H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival 2003
From The Lurkers
HPLFF 2003 Redux
(posted to alt.horror.cthulhu as well)
The best Roman numeral is ten, represented as "X". It has such a bad boy feel. Fox Sports used it in their marketing campaign as they broadcast the baseball championship series on TV, a few games of which I missed while I attended the "X" version of the HP Lovecraft Film Festival, held every year in Portland, Oregon, all organized and maintained by Andrew Migliore, who is not quite the bad boy of Lovecraft cinema.
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Ten Festivals Later It hasn't actually been ten years of the festival, but it is the tenth one, as the fest replayed in Vancouver, Canada and Salem, Massachusetts. But it has been eight consistent years of movies based on weird tales, notably by H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, but also some by RW Chambers, Thomas Ligotti, and now Robert E. Howard. |
This year was marked by some notable changes, mostly in the administrative, bureaucratic end of the fest, but very worthy of attention: Andrew has received a grant from the Oregon Film and Video Commission for the festival, and he has joined with the Hollywood Theatre (where the festival has screened the last three years), to help him with organization of things like advertising, accounting, program printing, etc. If you think about how much work is needed to run a festival, you'd be shocked for at least 1d6 SAN that it has been led almost single handedly (with a handful of cult-like followers) by Andrew, who also works full time, has a wife and a little monster of his own. He has to collect submissions, screen them, get in touch with the filmmakers, get the prints, arrange for special guests, housing, transportation, put all the movies together on the video, program the fest for what plays when, develop the program, and much more. He's also co-written a book on the movies, maintained a website (http://www.lurkerfilms.com), and even distributed a bunch of these movies on video (and soon, DVD).
It's a huge load of work, and to get it done ten times, never faltering, is nothing short of amazing. And I am eternally grateful that.
New this year was a daytime seminar for local high school students on Lovecraft. Kids (and anyone) were treated to a screening of the great Canadian movie "Out of Mind", and a discussion afterwards with scholar ST Joshi, Andrew Migliore, and writer-director John Strysik ("The Music of Erich Zann").
Andrew has expanded the festival to four days, starting with an evening preview screening on Thursday night. I like the idea of the preview night, but I think that other films should be shown besides what is playing during the regular festival. Maybe a "primer" collection of shorts that people who have not had the chance to see before could, if this is their first festival (which it was for a lot of people).
Also continuing this year was the new trend of "Howie" awards, named after Lovecraft. They're a foot tall, hand carved resin full figure of the Old Gent (Lovecraft) himself, created by master sculptor, filmmaker, and fashion maven Bryan Moore ("Cool Air"). More on that later.
It was also nice to see that the theater itself has been refurbished, including two new, swank restrooms upstairs (no more long lines downstairs), and the ladies room has a nice lounge area with seating, curtains on the windows overlooking the street, and framed period photos. Some of the water damage to the theater has been fixed as well. Increasingly, the theater is returning to its former glory. I bet next year it will be even nicer.
Again, there was a dealer's room in the upstairs lobby, with tables for Catalyst Studios (that cool front cover of the d20 CoC rules? That was done by Catalyst), plus artist Devon Devereux, Pagan Publishing, the HP Lovecraft Historical Society (with the Solstice album and prop collection), Sighco T-shirt company, Nightshade Books, actor Jack Donner, and T-shirts, CDs, and videos from Andrew's Beyond Books.
The Arrival
I arrived on Thursday evening, in time for a quick bite and then to see the preview screening. There are three screens at the Hollywood Theater: the main screen, with an auditorium that seats at least 800, and upstairs, along the non-Euclidean corridor, are two smaller screens, each seating about 200. There doesnít seem to be any corners in the theater, which was built in the 20's, but there is a small exhibit of memorabilia and photos from the era, perfect for a Lovecraft fest.
After the movies, we ("we" being most of the filmmakers, old and new) relocated to the Moon and Six Pence pub, about a block away from the theater, for the traditional round or twelve of alcohol.
What's great about the Lovecraft Festival, at least for me, is the chance to catch up with friends, to see what they're working on or how they tackled a certain problem, or what theyíre doing next. It's good to hear it from their mouth (diluted with ale, sometimes), rather than over a website or an email.
