The Haunted Palace (1963)

It’s billed by the studio as the sixth of Corman’s Poe adaptations, but in truth it’s based on H.P Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. It’s not completely faithful to the Dexter Ward story, either, but the oppressive, xenophobic, almost squalid atmosphere will be instantly recognisable to fans of the author, and having a more complete mythology to draw from helps Corman keep everything harmonious. The gothic graveyard scene near the beginning is a highlight, with movement, lighting, music and sets perfectly balanced, creating an eerie, potent unreality that's not wholly without faults, but even those are well-played.

4 wrong combinations out of 5

The Curse (1987)

With a less than enthusiastic writer and director, this film based on H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space never got out of the box. It does closely follow certain events from the source material such as a mysterious meteorite landing near a farm, the subsequent bountiful yet putrid harvest and its catastrophic effects on the farm handlers. But as most HPL adaptations turn out, it never truly captures the essence nor the impact of the descriptive passages in the story. In unsuccessful attempts to frighten the audience with ominous music over scenes of characters drinking the tainted water supply and the degradation of the livestock, it only creates a stale boredom in its stead. The poorly handled ending leaves much to be desired in both logic and fascination.

1 whoring wife out of 5

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

A mostly faithful adaptation of the Lovecraft story that attempts to show what a filmed version would've looked like had it been made when the story was written in the 1920s: the footage is treated with a filter that crudely mimics print damage and ageing, the ratio is 4:3, the FX are primitive (but amazing) and it’s silent except for the dramatic music.
Director Andrew H. Leman is a founding member of the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society; his respect for the material is plain to see.
The ‘strange idol’ prop is very cool. I’d make room on my already wheezing shelf for a full-size replica of it.

4 dreams of strange cities out of 5

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2009)

A documentary about H.P. with observations that come almost exclusively from interviews with a small group of filmmakers and writers (Stuart Gordon, Guillermo del Toro, John Carpenter, Peter Straub, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Ramsey Campbell, S. T. Joshi, Robert M. Price, Andrew Migliore and Neil Gaiman), so, in essence, it’s about what Lovecraft means to them as much as anything else. They use all the correct words to describe his fiction, but it’s the short analytical moments that offer real insight.

3 unpronounceable names out of 5

Dagon (2001)

Two couples are at sea on a yacht when a storm arrives unexpectedly and turns their rich-folks-day-out to shit. The obvious solution is to seek help from the nearby village, but when that village is Inboca (that’s Innsmouth to you and I) things turn even more nasty... with tentacles.
The tension built up as the protagonist runs from the burbling freaks is excellent, it plays out like a Lovecraft inspired survival horror game without guns, but the shaky-cam makes watching it almost unbearable. On the rare occasions the camera is steady the film improves. It even delivers one truly gruesome scene that you won't forget in a hurry.

2½ fish heads out of 5

From Beyond (1986)

The same creative team that gave us Re-Animator (1985) knocked out another classic B movie that’s simultaneously gut-busting hilarious and bowel-churning gross, again based on an H. P. Lovecraft tale. It even called back some of the same cast, including the wonderful Jeffrey Combs as a dangerously obsessed scientist. He and a fellow dabbler build a device that enables them to see the unseen, and consequently invite a whole new world of sexy depravity and icky shit to their door.

3½ disturbances out of 5

Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

Herbert West is back for more re-animated antics. It’s overly-long and has too much filler in the first half, but the ending more than makes up for the initial lack of wow factor.
The finale is a real comedy-scare nightmare-clusterfuck scenario that'll have you itching to tell your friends, and maybe your psychiatrist. Not a date movie, unless your date is Elvira.

3 bone saws to the bitch’s chest out of 5

Re-Animator (1985)

The film that made Jeffrey Combs a household name amongst the weird kids you knew back in high school.
A vial of green glowing stuff brings back the dead, but they don’t say thanks with flowers.
With a similar black comedy-shock styling as Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981), it's extra-crispy, deep-fried fun. A horror film from the decade when horror films were good.

3½ dead cat backpacks out of 5