Dagon DVD (Just For The Hell Of It)

I am a huge H.P Lovecraft fan. I discovered his world of indescribable and unspeakable terrors at a tender age, and was instantly fascinated by the ancient gods and eldritch creatures that inhabited the mind of this undeniable brilliant man. His blend of horror, sci-fi, suspense and terror was just the thing the mind of a young wulf such as myself needed, and in no time I was hooked.

I don't know where to begin to describe the picture....on a side note, is it winking?!

Dagon is one of the very best Lovecraft-inspired films I have seen, portraying the half-seen horrors that filled H.P’s fiction with the type of skill you would expect from Stuart Gordon, who also directed Re-Animator, which was also inspired by a Lovecraft short story. Gordon’s brand of comedy and violent gore perfectly suits this film, with both used to great effect as Paul tries desperately to survive the night in a village inhabited by tentacled half-human creatures.

The acting, as to be expected for a film like this (low-budget horror fare), sometimes borders on the ridiculous, especially from the american members of the cast, but, as I said, it is to be expected. You don’t watch this sort of film for an acting masterclass. It is Francisco Rabal, to whom the film is dedicated, that stands out amongst the cast. The spanish veteran is excellent in his final role as Ezequiel, the wizened villager who recounts the tale of how Inboca fell under the influence of inhuman powers.

The effects are in places rather brilliant, than fact that “unseen and undescribable” things can be obscured under dirty longcoats helping a lot during group shots, but when the effects are revealed they still hold up rather well. The Syfy channel-esqe level of the brief CGI does feel a little out-of-place, but it is used sparingly and only when physical effects are not possible.

As an example of low-budget Lovecraftian horror, Dagon is great fun, well-filmed and presented, and, at times, quite terrifying.

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