User reviews

Someday, H.P. Lovecraft might get a big-budget adaptation, but until then, it's B-movies all the way and this is as "B" as you can get, and I actually admire it for not trying to be more than that. Unfortunately, except for some good effects late in the film, there's not much here worth recommending. The 1970 film of the same title was mostly just inspired by the Lovecraft story; this version sticks a bit more closely to the original tale about the awful Whateley family and their blasphemous breeding of human woman and the demonic monster Yog-Sothoth in an attempt at opening up a portal for the horrific Old Ones to return to Earth. Wilbur Whateley (Re-Animator's Jeffrey Combs) is a drooling backwoods idiot (supposedly a 10-year-old who has aged 40 years physically) looking for a missing page in the evil book The Necronomicon which will allow him to finish the rite of re-entry.

What's been added to this version is a romantic lead couple, played by Griff Furst and Sarah Lieving, who are helping a Miskatonic University professor (Dean Stockwell) find the missing page before Combs does. There's lots of Lovecraft name-dropping; in addition to Miskatonic University and the Necronomicon, we meet Alhazred the Mad Arab, the author of that evil book, and Olaus Wormius, a decadent Necronomicon scholar. The decent opening sequence is right out of The Exorcist, there are nice effects in the climactic scene involving Yog-Sothoth's appearance, and an effective brief shot of an ancient Lovecraftian landscape. Furst, who sometimes looks like Peter Sarsgaard or the early Mickey Rourke, is good, but the rest of the cast is mediocre, including Stockwell (who played Wilbur in the 1970 film) who practically sleepwalks through his part. Very bad dialogue doesn't help anyone, and why they felt the need to transport Lovecraft's New England towns to the Bayou is beyond me--the change adds nothing interesting.

One thing that always bugs me is when a movie goes by multiple names. I know it's a petty thing but for me it makes no sense, it takes away from the movies credibility. This Dunwich Horror version goes by many names including Witches, Darkest Evil and Necronomicon.

It's a less than faithful adaptation of H.P Lovecrafts classic Dunwich Horror and though its hideously flawed it's still better than the 1970 original in my opinion.

It stars Dean "Quantum Leap" Stockwell (Who was in the original as Wilbur Whateley), the always excellent horror icon Jeffrey Combs and the highly underrated Sarah Lieving.

It doesn't really try to stay loyal to the original material and is instead more of a messy remix. The special effects are appalling, far worse than you'd imagine considering the caliber of the cast! The plot is hit and miss and the whole thing is spotty at best.

I still for the life of me cannot figure out why the vast amount of Lovecraft adaptations are so bad. This material is pure gold so why do so many writers balls it up?

This isn't the worst adaptation out there, but it'll certainly not going to appease fans of the book.

The Good:

Fantastic cast

The Bad:

Major differences from the original

Weak sfx

Constant fade to blacks are just annoying

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Jeffrey Combs would have played the book version of Whateley considerably better

Sarah Lieving seems to be naturally attracted to crappy roles

The film is as cheap and mediocre (leaning towards bad) as you can guess. Bad directing, bad effects (that's the least), a rather sloppy plot that doesn't really do any justice to the original material. The acting is better than I expected, but doesn't deserve praise either. The only real reason to watch the film is that there is such a shortage of Cthulhu Mythos based movies (and how few of them are actually good!) that a true fan will try anything.

The house-searching scene was the only one that showed a little bit of inspiration, albeit poorly executed. Other than that you get a pointless background (really far in the background) romance, a rather silly version of Olaus Vormius and a momentary presence of Abdul Alhazred who kind of steals the show.

In Louisianna, the thirty-five year old single mother Lavina (Lauren Michele) delivers a baby boy and a monster in the evil Whateley House. Ten years later, Dr. Henry Armitage (Dean Stockwell) and his assistant Professor Fay Morgan (Sarah Lieving) discover that the page 751 of every copy of the Necronomicon is missing and The Black Brotherhood has summoned the gate keeper Yog Sothoth to leave the portal opened to the demons and ancient gods. They invite the arrogant and skeptical Professor Walter Rice (Griff Furst) that can translate the Necronomicon to help them to seek the book. Meanwhile Lavina's son Wilbur Whateley (Jeffrey Combs) ages very fast and seeks the missing page to open the portal.