I also enjoy making new friends, and it so happened that I spent a good hour or so (at least two pints worth) talking to Brian Hauser, a film and literature professor who drove out from Columbus, Ohio. We talked at great length about the differences between film and literature (one of my favorite discussion topics, because too many people think that a film should be exactly like the book, which to me is like saying a cartoon about a painting should be exactly the same). I was pleased to find out that he used one of my movies, "Return to Innsmouth," in one of his lectures, giving me the illusion that I have some kind of legitimacy to my insanity.
We were also was treated again to the rousing tales and anecdotes from Scott Glancy (of Pagan Publishing), including the great "Dog Head" story, and also, the tale of "How Scott Was Attacked by a Christmas Present". These gems did not fall from his lips all at once, but over the course of the festival.
On another night in the pub, John Tynes prompted Sean Branney and Andrew Leman to talk about directing, and I was privy to their ideas and comments, while I played Devil's Advocate with some questions (is it worth it to use a crazy actor if you get a good performance out of them?). It's great to talk shop with other directors.
The Sunday brunch was a treat as well, although it was catered this time. Still, seeing everyone at Andrew's, listening to Scott, was like being at camp with your whole family except you enjoy it. A group outing to Powell's Bookstore and other cool shoppes in Portland on Monday was a great capper for the long weekend.
Oh, and the movies. Right.
The Features
Beyond Re-Animator
I've already seen the market screening of this at AFM earlier this year. Directed by Brian Yuzna, it has nothing to do with Lovecraft, was obviously shot in a prison in Spain, has gratuitous sex and violence, and very easy to miss, but obsessive fans will rent it on video anyways. Features a fight between a re-animated rat and a re-animated severed penis. Maybe if I went to the Moon and Six pence first, this would be more enjoyable. Anyway, I skipped all screenings of this at the fest.
Necronomicon
Andrew screened this the first year at the fest; which was also the first theatrical screening of the movie. An anthology film, it's not very good. Jeffrey Combs plays Lovecraft, though.
The Eldritch Influence
Last year, Shawn Owens videotaped a documentary featuring a number of the Lurkers, including Christian Matzke, Andrew, and Stuart Gordon talking about the influence of Lovecraft on their lives, his significance as an author, etc. This was his almost-finished product. Shawn also managed to get great interviews from Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Brian Lumley, and ST Joshi. And two embarrassing parts with me, back in my long hair days (Gaiman says "The Call of Cthulhu " is a great story, then cut to me saying that's my favorite story).
Anyway, most of this was great, great stuff. It starts with biographical information on Lovecraft, mostly told by Joshi of course, and then to the influence of Lovecraft on literature (with the literary figures), and then his larger influence on movies, games, etc.
The only problems I found with this is that there was some faux archival footage of a "sorcerer" talking about the Mythos as if the gods were real, but it was obviously faked, and the actor wasn't very believable (he looked more like a college student). These parts detracted from the legitimacy of the other subjects (cutting from Gaiman to freakazoid to Lumley just doesn't work to me).
There is also a terrifying part in the movie that shows a group of Call of Cthulhu role playing gamers doing thatÖplaying CoC around a table. I cringed in horror when I saw them, for they resemble exactly what you think gamers look like (if you don't know what the stereotype of a gamer is, then you probably are one). After the movie, Shawn tried to run out before the Q&A, but we stopped him in the middle of the aisle and praised his movie. Mike Tice, also in the audience, said that this scene with the gamers "hit too close to home". Interesting, considering that myself, my wife, and Mike's girlfriend are three of his regular CoC role players.
Eldritch Influence ended with a Blair Witch Project-like segment about a cult led by a toothless individual who believed the gods were real. The documentarians filmed their ritual in the forest, centered around an obelisk that was supposed to be a Pillar of Irem or something, but was really made out of foam. Still, many in the audience were asking, "Are these guys for real?" We're still not sure.
Although my favorite doc on Lovecraft is still "The Case of HP Lovecraft", Shawn's movie is a great comprehensive account of his life, and argues well why Lovecraft is so important to horror (weird tales) today. I liked this one a lot.
