Of all the Lovecraft films, this is for some reason the easiest to remove from the Lovecraft mythos and just view as a relatively effective horror movie about fish people. Most of them tend to be an amalgamation of elements from many of his stories, rather than direct adaptations of just one, but this treatment of The
Shadow Over Innsmouth seems to have the most consistent aesthetic byline; stormy, decrepit and sinister, Dagon's fishing village is a perfect stage for seaside cult hijinks. Stuart Gordon's abilities and deficiencies as a director have never been clearer, and for every shadowy shot or menacing maw full of teeth he successfully captures, he treats us to an equal amount of awful characters or poorly delivered lines. The protagonist and his girlfriend are both spectacularly unlikeable, doubly ruined by Gordon's inability to direct or frame his actors, which makes them seem like nothing but awkward fake douchebags. Some of the supporting performances aren't too awful, but much like Re-Animator, you won't be remembering the film for its characterization. The story also suffers from Suspiria Syndrome, not bothering to forward the narrative during any of the "horror segments" and instead lumping all of its exposition into one intolerable ten-minute flashback. Writer though he is clearly not, Gordon knows how to put together an entertaining movie, and between the waterlogged bits of gnarly imagery and some pretty nifty gore, Dagon is sure to be a suitable horror snack in between more significant films.
March 23, 2011
