Ok so supposedly this is another mediocre, failed H.P. adaptation.
But before that…
Some people complain about the main character being gay; a “highly liked” review ends with the GHASTLY notion that this might leave people with the idea that Lovecraft was gay!!!
WHO GIVES A SH!T??? WTF does sexuality have to do with Lovecraft’s notion that people don’t have the SLIGHTEST idea what is really going on, that humanity is just a tiny speck in the cosmic scheme of (bigger, better, more powerful, more intelligent, etc…) things?
Answer: Nothing.
Oh, but H.P. was notoriously bigoted (see “miscegenation”), so it’s not a HUGE surprise that some of his fans are as well.
ANYHOO…as to the MOVIE…you know, the parts that MATTER…
It’s a mediocre adaptation of Lovecraft. BUT…and this is the point…it’s a very admirable, attempts-to-get-it-right adaptation.
And when I say get “it” right, it = the mood. See ‘ITMOM’.
It does about as well, I think, as a low-budget movie with no “name” actors and no real FX can do with the story.
Is that enough? No. But it does have its good points, and it’s not some cheezy cr@pfest like a lot of “Lovecraftian” sh1t films are.
The lead is actually pretty good…the family “drama” seems at least tolerably genuine and his acting is convincing throughout.
The creepiness seems to build slowly (LIKE IT SHOULD)…it’s not some stupid cheezy sh1t just THROWN at you (GASP! THRILLS! CHILLS! EXPLOSIVE! A MUST SEE!)
…and it actually IS *kinda* creepy, at times. Seems like it might have ripped a few movies here and there, but GOOD rips. ITMOM, for instance.
The ending is…interesting, and appropriately at-least-ambiguous-dark.
Grade: D+
7/14/18: The Great Grade Update. Grade: C-