The Shunned House
Directed by Italian enfant terrible Ivan Zuccon, I had seen this one before on video. I liked it then, and I really liked it on the big screen. Although the video quality was more noticeable on a big screen, I nominate Zuccon as One to Watch for some great HPL horror films. If he keeps improving this much with every film, he's going to be really, really good very soon. He started with the movie "The Beyond", then "The Darkness Beyond" before tackling this anthology film about a strange house and its evil connections and portals though time and space. Although slightly confusing (Iíll say it's "mysterious"), with some moments of extreme gore (some might say using your own tendons as violin strings is a little much, others might love it), this combination of "The Shunned House," "The Music of Erich Zann" (Erica in this case), and "Dreams in the Witch House" is such a good union of the three stories, and great use of a location, that I'm green with envy. Check this one out at all costs (itís in English, although some scenes are poorly overdubbed).
The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath
I have to hand it to director Edward Martin III, for pulling this together after two years of work. This is an animated feature, based on the comic by artist Jason Thompson. Featuring the voice of Toren Atkinson (lead singer of the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets and heir to RU Pickman's legacy) as Randolph Carter, this is a very, very valiant attempt. The artwork is amazing, and some of the shots are great. I love the music (by Cyoakha Grace O'Manion), too. However, I think the movie has some of the common weaknesses of indie Lovecraft adaptations. More on that later, for it's a major issue I am bringing up. Unfortunately, itís not fully animated, it's more like an "animatic", if you understand the term shots are "moved" through pans, zoom ins or outs, one thing in the frame moving slowly like a stick figure, etc. It's not "full motion" animation. But, the art and music were good enough to keep me interested. Here's one that I would like to see given a bigger budget. It was more like people reading the comic book to me (robbing me of the ability to re-read the confusing passages) while haunting music plays in the background.
Dark Heritage
Directed by David McCormick, Andrew dug this one out of the vault... well, one of the shelves close to the door in the vault. I thought this was made in 1977 or earlier, but turns out it's from 1989. Not a good sign. Based on "The Lurking Fear" and fairly faithful to the story, it suffers from unfortunate acting, believability problems, and low production values that work against the film, not for it. It's not terrible (we'll get to those movies), but just didn't have anything that stood out to make it remarkable (or marketable). The "ghoul" clan makeup didnít look scary enough (a major flaw), and scenes that could have been frightening weren't (spotting the ghoul in the tunnel could have been exciting, but instead, it was lame). There is potential for "The Lurking Fear" to make a good feature, but this wasn't it. The "Dansen" mansion they used was great, however. It looked like something regurgitated from a swamp.
The Shorts
Beauty in the Dark by Kevin S. Quinn
If there was a point to this, I missed it. All I remember about this movie is a guy sitting in a chair smoking (for ten minutes), and a dead squid body floating around, with some funky flashing lights. Not good without chemical attitude adjusters.
Beyond the Realm of Consciousness by Michael Pentney
One of the "inspired by Lovecraft's ideas" instead of a direct adaptation, this 12 minute piece about a psychiatrist observing a psychotic (the program says he's a clone), had some potential, and there was a great "scare" shot. Not too bad, but not enough for me to recall much more.
Beyond the Wall of Sleep by Bradley Palmer
Another movie with "beyond" in the title, and taking place in an asylum. Based on the story by Lovecraft, I liked this one mostly due to the lead actor; a crazy, hairy, toothless mountain man who is committed to an asylum for randomly stabbing some hikers. His doctor uses a contraption to contact his mind, and figures out that the man's brain is not human. Iíd like to see this one again.
Casonetto's Last Song by Derek M. Koch
Derek, a Portland local who has been a fan of the HPL festival for years, was inspired to try his hand at making a short. This one is based on a story by Robert E. Howard. The screening I saw wasn't quite what Derek wanted or expected. I talked to Derek afterwards about the short, the good parts and the bad. For an early attempt, it has its moments. A man named Stephen receives a record album made just for him from an occult opera singer that he helped put to death for crimes against humanity. He listens to it, of course. The song itself is great, but the movie moves very slowly. Shots linger far longer than they have to, and there are some casting issues. Hopefully, Derek will keep at it, and we'll get to see something else from him next year. Derek has a webpage on the film at:
- Day One - http://rewindvideo.com/artman/publish/article745.shtml
- Day Two - http://rewindvideo.com/artman/publish/article747.shtml
- Day Three - http://rewindvideo.com/artman/publish/article748.shtml
- Day Four - http://rewindvideo.com/artman/publish/article750.shtml
The fourth day has a link to some pictures from the fest as well.
