or seductive type, is the most interesting thing about this rather cool film. It is too bad she wasn't given a chance to be more proactive, but given the time, audience, source material, etc, I can't really fault anything here. The only real fault is, as I mentioned before, that Armitage et al are not really as interesting. That's hardly unique to this film. I'd even say it's a rare thing to find overt "good guys" to be as interesting as the villains in these types of movies.Finally, the score by les Baxter, is freaking amazing. Seriously psychedelic, eeerie, and full of awesome percussive flourishes. The opening animated sequence is also extremely cool. This could definitely be considered a "psychotronic" kind of film. It's worth your time.

ferbs54 Having enjoyed great success with a string of some seven pictures based on the works of the writer who has been called the greatest horror author of the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe, American International Pictures (AIP) soon turned its attention to the horror author who has been called the greatest of the 20th, the so-called "Sage of Providence," Howard Phillips Lovecraft. For their first Lovecraft attempt, the studio came out with the Boris Karloff outing "Die, Monster, Die," loosely based on the author's 1927 story "The Color Out of Space." And five years later, the film in question, "The Dunwich Horror," was released, in January 1970 (just weeks before the studio came out with the Peter Cushing/Vincent Price/Christopher Lee outing "Scream and Scream Again"), again rather loosely based on a classic Lovecraft horror tale, this one dating back to 1928. Roger Corman, who had helmed all those Poe adaptations, this time acted as executive producer only, handing the film's reins to Daniel Haller, who had brought home the first Lovecraft adaptation. And once again, the film sported a respectable cast and impressive production values, resulting in a picture that just might please all fans of ol' H.P., even though it is a far cry from the author's original. In the film, 69-year-old Ed Begley, here in his final screen role and refreshingly playing the good guy/hero for a change, is Dr. Henry Armitage, a professor of occult studies at a Massachusetts university. He is approached by a rather odd and soft-spoken young man, Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell, who would go on to appear in the epic disaster "The Last Movie" in the following year, as well as "The Werewolf of Washington" three years later), who asks to see and even borrow the incredibly rare book known as "The Necronomicon." When his request is denied, Whateley uses his hypnotic power to coerce Armitage's pretty blonde assistant, Nancy Wagner (Sandra Dee, here 28 years old and a far cry more mature than in her Tammy films), to drive him to his home in Dunwich, a town of notorious repute. Once there, the young man uses drugs to further control the young woman. Wilbur lives in the family abode with his creepy grandfather, Old Whateley ( Sam Jaffe, 30+ years post-"Gunga Din"), while in the locked bedroom upstairs resides...something, which makes eerie noises and clamors for release. Eventually, Wilbur's goals come into focus: He intends to use the virginal Nancy in an arcane rite, and once he steals "The Necronomicon" from the university library, use certain passages in that evil tome to effect the release of The Old Ones, a race that had once dwelt here on Earth and that is now confined in another dimension. But can Armitage and Dr. Cory, who had delivered Wilbur in childbirth, and played by the great character actor Lloyd Bochner, stop him in time, before The Old Ones manage to break through, along with the elder god Yog-Sathoth? "The Dunwich Horror," although only partially faithful to its source material, yet boasts any number of features that commend it mightily to even the casual viewer. For one thing, the film itself looks fantastic, with sumptuous sets (Wilbur's house really is a colorful masterpiece of decor) and art direction (the Devil's Hop Yard, high atop a cliff overlooking the ocean, where Wilbur conducts his ghastly rites, is really something to see). The film, though shot on a modest budget, yet boasts some impressive yet perforce restrained special effects, such as that rampaging creature that bursts out of the Whateleys' upstairs; we see it largely from its own POV, thus only getting a sense of its tentacular monstrosity, but it is sufficient to stun and impress. Perhaps most striking in the film is Haller's ultrastylish direction, utilizing bizarre camera angles, colorful negative images (what Wilbur's insane mother sees as she lies dying in an asylum), and surreal dream sequences (the one in which Nancy seems to engage in coitus with Wilbur might forcefully bring to mind the similar sequence in 1968's "Rosemary's Baby"). In one extended sequence, we see Nancy's drug-induced consciousness through what appears to be a burlap sacking covering the camera lens; in the scene in which the whatzit attacks Nancy's galpal Elizabeth, the screen is aswarm with flashing colors, lights and...tentacles? It is a most psychedelic display! Throw in some unusual musical cues (courtesy of Les Baxter, the author of at least seven prior AIP film scores), some surprising toplessness, the inclusion of some interesting bit actors (such as Talia Coppola, later Shire, and "A Bucket of Blood's Barboura Morris), and some pleasing touches (I love when Wilbur and Nancy drive into the Shell station outside of Dunwich, and the "S" of the Shell sign is obscured....), and you have a surprisingly winning entertainment. True, the film's ending is something of a mess--I still don't know why Wilbur bursts into flames at the film's tail end, or just what happened to that ravening monster--but overall, good fun. Too bad AIP never decided to tackle H.P.'s "At the Mountains of Madness"; now THAT might have really been something!

