Whisperer in Darkness (2012)

It is a strange tradition that indie filmmakers with shoestring budgets inevitably want to make science fiction films. One has trouble discerning why; dramas and comedies are far cheaper and period pieces are just as exotic without the need for special effects. Yet the small film maker continues to pound out high-concept science fiction films regardless of their obvious limitations in this regard.

Then sometimes one of them knocks it out of the park.

The HPLHS already struck gold with Call of Cthulhu, a tremendously faithful 30s expressionist film based on the short story of the same name. With Whisperer they attempt to give a similar treatment to a more narrative Lovecraft story, this time in the trappings of a 1940s talkie. Success in this area is mixedthe feel starts off on target but quickly migrates to the atmosphere of a 60s creature feature... Not that there is anything wrong with that. If anything gives away the film's truly modern nature it is that the photography is a little too cleanagain not a problem, and it left me wishing this movie was available on BD as well. The soundtrack is tremendously well done and moody, just like in Call.

Without giving too much away, Whisperer follows the short story faithfully until the end at which point it concludes with an action setpiece not present in the original plot. As if by way of apology, the new ending is actually much more grim than the original, placing the protagonist in a much dimmer situation.

Just as with Call of Cthulhu, the effects here are far better than the film's small scale would suggest. The alien Mi-go in particular are a wonderfully steampunk mashup of creature and clockwork, realized with a very effective mix of models, costuming and CG. Locations are beautifully shot, and the actors fairly douse the production in characterin particular Daniel Kaemon, who plays the cult leader Mr. Noyse, lapses into a fantastic Mid-Atlantic radio presenter accent when he is (unknowingly?) recorded during his dark ritualsit sounds like it should be corny, yet it is eerily effective.

Purists may gape at the liberties taken with the source material, but this is a fantastically solid sci-fi horror flick that is true to the spirit of its source material and for my money far outstrips Lovecraft films with much costlier productions. A must buy if you enjoyed Call, or if you are a fan of old-school horror literature and cinema. This movie proves that epic sci-fi is possible in a small-scale production, and one is left wondering how so many other filmmakers drop the ball.

NOTE: buy with confidence, packaging and shipping are prompt and thorough. Even the invoice that comes with this movie is fun.

A stunning adaptation of a Lovecraft classic! I am not sure how they pulled it off, but this is straight out of the Golden Age of 1930s horror films even though it is brand new! Filmed in "Mythoscope" a style which strives to make it look true to a 1930s Black and White Noir film, they've taken what was a good Lovecraft story and made it a brilliant piece of film making. They kept true to the spirit of the plot and turned it up to eleven. If you are unfamiliar with Lovecraft's stories or style, this is a perfect start as you don't need any background it is all self-explanatory. It is a mystery, sci fi and horror all wrapping into one ball of goodness and takes you on a roller coaster ride from start to finish. It kind of reminds me of Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits, because much of Lovecraft eventually became many plots in those shows. Filmed on location in Vermont, set during the Vermont Floods of 1927, the film's release coincidentally came during the Vermont Floods of 2011. The filmmakers pitched in to help the great people of Vermont recover from the disaster. This is the second effort of the filmmakers, the first being The Call of Cthulhu. It was a new, old-style silent film and won critical acclaim. This is on the same track, winning awards and acclaim, and in my opinion, is a much more engaging film.

The actors are also top notch. Matt Foyer is an amazingly expressive actor and does a perfect job portraying Albert Wilmarth. He brings such a real human element (which you rarely if ever see in horror) you can't help but get drawn in. Barry Lynch creates both one of the creepiest scenes in horror history without blood, gore or anything but his voice and yet also manages to create one of the most heart-wrenching and human scenes I've seen in the genre.

If you at all love great classic horror films, ones that don't rely on grossing you out, but give a great ride with your mind like Dracula, Frankenstein or the Mummy, then do yourself a HUGE favor and pick this one up.

Buy Whisperer in Darkness (2012) Now

High quality Lovecraftian movies are in short supply. Most of us agree that The Thing by John Carpenter is the best overall Lovecraftian movie. Straight up adaptations of HPL are even rarer. Not surprising, as most of HPL's works are rather wordy and cerebral, with little in the way of action or human interaction to hold interest on the screen, and all those unfortunately indescribable creatures. Previously, with The Call of Cthulhu, The HP Lovecraft Historical Society showed that this is an art best left to those who are true fans of these stories (I include Mr. del Toro and regret the shelving of At the Mountains of Madness as much as anyone). Well now the bar has been set even higher. The Whisperer in Darkness is by any account a resounding triumph. I would even say it deserves a nod at the Oscars for adapted screenplay, although that will never happen. A larger studio may have had a bigger budget or marquee stars, but there is no way anyone could have made a better film.

