The Dunwich Horror (1970)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Better Late Then Never

A Disappointing Continuation

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

To judge from the poster of the 1970 version of "The Dunwich Horror", you would think this must be one of the most kickass horror movies of all time. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds, you soon realise that a lot of artistic licence was taken with that poster - a lot.Sandra Dee plays Nancy Wagner, a research assistant to Dr. Henry Armitage (Ed Begley), an expert on the occult. When she encounters Wilbur Whateley (Dean Stockwell), she ends up at the Whateley mansion and falls under his spell - she keeps on drinking those cups of tea. Wilbur believes that a combination of rituals, incantations and sacrifice of the 'right girl' will allow an ancient race of superior beings, the Old Ones, to be brought back.The story involves twins, mating with dark forces and a room at the top of stairs that hides an evil entity. That room generates a lot of tension, until it's opened that is, then the limitations of the special effects are revealed. It needed something like the monster out of John Carpenter's "In The Mouth of Madness", but got strobe lighting instead.The best effect in the film is the altar on the headland. When Nancy innocently asks Wilbur what it was used for, he gives her a rundown on the program of events.It entailed selecting a beautiful girl, just like Nancy strangely enough, who would be placed on the altar naked to the elements while black robed figures gathered round to observe and 'relish' her, "and then they waited for the moment when she would allow the power of darkness to enter; the moment when the gate would open and the Old Ones would come through." Sandra Dee wasn't someone you automatically associated with sexy roles, but she has her moments in "The Dunwich Horror", especially when she ends up on the altar with a fair amount of thigh and hip exposed to relishing.Less appealing is Lex Baxter's score; he needed a safety catch on that theremin - his music makes the film seem more cheesy than it actually is.The film was remade in 2009, but it was a cheap looking effort with even worse special effects than the original. However there was homage for Dean Stockwell who played the role of Dr. Armitage.The stars of the 1970 version generate a certain level of interest, although I think disappointment over the depiction of the Old Ones is unavoidable.

Brought to us by the man who had earlier made that tacky-but-fun Lovecraft adaptation DIE, MONSTER, DIE!, THE DUNWICH HORROR rather horrendously tries to mix in Lovecraft with the 1970s with devastating results, and not in a good way either. This is an AIP release, and Roger Corman serves as executive producer, meaning that the film has the same "look" and "feel" about it as earlier minor classics like THE HAUNTED PALACE. However, while Corman's AIP releases were all pretty damn good, THE DUNWICH HORROR commits the biggest film 'sin' in my book - it's overlong, and boring with it. I don't mind films being tacky or cheesy (incidentally, this is both of those), but boredom is a sin that I just cannot forgive.THE DUNWICH HORROR is well regarded as being one of Lovecraft's best stories, but the makers of this film - while being fairly loyal to the story - decide to add in an hour of supposed romance and intrigue before we get to the monster bits. Aside from a few hallucinatory dream sequences, where naked natives dance about, there's not a lot of horror in the first hour either. Scenes move sluggishly with no regard for pacing. The music tries to be a mixture of classic horror and seventies cool, and fails miserably. Only some good, quality acting could keep us interesting, but I'm afraid we don't even have that.You see, casting Dean Stockwell (with a perm) in the lead role of Wilbur Whateley was a bad idea. Stockwell, a familiar face on US television, just doesn't have enough menace in his body to play the part convincingly; he just looks like an ineffectual geek, and the monotonous delivery of his lines threatens to send the viewer to sleep. I'm not sure who Sandra Dee is, or where she came from, but she's similarly bad, walking around in a drugged daze for much of the film. We're supposed to feel for her when she gives herself up to Wilbur so easily? I think not. The only actor of any note is Ed Begley, playing one of his final roles, and he brings just the right touch of pomposity to his role as a Professor who has to track down Wilbur. Sam Jaffe is good for a laugh playing a crazed old man.This film does benefit from trying to do some odd, different things (I liked the idea of birds coming to take the soul of a dying person), but the action comes so late in the story that I had lost interest. When the horror of the title finally appears - glimpsed in brief flashes, to disguise the ineptitude of the special effects - it looks like nothing more than a giant floating cabbage. Things quickly go downhill from here, and the film ends with Wilbur and Armitage shouting ancient words at each other. THE DUNWICH HORROR is a missed opportunity, worth a cursory glance by Lovecraft fans or those interested in '70s psychedelia, but nearly totally worthless as anything more than an oddity.

but you'll love it; it's got it all: sex, multi-form monsters...for a low budget rendition of a Lovecraft story it's not bad. Almost up to par with Dagon. I only regret not getting to see Wilbur Whateley's guts ripped out by a German Shepherd dog in the library. I live in a state (CT) that actually has a Devil's Hopyard, so I can relate, and the only problem I had with the movie was the music soundtrack, which was so 70's. Big surprise. Probably some of the most erotic Lovecraft filmage ever done, I have to hand it to R. Corman this time. You've paid good money to see much much worse. The Necronomicon scenes are pretty spot-on. The vernacular is there. One might hope for a third treatment (forget the J. Coombs version) that could implement some CGI, but they canned At the Mountains of Madness too. When is Hollywood gonna wake up and see the potential in HP Lovecraft? A lot of raw material is going to waste and we don't need a Spiderman 5.

Remember that they attempted to do a Lovecraft Story about the 'Old Ones' back in 1970. And when you see that the movie was made in 1970, you are really talking about late 60's cinematic techniques. So yes, they were limited by what they could do-- plus Lovecraftian monsters cannot really be passed off as a man in a rubbersuit or anything else within the means of 1968-69 technology. Another misreading I see from some reviewers is the assumption that this was a Devil Movie. It isn't. This is Lovecraft. God, Jesus & Satan have nothing to do with the story. Yog-Sothoth does not care about Judeo-Christianity.Dean Stockwell is wooden as heck, but it can come at you as creepy: He is supposed to be a practitioner of the dark arts, not Don Juan. And the rest of the cast are your frightened stock little village characters plus a learned Doctor or two.I was surprised by the lite sexual content--for 1970, that is. Back then, this movie, if it had been in a theatre in my town would have been rated a solid 'R' back when 'R' meant NO CHILDREN PERIOD. And No Teenager would have even been allowed to buy a ticket!!! And that was why I never saw this as even a Late night Re-Run on Poor People TV. (Today, we'd call it Free OTA TV)Today-- it might make NC-17. And current teens would probably continue to phone Text out of boredom and lack of interest. Their Video games are way scarier anyways. Ah. . .for the good ole days. . .Beyond that, if you rent or stream this little gem, be prepared for a laugh or two at the ridiculous personal predicaments. Especially as 'Gigdet' does EVERYTHING a smart young lady is NOT SUPPOSED TO DO when she meets creepazoid Wilbur. Like Drive him halfway across the county in the dark. Like walk with a complete stranger into a totally wacked-out decrepit mansion. And good Lord, I only smiled as I said: "Oh you silly girl, you're gonna drink the Tea AGAIN?!? Didn't your momma teach you ANYTHING?!?"The monster is a disappointment when it finally emerges, but the growling/howling noise it made until it does was neat. Though the men hollering and rolling through the bushes in the psychedelic light was hilarious!No, this movie isn't GREAT by today's standards. And it was probably more 'shocking' in its time. But if you are a Lovecraft fan, this one bears a critical viewing-- with a good sense of humor.