Blogcritics: Comments on Dagon - Making Lovecraft Proud From Beyond the Grave

Comment by James Russell

Sat, 14 Jun 2003 07:44:57 EDT

There were a few James adaptations for British television in the 1960s and 1970s. The BFI has lately released a couple of them on DVD. There was a more recent series hosted by Christopher Lee which adapted a number of James stories. Of feature film adaptations, IMDB only lists two (one of them Jacques Tourner's Night of the Demon).

Comment by Sarah e.g.

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 03:54:53 EDT

After delighting in James, Machen, Lefanu and Blackwood, I'm just starting to get into Lovecraft. Good Lord, how I love this subgenre. Has any of M.R. James' stuff ever been dramatized (besides on the radio)?

Comment by Frank Giovinazzi

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 02:37:32 EDT

James and Bob - Thanks for the comments, especially the film being based on SOI. I haven't read either story in a while, but for me the impact of the movie was its ability to capture Lovecraft's conception of horror. And let's face it -- some of the rubber masks on the fish people were unintentionally hilarious -- like the bad facial hair in the movie, Gettysburg.

Comment by Frank Giovinazzi

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 02:37:14 EDT

James and Bob - Thanks for the comments, especially the film being based on SOI. I haven't read either story in a while, but for me the impact of the movie was its ability to capture Lovecraft's conception of horror. And let's face it -- some of the rubber masks on the fish people were unintentionally hilariuos -- like the bad facial hair in the movie, Gettysburg.

Comment by James Russell

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 01:37:27 EDT

But, of course, the insertion of any female figure into a Lovecraft adaptation is a change from the original :) Saw the film last night, will have a review later.

Comment by Bob Mozark

Tue, 10 Jun 2003 14:23:01 EDT

This movie is actually more based on Lovecraft's novella "Shadow Over Innsmouth" than his short story for which it is named, "Dagon". The movie manages to remain true to the spirit of SOI, despite bringing it forward from the 1920s to the present day and changing the setting of the fishing village from Massachusetts to Spain. I, too, watched it first on the Sci Fi Channel and then purchased the DVD, which contains a fair amount of blood-drenched nudity in the climatic scenes involving the hero's significant other (her addition being another change from the original story).

Comment by James Russell

Tue, 10 Jun 2003 06:29:18 EDT

Cool. This is a film I really need to check out, especially since I've discovered it's actually been released here. As a Lovecraft fan I know the disappointments that Lovecraft-derived movies tend to be, but I've heard some not bad reports of this one...