Cutethulu by Shawn the Touched
A very cute, animated piece about what we all suspect would be Lovecraft's reaction to the effect a plush Cthulhu doll has on two young girls. Cute, funny, and short. What else do you need?
Don't Feed the Book by Robin Ator
Another funny animated short, this one is about a negligent consumer who wanders into the WRONG kind of store. The sight gags in the store are the best part of this one (I can't wait for Branney and Leman to make "the Tcho-tcho Cha ñCha").
Fungi From Yuggoth Part IV: Recognition by Richard Corben
Richard has been submitting short animated films to the festival for the last three years, all starting when I was lucky enough to have him do some CG work on "Return to Innsmouth" for me. This one is taken from the Lovecraft poem, about a man who dreams he's in a forest with living trees that aren't friendly like Ents. I love the look of the trees (for a few seconds, they were scary), but these trees all have huge knockers and dance around (reminiscent of Corben's "Dagon", his first solo project in the fest). It's a Corben thing; I don't begin to understand it.
An Imperfect Solution by Christian Matzke
This is the second Lovecraft short from Matzke, who runs the Propping Up the Mythos website. I'd say it's one of the best versions of the Herbert West: Re-Animator adaptations, simply because it treats the story seriously. Christian touches on the deeper issues of being able to control death and undeath.
The props and costuming are awesome, and he also shot in Providence (of the "Shunned House"!), had period cars, and in my favorite scene in the whole movie, a period train car that Simon, Herbert's assistant, boards to go to his aunt's funeral.
While there are some technical missteps (I cringe when the 180 rule is broken in shot/reverse scenes) and a few acting flubs, overall, it's pretty damn good. Christian is pulling some amazing things together in New England, and I'm expecting only more good things from him.
The Item by Shawn the Touched
Another, longer, animated piece by Shawn ("Cutethulhu"), I really liked this one for being cute and goofy, with cool music and stereotypical manga tropes. Three anime girls fight the big C himself. I hope to see more of the adventures of Mecha, Jinx, and Bunni.
Maria's Hubris by Patrick Weber
A German adaptation of Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep," it's a faithful modern version. The woman who plays the Asenath character is good at it. I really liked seeing a German telephone, too.
Pickman's Model by Giovanni Furore
The Italian version of the story of a semi-mad painter and the "models" he paints. A tad pretentious, but I expect nothing less from Italian artists. The final shot of the ghoul picture was really, really good, but about one second too short.
Pickman's Model by Rick Tillman
Rick has been following the Lurkers for awhile, and this is his first entry (that I know of) to the festival. For a low budget, there was a lot to like in here, especially the costume of the ghoul and the paintings of them. The opening "teaser" was shot in the style of old silent movies, which gave me a grin. It's a little campy, but still enjoyable. Although, again, I think it makes a few of the errors that I've seen frequently in indie Lovecraft adaptations and Iíll talk about that more later.
The Picture in the House by Gant Haverstick
A man steals some paintings from the Pickman Gallery, but is wounded in the leg on the way out by a security guard (as he drives away in a prominently placed corvette). He runs through the forest for about an hour and a half, trying to meet the fence for the stolen goods. He loses his gun along the way. He finally comes up to a cabin. Is this where he is supposed to meet his contact to ditch the paintings? No, none of that had anything to do with the cabin, which houses a Vietnam vet (interesting choice of antagonist, a decision I approve of), who talks about how he survived in the bush through eating "victuals that weren't raised or grown". Somewhat like "From Dusk til' Dawn", the almost interminable front half of the movie is irrelevant to the second half. A fair rendition of one of Lovecraft's simpler stories.