"The Dunwich Horror" is a cheesy low-budget horror movie that has an awful screenplay associated to terrible acting and poor special effects. Dean Stockwell and the cult-actor Jeffrey Combs are wasted in this forgettable flick. The romance of Fay and Rice is quite ridiculous and out of the context of the plot. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Bruxas" ("Witches")

Considering IMDb rating (3/10) and terrible reviews, I expected to withdraw from the film after about ten minutes, but the film really is not so bad. The story is more faithful to the source material than most adaptations of Lovecraft and pretty well captures the atmosphere for which this horror giant is recognizable. The acting certainly isn't an Oscar material, but it's quite decent, and for a low-budget B movie, technical aspects are not that bad either. The only serious flaw of the film are the effects, because of which I had the impression of watching a movie from the '80s, or maybe the early '90s. If the film was not from 2009, even the effects would be ok, but for 2009 they are absolutely unacceptable. This disadvantage has affected my rating, which would have been a bit higher with the contemporary effects, but it does not necessarily have to affect your film experience. Simply imagine you're watching a movie from the eighties and the effects will not bother you anymore. They did not bother me too much when I was watching, but I have to take them into account when evaluating because they are really extremely outdated, while not being necessary at all. If the budget did not allow for the effects to be in accordance with current technology, they could simply completely avoid them with simple directorial tricks. If you are expecting a horror that will scare you and hold you on the edge of the seat, this definitely isn't a film for you, but if you're a fan of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos, and if you're not overly demanding and meticulous, you will enjoy the good atmosphere of this adaptation.

5/10

Initially I was kind of excited to see that Jeffrey Combs was in the movie, so it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch it. And I am a huge fan of H. P. Lovecraft's work and all the Lovecraftian work that followed in his wake. This movie, however, was somewhat of a lukewarm attempt, to be bluntly honest.

The story does stay fairly close to the story of the Whateley's as Lovecraft initially built it up, but at the same time there is a bit too much other loose ends thrown into the frame. Ends that are never really seen through and come full circle. In that way, there is a lot of things going on in the movie, too many things in my opinion, and most of these things doesn't really get to be concluded.

"The Dunwich Horror" suffered from a fairly weak acting crew, with most performances being mediocre to look at. Had they managed to put more enthusiastic people into the movie, it would have come out with a more vibrant and appealing result. And the dialogue didn't really help lift up the movie, because it was halting and at times embarrassing to witness.

What did work for the movie was Jeffrey Combs, of course. As always it is nice to see him in a Lovecraft-inspired movie. And his name is usually associated with such. Unfortunately, his character wasn't given enough on-screen time. "The Dunwich Horror" is not one of Comb's more impressive performances, but being a fan of his, I just had to sit through this movie. And aside from Combs, then the core essence of the Whateley's was also pretty nicely interpreted.

There was a bit too much name-dropping in the movie, with lots of references to places, people and such in the Lovecraft-created Cthulhu mythos. But most of this was irrelevant, and seemed to be put in there only to impress the really hardcore Lovecraft fans, people who are familiar with these names. To other people, it is just a bunch of random and pointless facts. The reference to (August) Derleth was, however, a bit surprising.

As for the effects and CGIs in "The Dunwich Horror", well, they were low-budget, and it was showing clearly. Hats off to them for their effort, just a shame that they didn't have a bigger budget for these effects. There were some shots where Yog Sothoth actually looked rather nice. So the effects weren't all bad. The storms that ravaged the buildings, well that is a whole other story. You have to see that to believe it!

In my honest opinion, then this adaption (or interpretation) of "The Dunwich Horror" is not really one of the better Lovecraft-based pieces of work around. Sadly, most of these movies are B-movies and often fail to leave impressions in the viewers. This is one such movie, which is a shame, because it had potential. Had they trimmed down the plot-lines and put in some more whole-hearted actors, the outcome would have been much better and would have had a chance to actually become noteworthy.

This movie reminds me of something you would see at a local film festival (and I am not talking about Sundance or Canne).

It is one of the worst Lovecraft attempts to date. Dean Stockwell is wasted. Combs is passable... but also wasted (not that Combs ever really raises the bar of what he is a part of). The acting is all bottom of the barrel. The editing, direction and effects are horrible.

