This isn’t the first time this Lovecraft story has been adapted, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. But despite a few suspect story plot plottenings leading up to it, the final third of this film does pretty much go full batshit insane, so despite it NOT ending in an insane asylum, it gets credit for the film itself actually going full tilt craycray.
Nothing like starting off your movie with a little witchcraft pagan ritualisms and trespassing. At least they add some alpacas. But we quickly see a family recently relocated out to the sticks, living the non-urban life, still kinda adjusting. Then there’s a meteor. Then a weird storm. Some strange not-quite-purplish lights get involved. Kinda hard to describe, really. Then shit gets slowly then quickly fucked the fuck up. Seriously. The last part of this movie is full face-melter but not Mandy crazy.
I can’t say I ever expected Tommy Chong to pop up in a Lovecraft horror film, but like Nic Fkn Cage himself, I’ll give it a chance. And it is a slow burn of sad and kinda pathetic/awkward to full-blown lunacy by the end. While I love Cage’s performance here as things grow more and more maniacal, it makes you realize there’s a bigger shitbird in the barn here. So, slow pacing to begin, but deliberate and ultimately pegleg across the jaw ending. Pow! Stupid pirates. Never take yer eye off the pegleg. It’s both a distraction and a threat. Like this movie! Damn. Bad non sequitur? Fuck you, logical writings! I got my own methodologies! NICOLAS FKN CAGE! There. I feel a little better now. And if director Richard Stanley wants to do a better version of The Dunwich Horror, I will add that as its 3rd adaptation review here because, well, fkn Lovecraft.