The Raven by Peter Bradley
I've seen many adaptations of Poe's works, this poem being the most common (but I will always consider the one from "The Simpsons" and read by James Earl Jones as the best). Peter pulls off a lot with just cardboard: a cardboard set (life size, with a human actor), and with a GREAT cardboard raven puppet (requiring three puppeteers to work, he told me). Peter does a great "trick" with the portrait of Lenore: every time we cut back to it, Lenore is in a different pose, with a different expression. Very nice, very enjoyable.
The Statement of Randolph Carter by Jane Rose
I want to encourage all female directors, especially those that do Lovecraft adaptations, and fortunately, it's not that hard to do. Jane pulls off a good job with the story of a curious old man who delves too "deep" into the arcane. This particular screening that I saw was too dark, I think, (something you almost NEVER hear me say), so I missed a little of it. But Jane manages to get in, tell the story, and get out, (running time = six minutes), something that I encourage everyone else to do.
The Thing on the Doorstep by Eric Mogret
Another adaptation of cross-gender possession, updated to modern America, this screening was also too dark, but later corrected in mid-playback. I can tell the budget on this was low, still, it was well done, one of the better adaptations I saw this year. The only stumble I can recall is not milking the moments. When Edward describes how he found himself back in Aesenath's body (after he killed and buried her), the voice over doesn't contain the utter horror I expect from someone in those circumstances. The opening murder of Derby is also a little hokey (due to the reaction of the nurse), but overall, I recommend this one.
Cool Air by Bryan Moore
Two of the classic indie Lovecraft adaptations, Andrew showed them again as part of the tenth festival anniversary. I've already seen both many times, but it's great to see them again. Bryan, well dressed as usual, did some Q&A with actor Jack Donner afterwards, telling tales of how he made the movie on a budget ($35,000).
The Music of Erich Zann by John Strysik
Zann was an extra treat, for the sound had been remixed. Although Strysik complained afterwards that it was a VHS and not a DVD, it was still good to hear the extra sound effects, even at VHS quality. The DVD release of that should be great, for there's a lot of subtle nuances to hear on an already high-quality short film.
The Secret Screenings
Starting a few years ago, Andrew showed the Lurkers some of the movies that didn't make it into the official festival program, but for the last two years, he's kept the theater doors open late to show the regular audiences some of the "gems" lurking in his video library. This is his chance to show movies that aren't really Lovecraftian, but good, often obscure, movies, or real stinkers, anyway. This year included some early works of David Lynch, Nigel "Quatermass" Kneale's "The Stone Tape", and of course, "The Movie That Must Not Be Named". I've seen it before, and yet, every time, I can't believe how bad it is. This screening has taken on a "Rocky Horror" quality, with the audience whooping and hollering each time. For this showing of a very independent, very low budget adaptation of a Lovecraft movie, I decided to deaden the pain of watching with some alcohol. But I didn't have time to go to the bar, so Mark Fauver (my great music composer) and I wandered into a nearby 7-11 and boughtÖwhat else? A big can of Budweiser for him, and a 40 oz. Olde English for me. We snuck into the back row of the theater with our hooch, still wrapped in the paper bags, and started sucking down bad booze for a bad movie.
It didn't make the movie any better, but it made the torture more enjoyable. By the way, attending the Lovecraft Film Festival is the ONLY way you are going to see this movie, and possibly some of the other films as well. Even the Lurkers are not allowed to hold copies of the dreaded "Elwood" movie (although we have T-shorts nowÖ)
Guests
Each year, Andrew invites special guests to the festival. This time we had ST Joshi, Jack Donner, and Miguel Tejeda-Florers, screenwriter of Revenge of the Nerds and Beyond Re-Animator, as well as many of the filmmakers of the films (Enrico Saletti, writer of The Shunned House was also in attendance). It's great to see everyone together, and one of the telling moments for me was a picture being taken in the upstairs lobby of a group of the filmmakers togetherÖand I didn't recognize one of them (I later met a few, but it was all people I didn't know, or had just met). Think about it: for almost ten years, there have been enough movies to hold an annual festival for three nights. Can you think of any other author who has inspired so much creativity?
Howie Awards
The two main scheduled guests to appear this year, Brian Yuzna (producer of the Re-Animator series and From Beyond), and actor Jeffrey Combs, were unable to attend. However, Brian's wife and son did manage to attend.