If I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for something positive to mention, it would have to be the sets and locations. Those were well chosen.

I rarely say that a film is so devoid of merit as to deem it a complete waste of time and money, but this is one of those rare films. Save your time and money. You will just be sad you squandered them watching this trash.

However, if you like B-level schlock for the sake of a good laugh... you might be able to suspend disbelief long enough to laugh at this. But... even that would be a stretch. It is as unwatchable as movies come.

If you put Dunwich in your title and add Witches to it then you are sure that it will sell. And when one old horror is already titles The Dunwich Horror then some people will think it's a remake. But not alone that, if you use the word Necronomicom then you automatically think of Lovecraft. And knowing that Lovecraft's short story The Dunwich Horror lays in the public domain, well, hell breaks loose (no pun intended). The acting is okay, we do have some well known names, Jeffrey Combs (re-animator), Dean Stockwell (The Dunwich Horror 1970) and Griff Furst. But names are not enough. From the start you know this is going to be so badly wrong. The possessed one, well, she just has colored contact lenses. Then she gets CGI wings. It's cold in the room, remember Exorcist. Her voice, remember Evil Dead, the pyramid is some kind of puzzle box, remember Hellraiser. But what makes this flick a turkey is one of the worst CGI that I have seen for a modern horror. Sparks shooting from fingers, soooooooooo eighties, It never was scary or bloody. It's just about incantations. well, do I have an incantation:"go away bad movie go away..."

I was dubious about this film, but got an inkling that Jeffrey Combs would at elevate it if just a tad. I have to say The Dunwich Horror was neither better or worse than I expected. Granted the concept is great, and there were two performances that were at least halfway decent, Griff Furst who did have a naturalistic charm to him, and especially Jeffrey Combs, whose acting and appearance doesn't feel at all out of place. However, where The Dunwich Horror is let down in particular is in the quality of the production values and the way it was written. Granted I have seen worse editing before but it still looked very choppy at times and the lighting does lack atmosphere, but the biggest let down in that regard were in the special effects, especially with the tentacles they are ridiculously fake. On top of that, the script didn't flow naturally from one line of dialogue to the next and some parts even came across as cheesy, while the characters are stock and not developed very well. While the concept was great, the actual storytelling itself was not convincing, with the scary moments coming across as predictable and the romance very forced and further disadvantaged by very lacking chemistry between the leads. The rest of the acting was poor, with Dean Stockwell giving the impression that he didn't want to be there in the first place and doesn't even try and Sarah Lieving while attractive is too stiff and rather miserable-looking. Overall, other than the concept, Furst and especially Combs the movie didn't do much for me I'm afraid. 3/10 Bethany Cox

This movie starts off with the birth of twins. One a monster and one a semi normal baby. The mother is either suppose to be old, albino, allergic to sunlight or is just wearing a really bad Halloween costume. That basically describe what what this movie is like to watch...A bad Halloween costume. It was really terrible. Only thing I can as pro is that is seemed to follow some Lovecraftian stories details but that is it.

It opens with a childbirth at home. The light is eerie. We see a woman in bed screaming horribly while she stares at her swollen belly. The attendants goggle as parturition proceeds. The camera pans around, never holding still. The cuts are instantaneous. A glistening black snake crawls up an attendant's arm.

The rest of the movie -- as much of it as I was able to bear before an attack of restless legs syndrome set in -- follows the same template. There is hardly a pause for ordinary conversation. One shocking horror follows another, accompanied by loud music and diverse grotesqueries.

There's a rural family involved. They all have bizarre appearances. The family head sits there cackling while skinning some kind of black-furred animal, maybe a cat or a skunk. A whirligig of a woman is bald except for a long fringe of blond hair.

Dean Stockwell looks normal enough as the chief investigator of that "portal" that opened up during the childbirth. Stockwell was the chief investigator of a previous version of "The Dunwich Horror", filmed some thirty or forty years earlier. His assistant, Sarah Lieving, is pretty and thoroughly glamorized. I imagine she'll wind up strapped to a table in some dank cellar. There is a snooty expert on the mysterious Necromicon, a book that contains the spell that opens and closes "portals." He's pretty normal too, although he is, as I say, kind of disdainful and snooty. I hope he gets sacrificed.