tomsview To judge from the poster of the 1970 version of "The Dunwich Horror", you would think this must be one of the most kickass horror movies of all time. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds, you soon realise that a lot of artistic licence was taken with that poster - a lot.Sandra Dee plays Nancy Wagner, a research assistant to Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley), an expert on the occult. When she encounters Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell), she ends up at the Whateley mansion and falls under his spell - she keeps on drinking those cups of tea. Wilbur believes that a combination of rituals, incantations and sacrifice of the 'right girl' will allow an ancient race of superior beings, the Old Ones, to be brought back.The story involves twins, mating with dark forces and a room at the top of stairs that hides an evil entity. That room generates a lot of tension, until it's opened that is, then the limitations of the special effects are revealed. It needed something like the monster out of John Carpenter's "In The Mouth of Madness", but got strobe lighting instead.The best effect in the film is the altar on the headland. When Nancy innocently asks Wilbur what it was used for, he gives her a rundown on the program of events.It entailed selecting a beautiful girl, just like Nancy strangely enough, who would be placed on the altar naked to the elements while black robed figures gathered round to observe and 'relish' her, "and then they waited for the moment when she would allow the power of darkness to enter; the moment when the gate would open and the Old Ones would come through." Sandra Dee wasn't someone you automatically associated with sexy roles, but she has her moments in "The Dunwich Horror", especially when she ends up on the altar with a fair amount of thigh and hip exposed to relishing.Less appealing is Lex Baxter's score; he needed a safety catch on that theremin - his music makes the film seem more cheesy than it actually is.The film was remade in 2009, but it was a cheap looking effort with even worse special effects than the original. However there was homage for Dean Stockwell who played the role of Dr. Armitage.The stars of the 1970 version generate a certain level of interest, although I think disappointment over the depiction of the Old Ones is unavoidable.

Andrei Nancy Walker and Elizabeth Hamilton, two students who attend Miskatonic University and work in the school library, are putting away the Necronomicon , a rare book on the occult, after a lecture on the supernatural given by visiting professor Dr. Henry Armitage. Dr. Armitage discovers Wilbur Whateley memorizing ritual passages from the Necronomicon and is at first angry, but learns that Wilbur comes from nearby Dunwich, a village having a history of evil occurrences, and that Wilbur is the great-grandson of Oliver Whateley, who was hanged by the villagers as a demon. Nancy, finding herself attracted to Wilbur, offers to drive him home when he misses his bus. Later, in the old mansion where Wilbur lives with his grandfather, Wilbur drugs Nancy and sabotages her car, thus forcing her to stay for the night. (He plans to sacrifice her in a fertility rite in the hopes of gaining for himself contact with the spiritual world.) Nancy accepts his invitation to spend the weekend there, but her absence alarms both Elizabeth and Dr. Armitage, who learn that Wilbur's mother has been living in an insane asylum since giving birth to twins--Wilbur and a boy who has never been seen. Wilbur steals the Necronomicon from the library, kills a guard, and takes Nancy to the "Devil's Hopyard," a rocky hillside, for the ritual. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Dr. Armitage arrive at the Whateley house; Elizabeth opens a locked door and is immediately devoured by an invisible creature, the Dunwich Horror (Wilbur's twin). The Horror escapes and ravages the countryside, intending to kill Wilbur. Eventually, Dr. Armitage confronts Wilbur and the monster at the Devil's Hopyard, and there Armitage utters a curse which sends both Wilbur and the Dunwich Horror up in flames.