Out of Mind: The Stories of H.P. Lovecraft

As a fan of HP Lovecraft, I have read quite a few of his stories and although there is a common thread throughout most of them, sometimes it was hard to visualize the creatures he described. This movie however brings together more than a few scenes from his tales blending in the fantasy-horror with believable reality. This is exceptionally well done with profound subtlety, because most horror films become overblown comic ventures. This film is not really scary or horrifying itself, but is rather a fantastic realization of a masters vision. Truly, the folks that brought us this film should be given the opportunity to fully address a wider audience with a larger production.

A fine little piece incorporating a few of Lovecraft's characters, storylines, and Lovecraft himself all in a manner consistent with Lovecraft's work. Heyerdahl is a remarkable likeness, actually. A minimum of characters and a maximum of atmosphere makes this a fine vignette.

It is difficult to translate Lovecraft to film, both because of the fake introspection motif of a character who is by most standards completely obsolete and because H.P. rarely wrote books, instead being content with writing short stories.

That is why this format, by no means original, works very well with "the master"'s writing. It combines several ideas from various stories and creates a movie that doesn't cover any of them, but manages to capture the feel of Lovecraft's writing.

It is not a masterpiece, but as Lovecraft films go, it is one of the best, probably because Christopher Heyerdahl really manages to channel Lovecraft very well.

The film is not really a documentary.

The movie was voted as the best film of the festival by a large margin. (And there were some excellent entries this year.)

As far as I am concerned this is the best Lovecraft adaptation I have ever seen.

The film is an adaptation of a number of H.P. Lovecraft's storys intercut with some very realisting looking film footage of "HPL". (Actually an actor who does a remarkable job with the part.)

The film is an exploration of Lovecraft's motivations behind the stories, why he wrote, and what he thought of his own efforts -- intertwingling with his own stories and themes. (Especially the dreamlands stories of Randolph Carter.)

All of this sounds kind of hokey, but it works. Through the Dreamlands, the film mixes modern day and Lovecraft's 20s, among others. (One scene has Lovecraft meeting a modern fan and wondering why his face is on a t-shirt.)

If you can find this playing somewhere, by all means see it! It is an impressive piece of film making.

Having seen most of the films in the genre of "HPL inspired" from Hollywood to the HPL film festivals, I can honestly say that this film was one of the most enjoyable. It brought HPL to life in a believable, respectful and moving way (most of us who know HPL may recall that no motion picture nor audio tape of him is known to exist; only still photos and his writings, so this was something of a treat).

The few "monstrous" special effects were too hokey for this film, however and could have been either done better or left out and thus left to the imagination. Other than that, it was nice to see the mixture of name-dropping and time-interweaving done in the style of HPL's stories. That is, mysterious, suspenseful and ultimately pulling back the curtain to reveal cosmic horror behind it all.

Memorable moments: - HPL trying to sound out "Cthulhu" to himself - HPL's dignified manner of holding himself and his careful articulation - HPL describing the Nightgaunts which came to him in nightmares since he was 6 years old.

If you like HPL (not if you're a fan of the ultra-gruesome, not-in-the-style-of-HPL crap films like Re-animator and From Beyond) then you'll truly enjoy this movie.