On Saturday night, Andrew presented Brian Yuzna, John Strysik, and me a "Howie" award; a hand carved full figure of HP Lovecraft, made by Bryan Moore. This is the third year of the Howies, after Andrew received the first one, Stuart Gordon and ST Joshi received the second and third.
Andrew started off the presentation, but his lack of sleep and improv showmanship caused Jack Donner to get on stage and direct Andrew on how to find and use a spotlight (leave it to an actor to find the light). The comedy lightened the mood up a bit, so when I finally put my hands on the award, there wasn't much I could say or do that would be really embarrassing, so I mumbled a few words of thanks to everyone for supporting me and Lovecraft's films, and to continue making themÖbecause I like watching your movies, too. And I thanked the Academy, since it might be my only chance at that.
Now Howie stands proudly on the shelf above the video collection, the largest section being the Lovecraft videos, which is growing like a Crawling Chaos. And the scary thing is, I must be mad, because I keep encouraging the spread of such movies.
Editorial Opinion
I wanted to comment on some trends I've noticed after almost a decade of watching HP Lovecraft adaptations, especially independently made ones. However, I am no ST Joshi, and in the art world, everyone is free to do their own thing. So tell me to go to the darkest depths of the caverns of N'kai if you think I'm full of it. But here's something I notice with many Lovecraft films (and films in general, actually): theyíre being made by FANS and not FILMMAKERS. What I mean is, most of the creative people behind the movies are more reverential, more excited simply to be making a movie based on their favorite work or author. But theyíre not asking themselves WHY they like the work so much, or what is important about the work, or how they are interpreting the workÖwhy it means so much to them, which should translate into a more enjoyable human story.
I do not use the yardstick for measuring quality adaptations as one that looks at how much of the original story someone puts into the movie: how many original words in voice over, or how many of the period props, setting, are used, etc. Yes, I like good setting and props, but it has to fit the STORY that YOU are trying to tell. I donít want to see how much money you spent in translating the story to film (or video) as much as I want to see the story retold so it's surprising, fresh, and more importantly, yours. Did anyone complain when Coppola made Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" into "Apocalypse Now"? Were there naysayers crying "Oh, he didn't even do it in the period, therefore this is a terrible movie?" I donít remember hearing any, and I think it should be the same with Lovecraft movies as wellÖmotion pictures are one medium of expression, and the written word is another. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, and you need to be aware of both. There are techniques to filmmaking that make an image engaging; there are editing tricks that keep a movie moving. This doesn't even include acting, story, and special effects. Learn the basics of putting a movie together, and use those to your advantage, rather than fall victim to them. Put yourself in the audience's shoesÖif you had nothing to do with your movie, would you enjoy watching it? Why or why not?
What this means for independent filmmakers is that putting every word of the story into the movie is not necessarily a good idea. Editing is your friend, not your enemy! I contend that every movie I saw this year could have been made shorter (even if only for a few seconds) without becoming an MTV-style montage. The most common trend I've seen in these adaptations is full-scale voice over narration reading the text, and showing images of the same. Why do both? If I wanted that, I would read the story and come up with my own images in my head. And many of these films go, way, way, way too long. The movies don't have to be period pieces, either. They do, however, have to be good.
Using one of this year's examples, I found the original "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" to be tedious and confusing, and not one of Lovecraft's better stories. Great ideas, bad story. Martin's movie included just about everything from the original in it, so I went glassy eyed as I watched Carter travel around and around the Dreamlands, discovering peoples, places, and ancient ruins that held little meaning to me (I forgot why he was going in the first place). It reminded me of the bit in "Ghostbusters" where the possessed Rick Moranis says "during the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zools knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"
Only, "Kadath" is not a comedy.
Some of the better adaptations always seem to change or edit some part of it; even Bryan Moore's "Cool Air" added the "Rosa" speech with Dr. Munoz, one of the best parts of the movie.
I am not saying you can't make a good movie by including every word of Lovecraft's story, but I donít know how to do it, nor would I even try. Appropriate the best parts of the written word, and leave the rest alone. Make your own new horrors that other people will want to copy.
--Aaron Vanek November 03, 2003
