Dagon (2001)

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writers:

H.P. Lovecraft (short stories "Dagon" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth")
Dennis Paoli (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 October 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, the undisputed master of the macabre, Dagon tells the story of Paul Marsh...

Plot Keywords:

H.P. Lovecraft | Gold | Ritual | Amputation | Skinned Alive

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Ezra Godden	...	Paul Marsh
Francisco Rabal	...	Ezequiel
Raquel Meroño	...	Bárbara
Macarena Gómez	...	Uxía Cambarro
Brendan Price	...	Howard
Birgit Bofarull	...	Vicki
Uxía Blanco	...	Madre Ezequiel / Ezequiel's Mother
Ferran Lahoz	...	Sacerdote / Priest
Joan Minguell	...	Xavier Cambarro
Alfredo Villa	...	Capitán Orfeo Cambarro / Captain Orpheus Cambarro
José Lifante	...	Recepcionista Hotel / Desk Clerk
Javier Sandoval	...	Padre Ezequiel / Ezequiel's Father
Victor Barreira	...	Ezequiel Joven / Young Ezequiel
Fernando Gil	...	Sacerdote Católico / Catholic Priest
Jorge Luis Pérez	...	Chico / Boy

Also Known As:

Dagon - La secta del mar (Spain)
Dagon: Sect of the Sea
H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon (USA) (complete title)
The Lost Island (Philippines: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore, sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

95 min | USA:98 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

English | Galician | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Argentina:13 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 (cut) | Italy:VM14 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:R21 | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Combarro, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

Company:

Castelao Producciones

Trivia:

Brian Yuzna was in his car once with his wife, Kathy, and they were stopped by a gunman. Although terrified, Yuzna grabbed the gun and started smacking the guy with it. They ended up fighting, and Kathy started hitting the gunman with her cellphone to get him off Brian. She said "I've got to get a bigger cellphone," hence the use of the line in the film, which the filmmakers felt was representative of heroics of ordinary people.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Paul is the hotel room, he removes the door slide bolt from the dresser and puts it on the door. He only puts one screw on it and its also positioned awkwardly. In the next shoot, there are two screws on the slide bolt with it placed correctly on the door.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Eldritch Influence: The Life, Vision, and Phenomenon of H.P. Lovecraft (2003)

Very decent adaptation

I half-expected this to be a mindless gore flick, but it turns out that this is a very good adaptation of one of Lovecraft's better stories. I have only two quibbles with the film: for one, it should have been called "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," the story it is based most on - "Dagon," I believe, is about a WWI U-Boat captain whose ship sinks and who finds the temple of Dagon under the Atlantic. Second, why try to show Dagon? That makes no sense - Lovecraftian horrors are best left to the imagination, just off the screen.

Other than that, though, a very nice horror movie/thriller that deserved a theater release, not a straight-to-video sentence.