I've sometimes puzzled over H. P. Lovecraft, who wrote this tale, along with other stories of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Edgar Allan Poe had a theory of literature -- throw everything else out the window and go for the effect. Logic counts for nothing. Imagine Poe and Alfred Hitchcock chatting about this. But H. P. Lovecraft seems to have taken this theory to its extreme. In one of his stories, nothing happens except that a guy wakes up in some underground chamber and finds his way to the surface. It's spooky but there is no substance to it.

This movie stinks, a pointless exercise in ominousness and computer-generated effects. Any successful horror story begins in more or less placid normality and works its way into the abnormal. Look at "The Exorcist" or "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Shining" for good examples. Well, I'll mention Val Lewton's work at RKO in passing. This one begins with junk and, I expect, ends the same way.

Recommended for self-haters, the guilt-ridden, those recently emerged from an eremetic existence, the irretrievably mad, and toddlers who have never seen a movie before.

Excellent story, being based on Lovecraft's Dunwich Horror, poorly Executed.

The actors' incredulity I can excuse, being caught up in what must have been clear to them was a travesty. The effects and dramatic music I cannot excuse. Why keep blacking out the light at every suspenseful moment, like a child playing with a light switch? Why have special effects expected in a film from the 1950's in a film from 2009 instead of CGI? Low budget I guess.

Horrific rather than horrifying best describes this movie. It is a shame, hardly redeemed by giving it a new title other than the story it was based on, because the original would make an excellent remake in the right hands. This could not hold a torch to the 1970's version.

This is a below average Lovecraft movie, so all bar HP Lovecraft lovers should avoid like the plague. In all honesty this TV movie is worth no more than 3 stars, but being Cthulhian and starring Jeffrey Combs it gets another.

Due to the limited supply of copies and the great interest of collectors, these kinds of niche Horror DVDs cost a lot of money, but rarely offer the good film they promise.

The Dunwich Horror (The Witches) from 2008 is another such film: based on a good story by HP Lovecraft, but so poorly executed that it has become a big mess.

The good news: it are not the actors that are to blame. Each and every one of them did their best to save this film. Unfortunately.

The story has been adapted and not for the better. Instead of Lovecraft's ghastly creepy story, we get a messy quest for a missing page from the Necronomicon. There is a strange, half-hearted relationship between two main characters woven into it. The level of this love story does not get any further than that of the average bad soap ...

Even more disturbing than a chopped plot, are the laughable special effects. Bad cheap computer animation just kills this horror movie. I've seen worse, but not all that often! It is not easy to shoot a good film on a small budget, but other filmmakers are much better at this! I guess they rather use sugestion than bad Playstation 2 graphics for monsters.

I can go on, but it's clear I have no more good things to say. 3 points for the acting, nothing for the rest. Don't waste your money on this one...

I can imagine the frustration of Hollywood producers trying to transmute a rich and reputed mythos into money by using the same old recipes that work for any other concept and failing miserably in the case of Lovecraft. But they have to try.

Such an attempt is this adaptation of the short story with the same name. They start with the wise and nutty professor and his sexy assistant, join forces with an unbeliever and proceed through bad CGI to make him believe before he can use the knowledge that he already had to defeat the monster that had no chance to win in the first place. Yeah, the script is a mess, especially considering that The Dunwich Horror is one of the more classically good vs evil Lovecraft stories.

However, that doesn't mean the film cannot be entertaining. As a nod to the 1970 version, Dean Stockwell plays again for the good team, while Jeffrey Combs is a really convincing Wilbur. The horror of the possible opening of the portal to the Old Ones is rendered well, yet everything else is cheesy in a "let's make some money" way that disgusts me. Yog-Sothoth take all money grabbing Hollywood people! I hated the entire useless romantic liaison added, as well as the "team" aspect that never existed in the original material and was put here only to standardize the story to something the public is used to.

Bottom line: in the end, the Lovecraft aspect of the film is minimal, even if they kept the general plot of the story. It is the soul that they couldn't grasp. And it is strange, too, as Lovecraft is usually tending to the needs of the superego, distressed by "unnatural" events or beings; it should be easy to put that into a movie. I just don't think they get it! You need to make your viewers feel dirty inside for watching the film. That's the actual point of Lovecraft stuff!