Review by Peter Syslo
THE DUNWICH HORROR (1970) is an adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story, of the same name. Truthfully, I haven't read much Lovecraft but I do acknowledge his work as being one of the major influences on modern horror. Along with Poe, his prolific nature opened up the imagination of many creative talents in the field and his work is very fertile ground for many horror directors. For instance, Stuart Gordon is definitely a Lovecraft man and his film adaptations are some of the best examples of the Lovecraft way. As I interpret it, Lovecraft seemed to have a fascination with magickal rituals (from his brilliantly fabricated Necronomicon) which could summon entities from another dimension and another time. Kind of a mix of sci-fi horror, but the concept is very interesting. When it comes to DUNWICH, the concept is in the same vein and it is a straightforward tale of boy-meets-girl, boy-summons-demon. You know... kind of like GREASE but without the broken rubbers and missed periods (I mean erasers and classes! What do you think I am? An insensitive brute?).
THE DUNWICH HORROR is directed by Daniel Haller and is adapted by Curtis Hanson, Henry Rosenbaum, and Ronald Silkosky (from the short story by Lovecraft). The film stars Dean Stockwell, Sandra Dee, Ed Begley, and Sam Jaffe.
The picture is about a peculiar young man, named Wilbur (Stockwell). He is interested in a text called The Necronomicon, which is housed at a university library. While he is there, he is befriended by the fetching Nancy (Dee) and she lets him look at the cherished and protected tome. The professor in charge of the book, Dr. Armitage (Begley), cuts Wilbur short because he realizes that there is great power contained in the spells within The Necronomicon. Armitage and Wilbur get to talking and it turns out that Wilbur's family has a history with the book. After the scholarly encounter, Wilbur asks Nancy to drive him home and he extends their date (with the help of drugs) for the whole weekend. Despite Wilbur's “infatuation”, it becomes quite clear that Wilbur has some “not-so-honorable” intentions for Nancy and it appears that he needs her to take part in some magickal rituals. So, after he has sex with her on a stone altar, he begins his incantations and he unleashes an “old” demon upon the modern world. Will he succeed in opening the portal between dimension? Will Nancy wake-up from her sexy slumber? Tune in and find out.
DUNWICH is a decent film that is part of the “midnight movie” era. Honestly, I wasn't moved all that much by the story, but it was a real solid example of a Lovecraft-type of story. I really simplified it in my introduction, but that was basically the “gist” of it: Wilbur meets Nancy and uses her in a magickal ritual that brings an old god/demon into our dimension. It's very cut-and-dry but I admit that the film was well-executed. Actually, I felt that the best parts of the film, aside from the awesome cast, were the special effects and the camera work. This was 1970, so a lot of the Lovecraft-isms couldn't be fully realized, as with 1980s practical effects or with modern CGI. Similar to the LOTR situation, those films just couldn't be convincingly-made (I feel) until the effects technology was available. That being said, there are certain exceptions and I always like it when filmmakers are daring enough to attempt to make a film that is deemed “impossible”. I do not know if that was the case with DUNWICH, but it seems like the crew worked with what they had, used the less-is-more approach, and made it a very convincing picture.
Getting to more of the camera details, the fun begins when Nancy starts having some drug-induced dreams. She dreams of a race of beings from “the old world”, who appear to be tribal people. The dreams are very surreal, with sound effects and color alterations in the film exposure – all from a POV camera view. From that, the movie shifts into the same sort of techniques when the demon is finally unleashed. In a sense it reminded me of the ending of ALTERED STATES when he is banging himself against the doorway, trying to shift back. You really don't fully see the demon until the end of the film, but the less-is-more idea works extremely well. The demon is portrayed from a POV camera shot and you see the color-shifts again, in the exposure. Coupled with the odd SFX and the reactions of the victims in the pathway of the demon, the concept is well-formed and the viewer wants to get a full shot of it. When you actually do see it, it is very interesting-looking, for the time period. Overall, the whole film is a nice balance of the normal and the surreal and this is where the real power of the story lies.
Gnawing through the flesh: THE DUNWICH HORROR is an interesting film version of a Lovecraft tale. There are not many twists and turns and it is pretty straightforward, but it is well-constructed. It didn't really “grab” me, but I was intrigued by the neat camera work and the special effects. Also, the cast was simply great and made it a better-than-ordinary film. Dean Stockwell, as Wilbur, was awesome – he is such a good actor and he gives life to whatever role he is in. Sandra Dee was delightful as the doe-eyed Nancy – plus, she had quite the body on her. You see some nudity from the side and catch a glimpse of her topless and it is very erotic. I guess the old saying can be true: it is more tantalizing to conceal than to reveal. Last but not least, Begley as Armitage and Jaffe as Wilbur's grandfather rounded out the cast and created a very interesting ensemble. So, if you want to experiment with some early Lovecraft interpretation, THE DUNWICH HORROR is definitely worth seeing. I enjoyed the ingenuity and I give it a 6/10.