5 Lovecraft Horror Adaptations From the Past 20 Years You Didn’t Know About
Re-Animator and Dagon are great, but it's time to move on to something a little more up to date.
H. P. Lovecraft's finest hour came after his death, when his friend and admirer founded Arkham House to bring his idol's legacy to readers. Now, the mythology created by the author has taken on a life of its own, including on the big screen.
But while most horror fans have seen the classics Re-Animator and From Beyond, many recent adaptations have remained in the shadows.
1. Castle Freak, 2020
A woman recently blinded by a catastrophe receives an unexpected inheritance in the form of a castle in Albania. At the same time, the main character grew up in an orphanage and never knew any living (or dead) relatives.
The very first night, the woman has nightmares about her mother's terrible death within the castle walls, and wakes up with a strong feeling of the presence of a stranger in the new house.
The key message behind the remake was a desire to pay tribute to the author by including many more references to the world of Lovecraft than was done in the old Stuart Gordon movie of the same name from 1995. Most of the material was taken from Lovecraft's stories The Outsider and The Rats in the Walls.
2. Sacrifice, 2020
When Isaac's mother dies, he and his pregnant wife Emma learn of an unexpected inheritance awaiting them on a remote island in Norway. Once there, the couple encounters an ancient deity from the depths of the sea, awakened by the local cult that worships him.
Sacrifice is a mixture of The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Dreams in the Witch House and The Colour Out of Space. And one of the main roles is played by Barbara Crampton, who has already starred in several Lovecraft adaptations.
3. The Deep Ones, 2020
A couple rents an apartment by the sea, but their neighbors turn out to be suspicious people, and strange events begin to occur with frightening regularity. Soon the young couple will find out that they have been captured by followers of a mysterious cult.
The movie is based on one of the author's most popular stories –The Shadow over Innsmouth. The project has been praised for its masterful, gradual build-up of suspense and an eerie soundtrack that will give even seasoned horror fans goosebumps.
4. Venus, 2022
Dancer Lucia steals a bag of drugs from a club and, after fighting off a security guard, she runs to hide at her older sister's house, Rocio, just as she and her young daughter are about to leave. Rocio has to go back, bandage the little sister's wounds and leave her overnight.
The next day, Rocio mysteriously disappears, and Lucia is left to care for her niece, unaware that this house holds secrets far more terrible than the angry criminals on her trail.
Jaume Balaguero, who brought us the popular horror REC series, was responsible for the loose adaptation of the story The Dreams in the Witch House, and the main role was played by Ester Exposito, familiar to many viewers from her role in the Spanish Elite.
5. Banshee Chapter, 2013
What happens when you combine a story about government conspiracies and Lovecraft's story From Beyond? The result is Banshee Chapter that will allow you to enjoy a mysterious investigation, car chases, a descent into the unknown, and clashes with strange entities.
Anne is looking for a missing friend who, shortly before his disappearance, found a recipe for a psychedelic drug and decided to try it on himself. The main character's search leads her to a creepy underground tunnel and a laboratory where biochemical experiments are being conducted to change people's consciousness.
Banshee Chapter focuses primarily on creating paranoid pressure and visualizing chaos, without neglecting jumpscares.