Of course this movie is an *adaptation* so it is not exactly the same as the novella/short story on which it was based. I think the changes and compromises wrought by the screen play authors Sean Branney and Andrew Leman do a superb job of conveying the Lovecraftian cosmicism and the important aspects of the story, while allowing the film to work as a piece of cinema. They added some human interest, by introducing a young girl, the daughter of one of Akeley's neighbors, and also gave the work some thrilling action sequences.

The creature effects by Jason Shulman, Chris Peterson and Jon Gourley merit special praise. On a shoestring budget they developed Mi-Go that are terrible to look at and fascinating to watch. Wisely the director does not tip his hand by revealing the Mi-Go too soon. The use of black and white photography allows for lighting and cinematography with a period feel. Atmospheric music by Troy Sterling Nies marvelously enhances the tension.

I think all of the performers were wonderful.Too bad Matt Foyer won't receive any special awards for his incredible and believable performance as Wilmarth. I think child actress Autumn Wendell as Hannah deserves particular kudos, as does Caspar Marsh as Hannah's father and Andrew Leman as Charles Fort (in fact the entire sequence in Arkham had me shaking my head in appreciation for the talents of the entire cast and crew).

I have read HPL's story countless times and yet I was absorbed from the opening sequence to the ending credits. I think anyone who loves thoughtful horror or science fiction could find much to appreciate here, even those who are unfamiliar with Lovecraft or who have never heard of HPL's story.

As I said, this is a resounding triumph, an achievement for the ages. All of us are in debt to the HPLHS. I cannot wait to see what they do next. I only regret there was no widespread distribution on the big screen. Maybe this can gets run on an adventurous cable channel to give it the exposure it so richly deserves. Bravo to all.

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Just finished watching. I'm a huge HPL fan, and while many of the movie adaptations are less than great, I was looking forward to this one. The HPLHS's previous movie, 'The Call of Cthulhu' was good on so many levels. And they do not disappoint here. There is additions to the story, to well, make a movie out of a story that's mostly letters back and forth, but it's not forced. Each bit makes sense in the overall story. Plus, they did a great job in making the movie feel like a 30's talkie. So yes, if you like HPL, you will enjoy this movie.

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It's amazing in itself the cast and crew are a bunch of LARPers. If you don't know what that means, go Google it, and make sure you watch the "Lightning Bolt" video that is floating around. Now that you're in on the joke, watch the movie.

While not as true to the original HPL tale of horrible science fiction, the Whisperer in Darkness does a wonderful job of presenting the Old Man's story to modern film buffs. On BD, the first thing you notice is an enchanting score in 5.1 surround and a hauntingly lit stage that is frightfully stark in contrast and detail. The images are almost "too real". The original story ends abruptly, and so the HPLHS took it upon themselves to make the story a bit longer with a bit more of an emotional, dare I say, 'heroic' ending (something that never happens in a HP Lovecraft story).

For the uninitiated, the plot involves a linguistics and folklore scholar taking a trip into rural Vermont on a quest to find definitive truth behind what amounts to a rash of 'alien sightings'. Over the course of the tale, the protagonist begins to uncover bit by bit, mostly due to a shut-in farmer who has seen a bit too much of the truth. For the fans, the ending is FAR removed from the original while remaining very much in vein and intent as possible. No spoilers here. Sorry. But the Mi-Go... pretty well done, and afforded a lot more on-screen time than the high priest of R'lyeh.

The BD itself has a tonne of extras, most of which are frikkin' hilarious. Lots of behind the scenes and technical details a lot more than on their previous Call of Cthulhu picture. But there is one glaring omission that I can't forgive:

No subtitles at all. And this is after their first film that had 24 languages.

The sheer effort in the production is incredible and fans anywhere will likely be driven insane from their own enjoyment (unless of course they don't understand English, and then the whole motion picture is lost on them). It leaves us wondering what the crew will try to produce next the crew comments specifically on Shadow over Innsmouth and the Dunwich Horror, but these suggestions seem more of a wish list. Whatever their effort, they have proven the impossible: Lovecraft's works are indeed film-able.

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